Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/November 15, 2010

The Hidden Ones were a subsect of the Baran Do Sages, a faction of Force-sensitive Kel Dor living on their homeworld of Dorin. In 19 BBY, after the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Jedi Order was hunted and purged. One Baran Do Master, Tokra Hazz, feared that his Order would suffer the same fate. In order to ensure that the Baran Do were not driven to extinction if such an attack occurred, Hazz formed the Hidden Ones with the purpose of preserving the knowledge of the Baran Do Order; therefore, if the Order was ever eradicated, it could be reinstated. Hazz became the sect's first leader, known as "hu'aac-du'ul-staranjan"&mdash;or simply the Hidden One&mdash;and was given absolute rule over the sect.

The sect's culture revolved around an individual Baran Do Sage holding a dying ceremony before traveling to the system of caverns that was home to the sect. There, the Baran Do became Hidden Ones and chose new names, as they considered their former selves to be dead. The Hidden Ones adopted this practice as, once they entered the caverns, they were never again allowed to leave; otherwise, they would risk exposing the existence of the sect to the galaxy. Such exposure would negate the sect's goal because if the Hidden Ones' existence was known and the Baran Do were attacked, then the Hidden Ones would simply be destroyed as well. However, because the Force thrived on liveliness and vivacity, the Hidden Ones&mdash;who were forced to accept death and thus lost their will to live&mdash;essentially turned their backs on the Force, causing their powers to wane. This weakening of their powers was also caused by the fact that their sole existence was to retain knowledge; they rarely practiced their skills and never attempted to learn any new ones.

The sect survived undetected by the outside galaxy until 43.5 ABY, when the Jedi Luke and Ben Skywalker embarked on a quest to trace Jedi Knight–turned–Sith Lord Darth Caedus' steps during his five-year journey after the Yuuzhan Vong War, in hopes of learning why he had fallen to the dark side. The Skywalkers infiltrated the Hidden Ones and learned of the many lies that the Hidden Ones' current leader, formerly named Koro Ziil, told his followers&mdash;including that the sect was self-sufficient for food and that there was no way to leave the sect's caverns. Hoping to free the sect's members, the Skywalkers began sowing unrest among the Hidden Ones, turning them against their corrupt leader and restoring their will to live. This enraged Ziil, who confronted the elder Skywalker. Ziil was defeated, however, and Ben revealed to the Hidden Ones the many lies that Ziil had kept. The Hidden Ones then revolted against their ruler and returned to the surface.