In 44 ABY, a confrontation unfolded at the Pool of Knowledge, which is a Force nexus located on Abeloth's planet. After battling and seemingly killing the dark side entity known as Abeloth, the Sith members Sarasu Taalon, Gavar Khai, and Vestara Khai, along with their Jedi comrades Luke and Ben Skywalker, came to the realization that Abeloth had, in reality, survived. As they continued their pursuit, the Meditation Sphere Ship guided them to the Pool of Knowledge. It was there that Ben caught a glimpse of the Sith homeworld, and Gavar, growing suspicious of treachery, initiated an attack. Luke used the Force to push Gavar back, while Taalon observed a Jedi queen sitting on a throne within the Pool. Fearing that she would hinder the Sith's ascension to power, Taalon plunged into the Pool.
Gavar unleashed Force lightning towards Luke, but Ben countered with blasterfire, pushing him back before Vestara engaged the younger Jedi in combat. Following Taalon's reemergence from the Pool, Luke directed his attack towards both Taalon and Vestara. Meanwhile, Gavar hurled his parang at Ben, manipulating the Force to guide the blade between the Jedi's ribs. Gavar then moved to assault Luke, but the Jedi redirected him into Taalon and Vestara, and severed Gavar's weapon-arm. After being repelled by Force lightning, Luke, accompanied by Ben, fled the grotto and collapsed the entrance behind them. Subsequently, the Sith assaulted Vestara and dispatched her to the Jedi—presenting it as though she had escaped their punishment—with the intention of gathering information about the Jedi queen. In the meantime, Taalon began to transform into a being similar to Abeloth, and the Jedi tracked Abeloth to the moon of Pydyr, where the Sith once again joined them in confronting her.
In the year 44 ABY, Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, along with his son, Ben Skywalker, undertook a mission alongside the Lost Tribe of Sith to challenge Abeloth, a dark side entity responsible for inducing a Force psychosis among the Knights of the Jedi Order. Despite the Sith betraying the Jedi and attempting to seize Abeloth, Luke triumphed and seemingly killed her. The Sith and Jedi then reestablished their alliance to delve deeper into Abeloth's nature, under the stipulation that only High Lord Sarasu Taalon, Sith Saber Gavar Khai, and Khai's daughter, the apprentice Vestara Khai, would remain on Abeloth's planet with the Skywalkers.
The allies soon discovered that Abeloth had, in fact, survived, and they resumed their pursuit. The Sith Meditation Sphere Ship—which Abeloth herself had originally summoned to the planet, although the Sith claimed responsibility—suggested searching for her at the Pool of Knowledge, a Force nexus that Luke had observed while beyond shadows at a nearby space station. Ship transported them to a location near the Pool, leaving them to locate it on their own. The allies divided into two groups to conduct the search, and Vestara and Ben discovered the Pool within a grotto. Ben realized that Ship had been attempting to incite conflict between the Jedi and Sith, and he tried to persuade Vestara to leave the grotto, but she had already summoned the other Sith through the Force.
Within the Pool, Ben witnessed an image of Abeloth approaching the allies' vessels, realizing that she had used Ship to divert their attention, enabling her escape. Ben insisted on a swift departure, but Gavar preferred to wait until they were certain. When Vestara and Ben gazed into the Pool once more, it transformed to reveal the Tribe's homeworld, Kesh, along with its capital city, Tahv. Suspecting that the Jedi were attempting to betray the Sith and uncover their homeworld, Gavar employed the Force to disperse the image and began to threaten Ben. Luke swiftly intervened, using the Force to push the Sith Saber away.
