Chara Charsae Saal was a male Kel Dor and Baran Do Sage who was born during the Republic Classic era and was a young child when the Jedi Order was purged . He was trained as a Baran Do Sage by Master of the Order Koro Ziil and later became the Order ' s senior combat instructor . In 43 . 5 ABY , former Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker — recently exiled for failing to prevent Sith Lord Darth Caedus ' s fall to the dark side — and his son , Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker , arrived on Dorin to seek out Ziil . For one day , Saal briefly trained Ben in combat techniques , but on that day Saal decided to join the Hidden Ones , a secret sect of the Baran Do tasked with preserving their knowledge . The next day , Saal held his dying ceremony , a rite for sages before joining the Hidden Ones , where they pretended to give themselves over to the Force and die . However , Luke was not fooled by Saal ' s " death , " and he and Ben searched the site of the ceremony . The Skywalkers discovered a secret underground chamber , where they found Saal alive and well , and accompanied him to the Hidden Ones ' secret headquarters , the Caverns of the Hidden One . Upon their arrival in the caverns , Saal took the name of " Chara " and gave the Skywalkers a tour of the caverns , revealing to them that in order to protect the secrecy of the Hidden Ones , they would never be allowed to leave . He later dueled with the skilled fighter Ithia and defeated her easily — something he had difficulty doing before Ithia had joined the Hidden Ones . Soon after , Luke , in order to prove his theory that the Hidden Ones were growing weaker in the Force , suggested that Ben duel Chara . Ben emerged the victor , despite Chara being his superior . Ziil , who had become the leader of the Hidden Ones , then confronted Luke in a battle of Force powers , in which Luke prevailed . The Hidden Ones then rebelled and returned to the Baran Do on the surface . Biography . Early life . Charsae Saal was a Force - sensitive Kel Dor from the planet Dorin who was born sometime prior to the Great Jedi Purge in 19 BBY and was very young when the Purge occurred . Saal was trained by Master of the Order Koro Ziil as a sage of the Baran Do , a Force organization based on his homeworld . Saal was one of the few sages to receive combat training , and was thus one of the best . Around 23 ABY , Ziil swore him to secrecy and told him about the Hidden Ones , a secret sect of the Baran Do dedicated to preserving their knowledge ; should the Baran Do ever be exterminated , the organization could someday be restored . Their leader was known as the Hidden One , who was , at that time , Tokra Hazz . Ziil decided to tell him , because he knew that one day Saal would want to join the Hidden Ones . Saal frequently dueled with fellow sage Ithia , who was one of the Baran Do ' s best combatants . At some point in time , Saal took the female Kel Dor Tistura Paan as his apprentice , although she would later become the apprentice of Mistress of the Order Tila Mong . He also composed his memoirs and some instructional manuals at some point . Joining the Hidden Ones . In 43 . 5 ABY , Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker was exiled from the galactic capital of Coruscant and the New Jedi Order for failing to prevent Jedi Knight Jacen Solo ' s turn to the dark side of the Force and transformation into the Sith Lord Darth Caedus . He and his son , Ben Skywalker , traveled to Dorin to search for Ziil in the hopes of finding out more about what might have caused Solo ' s fall to the dark side . Tistura Paan met with the Skywalkers at the Baran Do temple . As a tradition between rival martial schools , Paan , a student of the Baran Do Mistress of the Order , and Ben , a student of the Jedi Grand Master , were required to duel in order for the Skywalkers to be granted access to the temple . Ben dueled Paan and defeated her . Mong subsequently informed the Skywalkers that Zill had " accepted death , " and the Skywalkers decided to stay to learn what they could anyway . Saal , who by that time had become the senior combat instructor at the temple , trained Ben in combat the day after the Skywalkers arrived . It was on that day , however , that Saal decided that it was time for him to leave his current life behind and join the Hidden Ones . Before doing so , he gave Paan a datacard with his recently completed instruction manuals and memoirs . Luke , Ben , and many of the Baran Do Sages attended Saal ' s dying ceremony , in which Saal pretended to give himself over to the Force as a burst of flames enveloped him , set off by a small spark of lightning from Mong . Instead of dying , however , a trapdoor was triggered , and Saal hid his presence in the Force as he disappeared . However , Luke was not fooled by Saal ' s apparent death ; after the ceremony , the Skywalkers searched the area around Saal ' s pyre . They discovered a door that could easily be triggered by the Force , underneath which they found what seemed to