The Hidden One / Koro Ziil Respect Thread (2020)

[EmperorCaedusLevel Three]

"I will show you life. I will show you the Force."

1. INTRODUCTION

The Baran Do Sages, and by extension The Hidden One, have been a largely unexplored area for Star Wars debating. This respect thread is an updated and expanded upon version of Aurbere's respect thread on Comic Vine, so thank you to him. This will be split into five sections:

1. The Baran Do Sages 
2. Other Baran Do / Hidden Ones
3. The Hidden One / Koro Ziil
4. The Hidden One vs Luke
5. Conclusion

With that out of the way, let's move onward, and start respecting Koro Ziil.

1. THE BARAN DO SAGES

All of these abilities are able to be used by trained Sages. As the master of the Sages, Ziil has likely mastered these abilities, and has taken them to it's highest degree. 

The Baran Do's primary goal is to achieve inner peace.

Novices are those who have begun their training in the Baran Do philosophy, learning how to empty their minds and find tranquility in any situation.

The Baran Do are force sensitive members of the Kel Dor race. They seek inner peace and are very patient, consulting the Force before making decisions.

FARSIGHT

The Baran Do Sages were highly notable for their abilities in Farsight, the ability to receive visions from the Force, both past and present. 

The Baran Do are also often seen as prophets, and rightly so, thanks to their ability to accept visions from the Force and translate them into premonitions of future events. The Baran Do have perfected the arts of the mystics and seers and adapted them for life on the world of Dorin, and are still some of the most reliable foretellers in the known galaxy.

The Baran Do began their ascendance when adepts began exploring the Force in an attempt to expand their already powerful sensory perceptions—particularly with regard to predicting future events. 

The Baran Do Sages specialized in predicting danger by controlling visions that allowed them to see distant locations in the future and past. Their control over and the accuracy of their visions were exceptional, allowing them to investigate criminal activities and foresee future events.

PRECOG

Most importantly, sages are able to predict "immediate or even distant future events" with "incredible accuracy," and are "almost never caught unaware," meaning a highly trained sage has nigh unprecedented precog.

They are rarely caught off guard, and unlike Jedi who view the future as always in motion, they can frequently pinpoint and predict immediate or even distant future events with incredible accuracy.

You [Baran Do] not only gain premonitions from the Force that allow you [Baran Do] to avoid danger but also can react more quickly than normal in such a situation

Some Baran Do sages are capable of using their powers of observation and the feelings they gain through the Force to react to danger even when surprised.

The greatest members of the Baran Do can see across the entire galaxy, far into the past and through multiple futures. They are almost never caught unaware, and they provide an excellent warning system when disaster approaches.

ALTER ENVIRONMENT

Many Sages are able to predict and alter weather patters. 

The Baran Do sages possess some rather useful powers as a result of their years as servants to the people. Many of them are able to predict weather patters and even alter them given enough time and effort. 

The first Baran Do were village seers who had a heightened weather sense and could warn their fellows of impending storms.

Tistura Paan shook her head. "In the old days, the people only had the sages to warn them of storms. Today there are weather stations and satellites, but a storm can still coalesce in moments. Sometimes a sage will know in advance of the most modern instruments."

HASSAT-DURR TECHNIQUES

Many Sages also know the hassat-durr techniques. The hassat-durr techniques have many notable uses. It can disrupt prosthetics and shock shackles, allowing the user to act as a range boosting antenna. If you are not "absolutely perfect" in your mastery of these techniques, you will be killed.

"Well, then. The technique you asked to learn is the ayna-seff technique of the hassat-durr family. In our language, the term hassat-durr means 'lightning rod.' "

"Why do you call it that?"

"Because if you are not absolutely perfect in your mastery of the technique and perform hassat-durr during a storm, you will be repeatedly struck by lightning and killed."

Despite himself, Luke laughed. "You're kidding. Right?"


She shook her head. "The hassat-durr techniques suffuse your body with a very low level of electromagnetic radiation. You produce the radiation as an interaction between the Force and your own mental influence over your central nervous system. The energies a student produces early in his study of the technique attract lightning much like a lightning rod. It is for this reason that this skill, like that of dismantling high explosives, is best perfected before it is ever attempted in the field."


"Other than scrambling brain scans and permitting a rather difficult-to-solve form of suicide by lightning, what do the other hassat-durr techniques do?"

