The Imprisoned One

The Rakata prisoner was a warrior in the Infinite Empire. He led a rebellion around roughly twenty-one millennia before the Jedi Civil War and was placed in a Rakatan mind trap as punishment.

Revan met him when out of curiosity he opened the Mysterious box, against the warnings of Lurze Kesh. He was puzzled about the occupant's nature and unknown species (having been the first Rakata Revan had seen since his amnesia), as well as why he could understand his language, but he made little effort to dispel the mystery.

According to statements he made to Revan, he had been imprisoned for thousands and thousands of years; so long, in fact, that he had forgotten his own name and species, although he said he was "sure that he knew it a thousand years ago". He remarked that Revan was his third visitor within a few months, but the only one whose speech he could understand. The previous two--one of which the Rakatan claimed was unusually hairy--had become angered by their imprisonment immediately, and had run off screaming into the whiteness, presumably going insane: "This whiteness can make you go insane, if you let it."

The prisoner knew how to perform a ritual that could release one from the prison, but releasing himself would be useless because his own body had long been non-existent; so, he made a deal with Revan. If Revan could defeat him in a game of riddles, he would be freed. However, if Revan lost, the prisoner would leave and inhabit Revan's body, dooming him to an eternity inside the box. After a few riddles, Revan managed to stump him. Revan offered to destroy the box, but the prisoner decided to stay within the prison, hoping that "one less proficient in riddles than you [Revan] will come along." The prisoner freed Revan without contempt.

Personality and traits
The Rakatan was calm. Revan was transported inside the box quite a distance away from him, but the Rakatan made no attempt to meet him, despite Revan probably being his last chance for escape ever. He was also reasonable and fair. Revan asked him how he could trust the prisoner; the prisoner in turn asked how he could trust Revan, adding that Revan had the body and he the means to escape. As he cannot enter Revan's body without permission and Revan cannot learn the technique to escape without his knowledge, they had no choice but to settle it in a deception-free contest: "We could go on arguing about who should leave for a thousand years, but I doubt your species is incredibly long lived." By then, Revan's body would be gone, too. His reasoning persuaded Revan easily. Upon losing, he upheld his end of the deal and released Revan from the mind prison, seemingly without hard feelings. He was gray with black clothing. He was slightly taller than Revan due to the size of his head.

Powers and abilities
His only known power appears to be one of mind transference. He sts down in a meditative stance, then emits a gray light which teleports its target. The exact nature of this power--whether it is a Force technique or a magic ritual--is unknown. Since he did not really transport Revan anywhere, it is unclear whether he could move minds from one place to another. However, he claimed that he had learned it in his isolation, and that it would be "easier to show [Revan] than to teach it to [him]," so the power seems to be unique to him alone. It can be inferred that he was not so powerful, however, considering his rebellion had been crushed. Perhaps his skills lied in rhetoric more than in combat.

Behind the scenes
The riddle game seems to be inspired from the portion of The Hobbit by Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins and Gollum fought with riddles in order to negotiate his exit from the caves. Also, the idea that the prisoner had forgotten his species and even his own name is similar to Gollum, who is also so old he cannot remember his name. Some of the riddles of the 'game' between the Rakata and Revan, indeed were first seen in The Hobbit. One such riddle is "What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, and yet never grows"

Some others were also seen in the 1990 game Conquests of Camelot where King Arthur had to pass an array of speaking stones by answering their riddles.

The Rakatan Warrior is poor with numbers, one of the later riddles the player has the chance to ask is in fact a simple logic trick involving a large amount of unnecessary numbers, which causes the Rakatan Warrior to panic and miss the entire point of the question.

If Revan finds the Star Map in Kashyyyk, before going to Korriban, he will be the second Rakata Revan has seen after his amnesia, as the computer displays a holo-image of one as well.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic