Hidden Ones 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 " " — or simply the Hidden One — 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 that 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 — who were forced to accept death and thus lost their will to live — essentially turned their backs on the Force , causing their powers to wane . The 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 — 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 . An enraged Ziil confronted the elder Skywalker , but he was defeated , 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 . History . Founding . In 19 BBY , the Clone Wars came to an abrupt end with the execution of Order 66 and the transition of the Galactic Republic into the first Galactic Empire . Emperor Palpatine ' s sudden genocide of the Jedi Order caused several leaders of the Baran Do Sages — a Force - based organization located on the planet Dorin — to become concerned that their Order may suffer the same fate . In order to prevent that , one of the Baran Do Masters , Tokra Hazz , decided to create a secret sect of the Baran Do dedicated to preserving the Order ' s knowledge so that , should the Baran Do ever be destroyed , the Order could be restored . Hazz traveled deep beneath the surface of Dorin , where he found and expanded a series of caverns , naming them the Caverns of the Hidden One . He established these caverns as the headquarters of the sect , which he named the Hidden Ones , and became their first leader , taking on the title of the Hidden One . Hazz came to the conclusion that if the sect was to remain secret , the Sages who joined could never be allowed to leave the caverns . Therefore , Hazz decided that the sect ' s members would have to consider themselves dead to the outside galaxy , so that they had no desire to leave the sect . As such , a dying ceremony was established , in which a Sage pretended to die before secretly traveling to the caverns , where they then changed their name and joined the Hidden Ones . Hazz also decided to establish a telepathic technique for communication with the Baran Do on the surface , as a way for reinstating the Baran Do Order if it was ever destroyed . Discovery and unrest . The Hidden Ones grew to include approximately fifty members over the next several decades , with several prominent Baran Do Masters joining their ranks , among them the former Master of the Baran Do Order Koro Ziil , who became the Hidden Ones ' leader by 43 . 5 ABY . Other respected Baran Do who had joined the Hidden Ones by that time included the proficient combatant Ithia and an elderly Baran Do named Burra . In 43 . 5 ABY , Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker was exiled from Coruscant and the Jedi Order for dereliction of duty . He and his son , Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker , embarked on a quest to retrace the steps that Jedi Knight – turned – Sith Lord Jacen Solo took during his five - year sojourn after the Yuuzhan Vong War , in hopes of discovering more about Solo ' s fall to the dark side of the Force and transformation into Darth Caedus . Their travels took them to the Baran Do Order on Dorin , where they hoped to find Koro Ziil , who had taught Solo during his travels . The Skywalkers were informed that Ziil had died , but they remained on Dorin anyway and trained with the Baran Do for several days . During their stay , senior combat instructor Charsae Saal announced that he would be holding his dying ceremony . The Skywalkers attended his ceremony , but Luke wasn ' t fooled by Saal ' s apparent death . After searching the area behind the Baran Do temple , the Jedi discovered a secret underground chamber , in which they found Saal alive and well and were allowed to follow him down to the Caverns of the Hidden One . Upon their arrival , the Skywalkers discovered that Ziil had also joined the Hidden Ones and had become the sect ' s leader . The Skywalkers met with Ziil , who revealed to the Jedi that they would never be allowed to leave the caverns . Saal , meanwhile , took on the name Chara and refused to be addressed by his old name , claiming that just like the Skywalkers , Charsae Saal was dead . Saal gave the Jedi a tour of the Caverns , teaching them the sect ' s history and confirming that the Caverns had been created so that there was no way for its inhabitants to leave ; the only entrance to the Caverns was the 200 - kilometer tunnel through which they had come . As one would have to crawl the entire way , it would be impossible for any Kel Dor or Human to carry enough provisions to survive the journey back to the surface . The Skywalkers began digging out their own chamber that would serve as their private quarters in the Caverns . They spoke again with Ziil , who told the newcomers of his time with Jacen Solo . However , when Ben inquired as to whether or not Ziil would kill the Jedi that would inevitably come searching for the Skywalkers , the discussion turned into a heated argument that ended only when the Hidden One walked away . From the meeting , the Skywalkers deduced that Ziil was paranoid . Still , they lived among the Hidden Ones for several more days , continuing to dig out their chamber and exploring the Caverns . While living among the sect , the Skywalkers found the Hidden Ones to have no sense of purpose ; rather , the sect ' s members were rather bored and