"They can disable one's own prosthetics and electronic implants, can interfere with shock shackles, can cause one to be perceived by animal senses as something terrible or something inoffensive, and can allow one to act as a very effective range-boosting antenna for comlinks. And there are other uses."

After mastering these techniques, Luke uses them to channel the nightsister's own lightning. 

He rolled rightward, carrying the lightning assault with him but deflecting more of it's energy, and came to his feet -- and more, leaping up and toward the nearest Witch to his right. His kick caught her in the chin. He felt bone break under his attack. The witch fell back, her spell-weaving immediately at the end. She collapsed gracelessly and lay unmoving.

Luke traversed toward the right. The Witches' lightning stayed with him. Too late, the Witches recognized his tactic. The crackling streams of lightning crossed over Luke's rancor.

The lightning jittered over the beast's body, illuminating it. The beast stumbled in its run, falling forward. Its inadvertent dive brought it below the lightning bolts, which returned to harry Luke.

2. OTHER BARAN DO / HIDDEN ONES

All of these Baran Do / Hidden Ones contribute to Koro Ziil's scaling in the Force as well as in martial arts disciplines. Special thanks to @MasterCilghal on help with this section, by providing quotes.

TISTURA PAAN

Tistura Paan gives a good fight to Ben Skywalker, who only won by cheating.

Tistura Paan lashed out at Ben, a left-handed, flat-fisted blow straight toward his face. She did not look at him beforehand, gave him no visual warning of her intent. But feeling her channeling her power through the Force, he swayed out of the way, the blow snapping into place just to the side of his nose. He trapped her wrist with his left hand and struck at her elbow with his right—a hard blow but not a savage one, it hyperextended her joint but did not break it. She gave a sudden yank and was instantly meters away, shaking her arm as if to cast the pain free.

Ben sidestepped to take the center of the platform and dropped into a defensive posture. He wouldn’t make the same mistake Tistura Paan had. If her role here was to challenge every visitor, or just every visitor claiming to be a famous Jedi, she’d probably be good at her job.”

[…]

“Precisely past her now vanished guard, and hitting her in the center of her chest.
Tistura Paan sailed off the platform and hit the floor beyond, only a few steps from Luke. She did a backward somersault and came up on her feet, eyes flashing. “You failed. You brought outside objects into play.”

TILA MONG

Luke notes Mong's consciousness to be something most Jedi Masters wouldn't have detected.

Immediately, something shut down in Tila Mong’s mind.

Luke wasn’t sure whether someone who was not a Jedi Master would have noticed it. He wasn’t even sure most Masters would have detected it. But something, the equivalent of a durasteel vault door, slid shut within Tila Mong’s consciousness.

Mong uses Force lightning to strike the base of a pyre.

Mistress Tila Mong approached the pyre. From the distance of a meter, she extended her hand. A crackle of lightning leapt from the end of her fingers to strike the base of the pyre.

CHARSAE SAAL / CHARA

Chara was the senior combat instructor of the Hidden Ones / Baran Do.

One of the Baran Do Masters has decided to do that. Charsae Saal, the senior combat instructor. He worked with Tistura Paan and me today.

Despite his age, Chara still could move "energetically and easily," and has shown "considerable combat skill" to both Luke and Ben. 

He might have been old by Kel Dor standards, but he moved energetically and easily; he had certainly shown considerable combat skill when working with Ben the previous day.

Ben senses Chara as a "strong, vital presence" in the Force.

As the others watched in silence, his breathing slowed. Ben could feel him in the Force, a strong, vital presence.

Ben praises Chara's combative prowess, then notes he primarily uses a staff instead of traditional weapons.

Kind of sad,” Ben said. “He was pretty nice. A good fighter, though he didn’t have a lot of weapons experience. Staff, mostly.

Chara beats another Hidden One names Ithia, who is also notable in combat.

Next, Ithia took the combat ring against Chara. They were obviously opponents of many years’ acquaintance, for Ithia immediately matched her combat style to Chara’s. Ithia was more fluid and evasive, Chara more aggressive and direct; the contrast was a pretty one, and Ben enjoyed watching the proceedings.”

[…]

“Chara won each of his three matches against Ithia. When they were done, Ithia laughed. “I am out of practice, Charsae—Chara.”

Chara goes on to fight Ben Skywalker and right off the bat is clearly dominating, but Ben gets the upper hand towards the end.

