Confrontation in the Caverns of the Hidden One

This duel was a battle of Force powers between exiled Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker and Koro Ziil, leader of the Hidden Ones, in the Throne chamber of the Caverns of the Hidden One. Ziil would not let Luke or his son, Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker, leave the caverns. Luke had developed a theory that the Hidden Ones&mdash;a secret sect of the Baran Do tasked with preserving the Order's knowledge&mdash;had, by rejecting life and energy, turned their backs on the Force. The Hidden Ones slowly began to believe him, which angered Ziil greatly. Ziil attacked Luke, and they dueled with the Force, with Luke emerging the victor.

Finding the Hidden Ones
"They lied. About Charsae Saal. He didn't die, and they didn't cremate him."

- Luke Skywalker, to his son, Ben, after Saal's "funeral"

Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker and his son, Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker, arrived on the planet of Dorin after Luke's exile from the Jedi Order. They hoped to find out why former Jedi Knight Jacen Solo had fallen to the dark side and become a Sith Lord by retracing his steps during his five year journey. The Skywalkers met with the Baran Do sages and trained under them for a short time.

One of the Baran Do, senior combat instructor Charsae Saal, decided that it was time for him to die. According to the Baran Do culture, when one decided that it was time to die, they simply gave themselves over to the Force. Luke and Ben attended Saal's funeral, along with the other Baran Do sages. Luke, however, was not convinced that Saal had indeed died. He later scouted out the area with Ben, and they found that the platform upon which Saal had "died" was in fact a trap door leading to an underground chamber. There the Skywalkers found Saal alive. They confronted the Baran Do sages, and convinced them to allow them passage to wherever it was that Saal would be going next. They got onto rolling carts that led them down a long passage to the Caverns of the Hidden One, the home of the Hidden Ones, a secret sect of the Baran Do dedicated to preserving the Order's knowledge.

Once there, The Hidden Ones told the Skywalkers that, in order to protect their secrecy, they could never leave, and that they must change their names. Luke and Ben met with their leader, Koro Ziil&mdash;now known only as the Hidden One&mdash;and talked to him about Jacen, but Ziil did not have much information on why Solo became a Dark Lord. During their talk, Ziil struck Luke and Ben as paranoid and corrupt, and they found that he was filling the Hidden Ones with lies.

Saal&mdash;now known as Chara&mdash;defeated Ithia, who had formerly been the best fighter in the Order, in a friendly duel. Luke began to believe that as the Hidden Ones had accepted their death, turning their backs on life, energy, and the will to fight and survive, they had turned their backs on the Force. He decided to prove to the Hidden Ones that every minute they stayed down in the caverns, their power was weakening.

Ben and Saal
"Master, I am this boy's superior in fighting skill. I am strong in the Force. But he won. He won through the will to win. Through conviction, through strength of purpose. I lost because I lack these things."

- Charsae Saal to Koro Ziil, after Saal's defeat at the hands of Ben

Luke gathered all of the Hidden Ones into the throne chamber by spreading the word that he and Ben were finally going to adopt new names. Luke, of course, had no intention of doing so. Instead, he explained his theory to the Hidden Ones, and went on to suggest that Ben, who was barely a Jedi Knight, should duel the Hidden Ones' best fighter and newest addition, the senior combat instructor Charsae Saal, now known as Chara. If Ben lost, Luke promised that he and Ben would accept their fate and stay in the caverns. Ziil allowed Chara to accept the challenge, and both combatants were armed only with hardwood staffs. Chara immediately took control, landing the first blow on Ben's ankle. Ben recovered quickly, but as the duel progressed, Chara clearly had the upper hand. But then Ben got a blow in on Chara's head, and from that point on, the elder combatant began to lose the will to fight. Ben finally found an opening and hit Chara in the chin with his palm, and the Kel Dor went down. Now Saal and other Hidden Ones began to believe that Luke was right. They were growing weaker, not stronger.

The Hidden One's reaction
"I'm sorry. But the Skywalkers are clearly too dangerous to live among us, and they know too much to be free."

- Koro Ziil

The Hidden One, however, refused to accept this. He grew very angry at the Skywalkers and the other Hidden Ones who began to speak out in open agreement with them. But when his former apprentice, Chara, admitted that he believed that the Skywalkers may be right, the Hidden One said the Skywalkers were too dangerous to remain living among them. Ithia and the very old Kel Dor, Burra, spoke out against this, but the Hidden One revealed that he had told those on the surface that the Skywalkers had died when a cave collapsed, so sending any more oxygen-nitrogen canisters would not be necessary. Without those canisters, the Skywalkers would die from the poisonous atmosphere of Dorin that only the native Kel Dor could breathe within the next day or two. Several of the Hidden Ones pleaded for him to change his mind, but he refused.

The Duel
"I cannot let these humans remain among us even for the time it would take them to suffocate. Their influence is too strong. I will show you life. I will show you the Force."

- Koro Ziil, shortly before attacking Luke

Koro Ziil stepped forward and blasted Luke with white Force lightning. Luke absorbed it with his lightsaber, but the strength of the attack threw him backwards into a pillar. As Luke got up and began moving slowly towards Ziil, the other Hidden Ones were evacuating the throne chamber with Ben, who was directing them out the blast door. The Hidden One created a Force whirlwind, but it was not enough to stop Luke's advance. Ziil broke off the lightning and increased the power behind the whirlwind, sending it straight at Luke. Luke deflected it off to the side, and it slammed into a pillar. Deactivating his lightsaber, Luke started forward again. The whirlwind began moving from pillar to pillar, until it paused directly behind Luke, hammering continuously at a pillar there, until the pillar broke free and toppled down towards Luke. Luke caught it in midair and redirected it, dropping it down to the ground. Ziil then picked up his throne with the Force and hurled it at Luke. To counter the blow, Luke threw the fallen pillar towards Ziil with the Force. They collided in midair, the throne shattered, and the pillar fell to the floor. Luke rolled it forward with the Force, forcing Ziil to jump over it. Luke charged forward and kicked the unprepared Hidden One in the stomach, sending him flying. Ziil began to get up, but could not, and collapsed to the ground.

Aftermath
Ziil tried to enforce his rules even after his defeat, but now the Hidden Ones had turned against him, as well. When he still would not listen to reason, Ben set off a secret explosive that collapsed what Ziil claimed to be the only exit from the caverns. Ben continued to reveal all of Ziil's lies to the Hidden Ones. Ziil, however, still refused to admit to the existence of another way out of the caverns. At last Burra gave in, revealing he knew the location of a secret turbolift chamber to the surface. The Hidden Ones were freed, and the Skywalkers left Dorin soon after.

Appearances

 * Outcast