lacking in the energy and liveliness that befitted living beings . During that time , Ben discovered that there was a secret trigger in each major chamber of the Caverns that — if driven upward — would activate a signal to detonate the explosive that would collapse the tunnel that led to the Caverns . During their stay , the Skywalkers attended one of the Hidden Ones ' combat training sessions . There , they met a servant named Wyss , who told them of the Hidden Ones ' philosophy of only preserving one ' s old skills , as opposed to acquiring any new ones . During the session , Ben fought with Chara , lasting considerably longer against the Kel Dor than he had when he had taken lessons from him with the Baran Do on the surface . In a series of three matches , Chara also defeated Ithia , a Hidden One who had previously been more talented than Chara in combat before she had joined the sect . The Skywalkers then announced that they would be holding their naming ceremonies . However , once the Hidden Ones had gathered in the Caverns ' throne chamber , the Jedi revealed that they had no intention of changing their names ; rather , they hoped to rename the Hidden Ones . To Ziil ' s great displeasure , Luke attempted to show the Hidden Ones that they were wasting away their lives in the caverns by telling them that since the Force thrived on life , energy , and vitality , and the sect ' s members had turned their back on these things , they had effectively rejected the Force itself . As evidence that the Hidden Ones were weakening , Luke pointed out that Ithia , who had consistently beaten Chara during their time in the Baran Do Order , had just lost three straight matches to him . The elderly Hidden One Burra replied that they had debated the philosophy that Skywalker proposed , but that the Hidden One had decided not to accept it . Ziil attempted to terminate the meeting , but Skywalker continued to say that the Jedi had only survived the Purge because their members and their knowledge were dispersed throughout the galaxy ; by concentrating all of their members in one place , the Hidden Ones would be far easier to destroy . Dissolution . To further prove his point that the sect ' s members were weakening , Luke Skywalker proposed a duel between his son and Chara , who was far more experienced and talented than the younger Skywalker . Luke promised that if his son lost , he would abandon his debate . Ziil reluctantly accepted the proposal , and the two combatants were armed with hardwood staffs . Chara quickly gained the upper hand ; however , as the duel progressed , the former combat instructor began to lose the will to fight , and Ben eventually defeated him . The Hidden Ones began to feel dissent , although Ziil still refused to accept the Skywalkers ' philosophy . Chara admitted that he believed the Skywalkers were right , but Ziil announced that he had commed the Baran Do on the surface , telling them that the Skywalkers had died in an accidental cave - in . As such , he revealed he had discontinued the order of oxygen - nitrogen canisters that were sent down so that the Humans could breathe in the planet ' s helium - rich atmosphere . Without those canisters , the Jedi would run out of air and die within a few days . Ithia , Burra , and many other Hidden Ones began to protest against their leader ' s decision , and Ziil , deeply angered by the unrest , attacked the elder Skywalker . The two dueled in a battle of Force powers , with Skywalker emerging the victor . Ziil , however , still attempted to control the situation , stating that he would appoint a board of advisers , allow the servants to be taught the ways of the Force , send for more oxygen - nitrogen canisters for the Skywalkers — although he refused to let the Jedi or any of the rest of the sect leave — and concluded that in a year or two , they could review the situation . Frustrated with Ziil ' s denial , Ben then activated the explosives that collapsed the tunnel that Ziil claimed was the only entrance to the Caverns . Surprised by Ben ' s action , Ziil said that the Jedi had only doomed themselves , but the young Skywalker then began to expose all of the lies that Ziil had told the members of the sect . The first was that they were self - sufficient for food ; in reality , they had storerooms full of food shipped to them from the surface . The second was that the blast doors that led to the chamber itself had been made on Dorin ; in actuality , the metal pieces would have had to have come from another planet , and they would not have been able to fit down the entrance tunnel . Ben then added that the tunnel that he had just collapsed wasn ' t the only entrance and that the telepathic technique for communicating with the Baran Do on the surface didn ' t exist — if it did , Ziil wouldn ' t have needed a comlink to communicate with the Sages . Ziil still refused to expose the Caverns ' secrets , but Burra , to Ziil ' s great dismay , finally revealed his knowledge of the location of the secret exit : a turbolift chamber above the garment storeroom . The Skywalkers and the Hidden Ones found the exit , and the sect ' s members performed some maintenance on the turbolift generator to make it operational again . The Jedi and Kel Dors then returned to the surface , with the Hidden Ones rejoining the Baran Do Order . Organization . The Hidden Ones were led by the Kel Dor known as " " hu ' aac - du ' ul - staranjan " " — which , translated from the Kel Dor into Basic , meant " " the one who dwells in darkness " " — also simply known as the Hidden One . The Hidden One was essentially an autocrat , as the being was given absolute rule over the Hidden Ones . The sect ' s members were allowed to debate and confer with their leader , but ultimately , the Hidden One made every decision for the sect . Still , some of the elder members of the sect and beings who were particularly close to their leader were given access to more knowledge than other members of the Hidden Ones — such as the existence of the secret turbolift exit . The Hidden Ones also made use of servants , such as the Force - sensitive Wyss , although they refused to teach their servants any Force techniques . Philosophy . The Hidden Ones were created with the sole purpose of preserving the knowledge of the Baran Do Order . As such , the sect ' s members were forced to resign themselves to the fact that they would never again be allowed to leave the caverns , because , if they did , the sect would risk being discovered by the outside galaxy . That induced the creation of the dying ceremony , which allowed sect members to resign themselves to their deaths by making the outside galaxy believe they were actually dead . These traditions permitted the Hidden Ones to think of themselves as having already died , and upon their arrival in the Caverns of the Hidden One , they took on a new name , refusing to go by their original name — the name of a dead being . The Hidden Ones ' outlook on preserving knowledge was strictly traditional — they did not believe in frequently practicing their Force techniques or acquiring new powers ; rather , they simply existed to remember the skills that they already knew . The Hidden Ones believed that goal to be just and noble and they took pride in the task , but — due to their acceptance of death and consequential lack of liveliness — they went about their duties with great gravity . The Skywalkers found the sect ' s members to be exceptionally somber . The lack of energy and audacity had a profoundly adverse effect on the Hidden Ones ' skills in their ability to utilize the Force . By accepting death , the Hidden Ones lost their will to live and to keep fighting , essentially turning their backs on the vitality and life that was the Force itself . Therefore , their ability to control the Force weakened , and their powers and skills deteriorated over time as a result . Some of the sect ' s members realized these shortcomings , and at some point , the Hidden Ones debated on their philosophy . However , no vote ever took place , because the Hidden One , who made all of the sect ' s decisions , chose not to change their outlook . The autocracy was widely accepted , however ; the sect ' s members tended to be heavily traditionalist and rarely questioned their leader ' s decisions . Even when the Skywalkers began showing evidence that the Hidden Ones were corrupt , many members of the sect steadfastly disagreed with the Jedi or simply decided to ignore their evidence entirely . Common abilities . As former Baran Do , the Hidden Ones were prominent in various Force techniques . At least some of the Hidden Ones had also undergone combat training with the Baran Do and were adept at dueling with staffs . However , as their only purpose was to preserve knowledge , they rarely utilized their combat skills . Because they considered themselves dead to the outside galaxy , members of the sect lost their conviction and their will to win , causing their Force powers and fighting skills to deteriorate . Chara , who was formerly the Baran Do senior combat instructor , lost in a duel to Ben Skywalker despite being superior to the Jedi in fighting prowess , having served as Skywalker ' s instructor at the Baran Do temple just days earlier . However , the Hidden One formerly known as Koro Ziil was able to utilize an exceptionally powerful form of white Force lightning and was also proficient in telekinesis techniques . He had the ability to conjure a vigorous Force Whirlwind , even while applying his Force lightning . However , despite these powers , Ziil proved to be no match in combat for the Jedi Grand Master , Luke Skywalker . Locations . The Hidden Ones , being a secret sect of the Baran Do , existed solely on the planet Dorin . They were headquartered in a series of caverns known as the Caverns of the Hidden One , deep underground beneath the Baran Do temple . The caverns were discovered by Tokra Hazz shortly after the formation of the Galactic Empire , and over the course of several years , he expanded them to include many chambers ; among them , private quarters for the caverns ' residents and a large throne chamber which contained several pillars and a blast door entrance . There were two entrances to the caverns — the only commonly known one was a small tunnel that ran for 200 kilometers . The tunnel was created so that any escaping being would have to crawl the entire journey back to the surface , thus no Kel Dor or Human would be able to carry enough provisions to survive the journey . The other entrance , the existence of which was known only by the Hidden One and at least one of the senior members of the sect , was a hidden turbolift chamber above the garment storeroom . Members . Tokra Hazz . Tokra Hazz was a prominent and respected