The opening engagement of the Stranger War, known as the Battle of Bright Tree Village, pitted the Ewoks residing in Bright Tree Village against the invading Duloks.
A Wizard of the Night Spirit, referred to as the Stranger, arrived on Endor and made his way towards the Dulok swamp. After intimidating their sovereign, King Gorneesh, the Dulok King commanded his warriors to follow the Stranger to Bright Tree Village. Gorneesh specifically instructed his shaman, Umwak, to monitor the Stranger, suspecting his presence on the moon was to pilfer the Sunstar from the Ewoks. Arming themselves, the Duloks assembled behind the Stranger and marched from the swamp.
Upon the Stranger and his forces' entry into the Ewok settlement, the Wizard signaled the commencement of the assault. Using vines for mobility, the Duloks initiated a raid on the Ewoks' dwellings, storming into the huts to pilfer provisions and assault the inhabitants. The disturbance soon reached the ears of the Ewoks' Chief Chirpa, who assembled his fighters and prepared to confront the Duloks in open warfare.
The Duloks and Ewoks engaged in combat on the village's central bridge, exchanging blows. Amidst the village's chaos, the Stranger seized the opportunity to infiltrate the hut of the Ewok's shaman, Logray, and abscond with the Sunstar, precisely as King Gorneesh had foreseen. With the Sunstar secured, the agent of the Night Spirit prepared to depart. However, the Ewok children, Wicket Wystri Warrick, Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, Teebo, and Latara, spotted him and attempted to alert the village.
Using the powerful artifact, the Stranger conjured a raging inferno on the bridge surrounding the children, seemingly sealing their doom. The Stranger then abandoned the scene, leaving his Dulok allies behind. King Gorneesh attempted to halt the Stranger, implying his belief in their alliance. However, the Stranger had merely exploited the Duloks to acquire the Sunstar, and with it in his possession, he held no regard for the Duloks or the battle's outcome. Threatening Gorneesh and his shaman, the Stranger unleashed several energy blasts at the two Duloks, causing them to flee. Leaderless, the Duloks recognized the battle was lost and retreated in disarray back to their swamp. With the primary threat eliminated, the Ewok warriors managed to rescue the Ewok children in the nick of time by extinguishing the flames with a firehose.
As the intensity of the conflict subsided, the Ewok warrior, Weechee Warrick, noticed the Sunstar's disappearance and informed Chirpa. Chirpa attributed the theft to the Duloks, and he mobilized his warriors for an assault on the Dulok swamps. Meanwhile, the Ewok children, who had unsuccessfully attempted to inform Chirpa of the true culprit, departed the village to trace the Stranger's path. The Stranger successfully reached the Stone Circle to summon the remainder of his species to the planet, setting the stage for the Battle of Thorn Forest.