be a storage chamber . Saal and Mong were there , along with two other sages , and all of them were alive and well . The Skywalkers inferred that Ziil had , in fact , not died either and expressed their desire to go with Saal to wherever it was that he would go next . The Baran Do agreed to allow the Skywalkers to accompany Saal to the home of the Hidden Ones . Once they arrived at the caverns , Saal took on the name of " Chara , " refusing to be addressed by his old name . He toured the caverns with the Skywalkers and told them that once they had come to the caverns , they could never leave , in order to protect the sect ' s secrecy . Chara also revealed to the Skywalkers that Ziil was now the Hidden Ones ' leader , known simply as " the Hidden One . " Return to the sages . A few days later , Chara faced fellow Hidden One Ithia — who was formerly considered the best combatant of the Baran Do Sages — in a friendly duel . Although she had always been superior to him in combat , he defeated her . That supported Luke ' s growing belief that , in accepting their deaths — turning their backs on the life , energy , and vitality that was the Force — the Hidden Ones had all but turned their backs on the Force , and were growing weaker every passing day , losing their will to fight and survive . Luke later called the Hidden Ones to Ziil ' s throne chamber for a naming ceremony , the rite in which new members of the Hidden Ones took on new names . To Ziil ' s great dismay , rather than choosing his own new name , Luke expressed his desire to rename many of them , beginning with Chara . Chara refused to go by his old name , and Luke eventually proposed a duel between Chara and Ben in order to prove his theory that , in accepting death , the Hidden Ones were losing their strength in the Force . He promised that if Ben lost , he would agree to drop the subject for the rest of his life in the caverns . As he hoped to ensure that the Skywalkers would never leave , Ziil saw that as too good an opportunity to pass up and allowed the duel to commence . Chara struck first , injuring Ben ' s ankle and pushing the advantage , but Ben kept the will to win and never gave up . He landed a couple of blows on Chara and at last finished the Kel Dor off with a blow to the chin from his palm . Though Chara was by far Ben ' s superior in skill , he lost to the young Jedi in the duel . Chara and the Hidden Ones at last began to believe Luke . Ziil , however , still would not listen and attacked the exiled Grand Master with white Force lightning . A duel of Force powers ensued , from which Luke emerged the victor , leaving Ziil collapsed on the ground . Chara was one of the first to check on Ziil ' s condition , and he assisted Ithia in rolling Ziil over so that he could try to sit up . Even in defeat , Ziil still attempted to control the sect , but many of the Hidden Ones turned against him ; even Chara began to realize Ziil was wrong . Ben used the Force to trigger a set of explosives and cut off the only known exit from the caverns , then proceeded to inform the Hidden Ones of the many lies which Ziil had told them . Eventually , another member of the Hidden Ones , Burra , revealed a secret turbolift chamber from the caverns back to the surface of Dorin , and they returned to the surface and life . Personality and traits . Charsae Saal was a good teacher who was well - liked by his students . Leading up to his dying ceremony , many of his Baran Do students and fellow Masters were deeply upset that he was leaving . Saal was loyal to his mentor , Koro Ziil , and stood up for what he believed to be right . When the Skywalkers began questioning the wisdom of the Hidden Ones ' purpose the moment that they arrived in the caverns , Saal defended the Hidden Ones and Ziil without question . Still , he was able to see the truth , and , after his defeat at the hands of Ben , Saal realized that he and Ziil had been wrong . Even so , Saal showed concern for the leader of the Hidden Ones , helping tend to him as he lay collapsed on the ground following his fight with Luke . Powers and abilities . Saal was known to be strong in the Force and was one of the leading Masters of the Baran Do Sages . However , he was most revered for his skills in combat . Fighting skills were somewhat of a rarity for the Baran Do , as the Order did not require every sage to train in combat techniques . Saal was considered second in combat only to Ithia , and he became the senior combat instructor of the Baran Do temple in Dor ' shan . In the few days he spent with the Hidden Ones , he became resigned to the fact that he was dead to the outside world , and that weakened his powers greatly . Though Saal was able to defeat Ithia , who had always been the superior fighter before she joined the Hidden Ones , he lost in a duel to Ben Skywalker , whom he had taught at the temple mere days prior . Behind the scenes . Charsae Saal was created by established " Star Wars " author Aaron Allston for his first novel in the " " series , " " , released on March 24 , 2009 .