Taalon, however, remained unconcerned with the eruption of violence. As he peered into the Pool, he beheld the Throne of Balance, upon which sat a Jedi queen. Fearing that the queen might impede the Sith Tribe's envisioned takeover of the galaxy, he demanded to know her identity. The Skywalkers recognized the queen as their own relative, Allana Solo, and chose that moment to initiate an attack, anticipating that a conflict was inevitable regardless. Luke activated his lightsaber, while Ben mirrored his actions, swiftly moving past Vestara to attack Taalon. Vestara, taken aback by his sudden assault, momentarily neglected to retaliate. Meanwhile, Gavar hurled a shikkar—a glass dagger—at Luke, but the Grand Master evaded the throw, causing the blade to shatter against the stone floor.
Ben managed to bypass Vestara, but Taalon had already plunged into the Pool. Vestara moved to engage Ben, but he briefly incapacitated her with a kick to her shoulder, which had been injured during the previous encounter with Abeloth. Ben prepared to dive in after Taalon, but Luke cautioned his son against it, using the Force to push him away from the Pool. Gavar then unleashed Force lightning towards Luke, and Ben retaliated with three blaster shots at the Sith. The bolts were absorbed by Gavar's armor, but they knocked him back against the wall. Vestara reentered the fray and attacked Ben, but he managed to create an opening with his blaster and knock her away. She collided with Taalon as he emerged from the Pool, and the enraged High Lord retaliated by punching the apprentice.
Luke swiftly attacked Taalon and Vestara, and Ben moved to assist, but Gavar hurled a parang at the Jedi Knight. Ben bisected the weapon, but the Sith Saber employed the Force to lodge a shard of the blade directly into Ben's ribs. Gavar then rushed to aid Taalon, countering Ben's attempt to shove him away with the Force. However, Luke seized Gavar's ankle and slammed him into the other two Sith before he severed the Sith Saber's weapon-arm. The Sith responded with a barrage of Force lightning that drove the Grand Master back into the grotto wall, until Ben intercepted it with his lightsaber. Luke quickly pushed Ben towards the exit and fled the grotto, cutting down one of the outer columns, resulting in the complete collapse of the entryway.
The Sith escaped the grotto, and Taalon and Gavar decided to utilize Vestara as a spy to gather as much information as possible about the Jedi queen. Taalon assaulted her and then instructed her to locate the Skywalkers and claim that she had been attacked by the two Sith as punishment but had managed to escape. While Ben recuperated from his injuries, the Jedi returned to the beach and discovered that their ship, the Jade Shadow, was missing—Abeloth had already fled in it. Ben attempted to break into Taalon's shuttle, the Emiax, but Vestara suddenly appeared on the scene. Taalon and Gavar were not far behind, and Taalon attacked her with Force lightning. Luke, concealed in hiding, ambushed the Sith with blasterfire, then prepared a thermal detonator. After providing more covering fire, he rushed to Vestara's aid. He was not deceived by her ploy but decided to allow her to accompany them regardless. Luke's thermal detonator stalled the two Sith, allowing the Jedi to depart with Vestara aboard the Emiax.
Gavar and Taalon departed the planet in Ship, and the High Lord began to undergo a transformation into a being similar to Abeloth due to his swim in the Pool. Meanwhile, Vestara and the Skywalkers tracked Abeloth to the home of the pacifist Force-sensitive Fallanassi on the moon of Pydyr, where Vestara sent a message to a Sith outpost on Boonta. The Sith dispatched reinforcements, including Taalon and Gavar, and once again joined the Jedi in confronting Abeloth.
Further investigations conducted by the Sith revealed that Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo shared numerous characteristics with the Jedi queen observed on the Throne of Balance. The Sith learned that Djo's daughter had perished during the Second Galactic Civil War—although this was, in fact, a fabrication spread by Djo to safeguard the identity of Allana Solo, the daughter of Djo and Jedi Knight Jacen Solo—and Gavar, determined to prevent the Jedi queen's ascension to the throne, resolved to plot the assassination of Djo before she could give birth to another child. However, Khai's plan proved unsuccessful.
The duel at the Pool of Knowledge was penned by author Troy Denning for inclusion in his 2010 novel, Fate of the Jedi: Vortex, the sixth entry in the Fate of the Jedi series.