member of the Baran Do Order . He was very concerned with the safety and continued existence of the knowledge and philosophies of the Baran Do , causing him to be more interested in safe - keeping the Order ' s knowledge than in individuals ' well - being . After the rise of the Empire , he feared that the Baran Do would suffer the same fate as the Jedi and thus formed the Hidden Ones , so the wisdom and knowledge of his Order could be preserved . He discovered and expanded the caverns that became the sect ' s headquarters and took on the title " " hu ' aac - du ' ul - staranjan " , " meaning " " the one who dwells in darkness " " — also known as the Hidden One — becoming the first leader of the Hidden Ones . Koro Ziil . Koro Ziil was the Master of the Baran Do Order around the time of the Second Galactic Civil War . As a member of the Baran Do , he served as Charsae Saal ' s Master and also taught Jacen Solo several Force techniques during the Jedi ' s five - year sojourn after the Yuuzhan Vong War . Eventually , Ziil joined and became the leader of the Hidden Ones , taking on the title of the Hidden One by the time of the Skywalkers ' arrival in 43 . 5 ABY . Ziil proved to be a tentative and rather conservative leader , fearing for the sect just as Tokra Hazz once had . Believing that if he let the Skywalkers leave , the sect would be discovered and their goal would be lost , Ziil attempted to force the Jedi to join the Hidden Ones , lying to them that there was no exit from the Caverns . Ziil believed the Hidden Ones ' goal to be quite virtuous , and when the Jedi resisted his rule and sowed unrest amongst the ranks of the sect , Ziil was prepared to allow the Skywalkers to die rather than admit to his lie and permit the Jedi to leave . As the Skywalkers continued to cause the Hidden Ones to question Ziil ' s rule , he became increasingly angry and finally confronted Luke Skywalker in a duel of Force powers , which the Hidden One lost . The secret exit from the caverns was then revealed by another of the sect ' s elder members , Burra , and the Hidden Ones were dissolved . Charsae Saal . Charsae Saal was a well - liked and respected member of the Baran Do Order . Apprenticed to Koro Ziil , Saal was introduced to the Hidden Ones early on in his training . He became the senior combat instructor at the Baran Do temple on Dorin , eventually holding his dying ceremony in 43 . 5 ABY . The Skywalkers were present during his ceremony , however , and were not fooled by his apparent death . They found Saal in an underground chamber soon after and , upon request , were allowed to travel with him to the Caverns of the Hidden One . Among the Hidden Ones , Saal took on the name Chara and served as the Skywalkers ' guide , explaining to them the core beliefs , functions , and history of the sect . Chara proved to be loyal to Ziil , and stood behind his former Master even when the Jedi began to question the wisdom of the sect ' s purpose . However , after his defeat at the hands of Ben Skywalker — whom he had trained in the Baran Do temple just days previously — Saal came to realize that the Jedi were telling the truth . Ithia . Ithia was well - known as one of the most skilled combatants of the Baran Do Order . However , during her time with the Hidden Ones , her powers deteriorated . Shortly after Saal joined the sect , she dueled with him , and although she had been able to defeat him in the majority of the matches they had fought during their time with the Baran Do , he managed to beat her in three matches straight . That caused Ithia to realize that the Skywalkers ' theory that the Hidden Ones ' powers were fading because of their loss of a will to live was correct . When few other Hidden Ones stood up to Ziil , Ithia was one of the first to confront him about these issues , and she debated in open support of the Jedi . Burra . Burra was one of the eldest members of the sect . He was deeply trusted by Ziil and was one of the few Hidden Ones — perhaps the only member of the sect besides Ziil himself — to know the location of the secret turbolift entrance . Burra was rather set in tradition , and although he had at one point questioned the Hidden Ones ' wisdom , by the time of the Skywalkers visit he had accepted Ziil ' s answers and turned a blind eye to the problems with the sect ' s philosophy . Still , Burra protested when Ziil was prepared to kill the Skywalkers in order to preserve the sect ' s secrecy , and eventually came to see that the Skywalkers were right about the sect ' s mistakes . Nevertheless , the elderly Kel Dor was very loyal to Ziil and remained hesitant to betray him , even after the Skywalkers revealed the many lies he had concealed . Eventually , however , Burra gave in and revealed the existence and location of the secret entrance to the caverns , allowing the Jedi and Hidden Ones to return to the surface once more . Behind the scenes . The Hidden Ones received their first and only appearance to date in Aaron Allston ' s " " , the first novel in the 9 - part " " series , released March 24 , 2009 . In April of 2009 , the sect received mention in the " " Blaster " " department of " Star Wars Insider 109 " . When creating the Hidden Ones , Allston made them analogous to the ghosts of the underworld in ; he wanted Luke to have an experience akin to the visits to the underworld undertaken by peoples in Greek myths such as , , and .