Ben faced his opponent, features set in the neutral expression he always assumed when he didn’t want anyone to know what he was thinking or feeling. Chara’s eyes were on the Hidden One.

The Hidden One looked at the two opponents, made a little expression of displeasure, and said, “Go.”

Ben and Chara moved toward each other. When about a meter and a half separated them, they began circling.

Chara lashed out, the lower end of his staff flashing up toward Ben’s groin. Ben reacted almost too late, parrying awkwardly. Chara responded with reflexive speed, striking down at Ben’s collarbone with the other end of his weapon. Ben caught that blow, too, interposing his own staff mere centimeters from his skin; the blow hammered Ben’s weapon down into his flesh. It staggered him, and as he stumbled backward, Chara swept with his staff, catching Ben’s ankle and hurling him to the stone.”

[…]

“Now the fight was on in earnest. The two combatants moved their staves at such speed that onlookers unused to combat could not possibly follow their movements”

[…]

“They came together again. Ben let Chara get inside his guard and lock up his staff. It was not, as it first looked, a mistake of inexperience. Chara yanked, an attempt to disarm Ben, but Ben offered no resistance. Ben’s staff went flying, but Chara stumbled backward, off balance. Ben followed, hammering Chara in the chest and stomach with a boxer’s barrage of blows. As Chara tried to rally, bringing his staff up, Ben struck at the weapon itself, breaking it in two. The open-palm blow continued onward to crack against Chara’s chin.

Chara went down. This time he did not immediately struggle to rise.
The crowd went mostly quiet. A few Kel Dors offered little groans of disappointment.”

Chara specifically notes that he is superior to Ben in fighting skill, but states he won through "conviction," and "strength of purpose," things that have nothing to do with fighting skill.

Chara struggled to rise. Abandoning her futile attempt to keep him still, Ithia helped him to his feet. "Master," he said, "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.

3. THE HIDDEN ONE / KORO ZIIL

This section is rather short, but to reiterate, everything shown above in the Baran Do section applies to Koro Ziil, as he is the master of the Sages. 

Koro Ziil taught Jacen Solo the hassat-durr techniques, as well as the ability to predict weather patters, demonstrating an understanding of these techniques as hyped.

Luke continued. “And you taught him the lightning-rod techniques.”

“First, I taught him techniques of weather anticipation and the ability to sense energy piling up in the natural world. You can feel heat in the water in the seas, heat that will become cyclonic storms, for instance. But he heard rumor of the lightning rod techniques and asked about them.

Koro Ziil trained against Jacen Solo in single combat (a pre-DN Jacen Solo near the end of his 5 year long journey studying the arcane aspects of the Force). Ziil and Solo likely sparred using both hand-to-hand and staff disciplines.

Tila Mong nodded. "He was here. Some nine years ago. He came seeking knowledge of our ways with the Force."

Ben did a quick mental calculation. That would have put Jacen's visit close to the end of his wanderings, just prior to the Dark Nest crisis.

Did he teach you anything?”

“I trained against him in combat.”

Luke’s eyebrows rose. “You’re one of the Baran Do with combat training?”

“I am. In life, I was the teacher of Charsae Saal, who is now Chara. The Baran Do who study combat train mostly in unarmed and staff combat, and I was interested in learning to defend against a lightsaber.”

“What was your conclusion there?”

“The lightsaber is a weapon of the Force and, if you are not similarly armed, must be countered with the Force.”

4. THE HIDDEN ONE VS LUKE

CONTEXT

Unlike some instances, Luke was clearly not jobbing in this confrontation. Quite the contrary actually, as Luke was determined to end the Hidden One's reign. As proven by Ben, the Hidden One lied to the Sages for many decades, and Luke agreed with Ben's sentiment that he is unfit to rule. What Luke finds most egregious of all is the Hidden One's philosophy, specifically noting it's rejection of life that he finds hypocritical.

"The same thing you did to us." Ben's tone and expression held contempt. He limped forward until he was only a couple of meters from the Hidden One. "I've taken your choice away. I've activated your bombs and collapsed the entry tunnel. It's gone. You want it open again, prepare to spend a few hundred years with your pickaxes and shovels."


"You have only doomed yourself." The Hidden One looked more stricken than angry. "Now your air cannot come, while we can survive."


