A male Human hailing from the planet of Zakuul, Heskal held the position of leader within the Scions of Zakuul. This group was a specialized offshoot of the Knights of Zakuul, known for their deep study of Force visions and their intense preoccupation with the concept of destiny.
In the year 3636 BBY, Heskal intercepted Prince Arcann in the corridor leading up to the Eternal Throne. At the time, the prince was escorting Darth Marr and the Outlander, his two captives, for an audience with his father. Arcann derided Heskal for clinging to the Scions' prediction of a coming cataclysm for the Eternal Empire. Heskal responded that destiny, despite Arcann's unwillingness to acknowledge it, could not be ignored. In response, Arcann threatened Heskal and commanded him to set aside his superstitious beliefs.
Following Emperor Arcann's decree for the massacre of the Scions, which occurred around the time he ascended to the throne of the Eternal Empire, Heskal, still at the Scions' helm, was among the few who managed to evade the purge. He established a settlement on the shadowport known as Asylum. In 3631 BBY, Heskal summoned the Commander to Asylum, putting the outsider through a series of trials to understand why the Outlander's future remained hidden from their visions. Increasingly annoyed by his inability to foresee, Heskal directly attacked the Outlander, only to be defeated. The situation was defused as the Outlander's allies appeared and ordered the Scions to stand down, which they did. After inquiring about the Outlander's plans for the galaxy after the defeat of Arcann and his Eternal Fleet, Heskal deduced that the anomaly obscuring their visions was the presence of Valkorion, the Immortal Emperor, within the Outlander's mind. He then declared that their fight had granted him a glimpse of the future: the Outlander would bring down the Eternal Throne, but at a great cost.
While the Scions pledged their allegiance to the Outlander, Heskal later betrayed both them and the Outlander by luring Arcann to Asylum, driven by visions that convinced him a confrontation was necessary. Arcann killed Heskal's followers and inflicted a wound on him just before the Outlander arrived, triggering the Battle of Asylum. During the conflict, the injured Heskal was taken away from the fight by the Knights, but the Outlander defeated his escorts. With his last words, Heskal asserted that forcing the confrontation with Arcann had been essential and that the surviving Scions would remain allies of the Outlander, returning when their time to die arrived. He cryptically added that he had foreseen a glorious future. Shortly after, he passed away.
Heskal possessed an unwavering faith in fate and destiny, convinced that no one could escape its grasp or exist outside its influence. This intense belief ultimately led him to reveal Asylum's location to Arcann.
Heskal is a character in Chapter I: The Hunt, Chapter VI: Asylum, and Chapter VIII: Taking Flight within Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire, a digital expansion released in 2015 for the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Players have the option to execute the dying Heskal to gain dark side points, or to condemn his actions. Regardless of the player's choice, Heskal's death is inevitable. Upon completing Chapter VIII, players will receive a message from Heskal after his death. The message's content will change depending on the player's interactions with him.