"Stop lying. I'm sick of your lying. Your whole petty kingdom down here is based on lies, and that's part of the wrong you're doing to all of the people who serve you. It's pathetic."


The Hidden One's jaw moved, but he said nothing.

[...]


"Dad, you had added it all up, too, hadn't you? The tunnel size, the blast doors, the telepathy ..."


"Yes."


"So what I did really didn't shock you. You knew I wasn't sealing us in forever."


"Yes. And even if it was the wrong thing, it clearly wasn't very wrong. Add it to everything you did right while we were here, and you're still very much ahead of the game." Luke reached over and affectionately mussed Ben's hair.

Ben lifted his breath mask for a moment, wiped his sweating face with the sleeve of his overlong Kel Dor robe, and lowered the mask into place again. He exhaled, forcing the helium-rich Dorin atmosphere out of the mask, then took a new breath before answering. "I guess not. These Baran Do are wronging themselves, too. Following a paranoid down into this hole, pretending to be dead..."


"There you go. The Force is an energy of life. These Kel Dors, in pretending to be dead, are rejecting life. They're unwittingly becoming dead. How much happiness have you seen down here? How much enthusiasm?"


"I'd say it reaches pretty far into the negative numbers. They're all about duty, but not about happiness."


Luke shoveled the last of the larger rocks into his cart. "So if we escape now, what happens to them?"


Ben slumped, defeated. "They continue to live their nasty little lives and nothing gets better."


"Correct."


"They brought it on themselves."


"Spoken with all the sympathy and altruism of a teenager who'd rather be doing something else."


Ben grinned, unabashed. "You've got that right."

THE FIGHT

The Hidden One goes on to fight Luke. Open the spoiler tag to read their full fight: 

Spoiler:

(A): At a moment's notice, the Hidden One dishes out a variant of Force lightning that is notably white, and this attack is potent enough to throw "Luke off his feet" and "throw him backward" and "slam him into a pillar," and attributes this specifically to "the strength behind the attack." Some might argue that Luke was ill prepared for this attack, but Luke is likely aware about the conflict that is about to ensue when he tells Ben to stand back right beforehand.

(B): The Hidden One generates a whirlwind so strong that Luke has to "root himself" in order to withstand it, in combination with his lightning. Luke also describes the whirlwind as a "physical blow" when he attempts to repel it, and is powerful enough to crack the permacrete of a pillar. 

(C): Luke notes that the Hidden One's power was "great" but he feels sure in his own strength. 

After the fight Luke is clearly exhausted, leaving him "breathing hard as he recovered from his exertions" against Koro. 

Luke, breathing hard as he recovered from his exertions, distinctly heard a metallic clunk as something in the ceiling was driven home.

5. CONCLUSION

Again, special thanks to Aurbere from Comic Vine for providing a lot of the quotes used here. Although he is disproportionately more powerful compared to his martial arts skills, I still truly believe the Hidden One / Koro Ziil is one of the unsung heavyweights of the post-ROTJ era.

Bibliography:

• Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Outcast
  
• Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Backlash
  
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
  
• Star Wars: Hero's Guide
  
• The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
  
• Star Wars: Force and Destiny Core Rulebook
  

RESPECT THE HIDDEN ONE. RESPECT THE HIDDEN ONE. RESPECT THE HIDDEN ONE. 
[hideedit]

[MasterCilghalLevel Three]

Good work, but I think you should add the other Kel Dors presented in the novel to make for a more complete RT. Here are a few feats and accolades if you are interested (I saved most of them in a single document). All the quotes are from Outcast of course. 

Tistura Paan

An excerpt of her fight with Ben: 

Tistura Paan lashed out at Ben, a left-handed, flat-fisted blow straight toward his face. She did not look at him beforehand, gave him no visual warning of her intent. But feeling her channeling her power through the Force, he swayed out of the way, the blow snapping into place just to the side of his nose. He trapped her wrist with his left hand and struck at her elbow with his right—a hard blow but not a savage one, it hyperextended her joint but did not break it. She gave a sudden yank and was instantly meters away, shaking her arm as if to cast the pain free.
Ben sidestepped to take the center of the platform and dropped into a defensive posture. He wouldn’t make the same mistake Tistura Paan had. If her role here was to challenge every visitor, or just every visitor claiming to be a famous Jedi, she’d probably be good at her job.”
[…]
“precisely past her now vanished guard, and hitting her in the center of her chest.
Tistura Paan sailed off the platform and hit the floor beyond, only a few steps from Luke. She did a backward somersault and came up on her feet, eyes flashing. “You failed. You brought outside objects into play.”

Tila Mong 

Immediately, something shut down in Tila Mong’s mind.
Luke wasn’t sure whether someone who was not a Jedi Master would have noticed it. He wasn’t even sure most Masters would have detected it. But something, the equivalent of a durasteel vault door, slid shut within Tila Mong’s consciousness.

Mistress Tila Mong approached the pyre. From the distance of a meter, she extended her hand. A crackle of lightning leapt from the end of her fingers to strike the base of the pyre.

Charsae Saal/Chara 

One of the Baran Do Masters has decided to do that. Charsae Saal, the senior combat instructor. He worked with Tistura Paan and me today.

He might have been old by Kel Dor standards, but he moved energetically and easily; he had certainly shown considerable combat skill when working with Ben the previous day.

As the others watched in silence, his breathing slowed. Ben could feel him in the Force, a strong, vital presence.

Kind of sad,” Ben said. “He was pretty nice. A good fighter, though he didn’t have a lot of weapons experience. Staff, mostly.

Later that day, Luke joined the audience for combat training. Not many Kel Dors were in attendance. Chara was on hand; Ithia, the female who had been beside Ben’s canister upon his arrival in the caverns, led the proceedings. A Kel Dor male, younger than the others, merely sat and watched.
Ben went a few minutes against Chara, staff against staff. Chara was still far more experienced with the weapon, but Ben was able to defend himself longer and get in more good blows than when he’d first faced Charsae Saal.
Next, Ithia took the combat ring against Chara. They were obviously opponents of many years’ acquaintance, for Ithia immediately matched her combat style to Chara’s. Ithia was more fluid and evasive, Chara more aggressive and direct; the contrast was a pretty one, and Ben enjoyed watching the proceedings.”
[…]
“Chara won each of his three matches against Ithia. When they were done, Ithia laughed. “I am out of practice, Charsae—Chara.”

Luke nodded. “Charsae Saal, because he has decades of experience. And because, having only recently come here, he is not a listless, lifeless reflection of his former self. But he has still been fading for years. He’s been preparing himself for death all that time. My bet is that he’s a shadow of his former self. And that my son, his junior in experience by many, many years, can take him.

Ben faced his opponent, features set in the neutral expression he always assumed when he didn’t want anyone to know what he was thinking or feeling. Chara’s eyes were on the Hidden One.
The Hidden One looked at the two opponents, made a little expression of displeasure, and said, “Go.”
Ben and Chara moved toward each other. When about a meter and a half separated them, they began circling.
Chara lashed out, the lower end of his staff flashing up toward Ben’s groin. Ben reacted almost too late, parrying awkwardly. Chara responded with reflexive speed, striking down at Ben’s collarbone with the other end of his weapon. Ben caught that blow, too, interposing his own staff mere centimeters from his skin; the blow hammered Ben’s weapon down into his flesh. It staggered him, and as he stumbled backward, Chara swept with his staff, catching Ben’s ankle and hurling him to the stone.”
[…]
“Now the fight was on in earnest. The two combatants moved their staves at such speed that onlookers unused to combat could not possibly follow their movements”
[…]
“They came together again. Ben let Chara get inside his guard and lock up his staff. It was not, as it first looked, a mistake of inexperience. Chara yanked, an attempt to disarm Ben, but Ben offered no resistance. Ben’s staff went flying, but Chara stumbled backward, off balance. Ben followed, hammering Chara in the chest and stomach with a boxer’s barrage of blows. As Chara tried to rally, bringing his staff up, Ben struck at the weapon itself, breaking it in two. The open-palm blow continued onward to crack against Chara’s chin.
Chara went down. This time he did not immediately struggle to rise.
The crowd went mostly quiet. A few Kel Dors offered little groans of disappointment.”
[…]
“Chara struggled to rise. Abandoning her futile attempt to keep him still, Ithia helped him to his feet. “Master,” he said, “I am this boy’s superior in fighting skill. I am strong in the Force. But he won”.

[EmperorCaedusLevel Three]

@MasterCilghal Thanks, I updated the RT accordingly, and have given credit to you 

[The lord of hungerLevel Two]

Great job and nice sources

[xoltholLevel Five]

Great job both of you !

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