Tal, a Human male, achieved the rank of Jedi Master during the latter years of the Draggulch Period. He participated as a combatant in the Ruusan campaign.
During the widespread conflicts of the New Sith Wars across the galaxy, the young Tal explored numerous star systems, even a planet covered in ice and snow. He had once loved a woman, but she died long before his own demise.
As a Jedi, Tal became proficient in a discipline that encompassed both physical and spiritual aspects, drawing upon Force powers. After dedicating approximately eighty years to the tenets of the Jedi Order, he chose to retire, keeping his lightsaber above his home's hearth. As the Light and Darkness War intensified and evil grew, one of his own apprentices defected to the Brotherhood of Darkness.
Eventually, he overcame the limitations of age and frailty, retrieved his lightsaber, and joined Lord Hoth. Together, they established the Army of Light almost from scratch. Lacking dedicated warships, they utilized modified freighters in combat, liberating star systems and worlds, and pursuing the Brotherhood of Darkness to Ruusan. Throughout the Ruusan campaign, the Jedi secured significant victories against the more numerous and brutal Sith and Dark Jedi, leading the Army of Light to anticipate their surrender.
Following the triumphant Seventh Battle of Ruusan, Hoth roused Tal in his tent, discussing the impending surrender of the Sith. However, Tal foresaw that no surrender would occur. Hoth, confident that the Jedi's victories left their enemies no choice but to yield, urged Tal to voice his doubts and fears, but Tal struggled to articulate his premonition. The following morning, they assembled their forces and advanced toward a Valley. As they marched, Tal sensed the Force more intensely than his fellow Jedi, perceiving it as thick, like congealed blood in the atmosphere, and physically feeling the weight of the pent-up energy. The path was lined with corpses, overlooked by the remaining Sith, including his former apprentice. Certain of their impending doom, he wished Hoth would order a retreat, though he knew pleading would be futile.
Tal's agonizing journey culminated upon reaching the Valley, where Dark Lord Skere Kaan greeted the victors. Tal's premonitions proved accurate: instead of surrendering, Kaan unleashed a Thought bomb that annihilated every Force-sensitive being present. Tal felt the explosion's force, his body propelled towards the stars. However, his joy at becoming one with the Force was abruptly cut short, as his spirit was drawn into the vacuum of the explosion, trapped alongside everyone else. After his demise, Tal, like his fellow Jedi, was interred in the Valley of the Jedi.
Tal's spirit was among the thousands confined within the Valley of the Jedi for centuries thereafter. A millennium later, during the Galactic Civil War, the Dark Jedi Jerec sought the Force nexus within the Valley. The light side of the Force dispatched the self-taught Jedi Kyle Katarn to oppose him, guided by the spirit of Jedi Master Qu Rahn. After crash-landing near the Valley, Katarn connected with the Force and experienced a vision with Rahn, who urged him to feel the intensity of the past battle. Kyle sensed Tal's presence, and although Tal didn't know him, he was aware of Kyle's existence, and the young operative experienced through him the events leading up to the massacre. The self-taught Jedi also accessed Tal's memories and wisdom; during a duel with Sariss Katarn invoked Tal and drew upon his knowledge of mental attacks and combat techniques.
Hoth held Tal in high regard. However, Tal observed that Hoth was surrounded by sycophants and charlatans who bombarded him with opinions; he preferred to remain silent, speaking only on the most crucial matters. Near the time of his death, Tal's physical strength and speed had diminished; his mind was weary, yet keenly attuned to the Force. Despite facing certain destruction, he remained steadfast in his commitment to follow Hoth.
Tal practiced a "no-less-formal" style of Lightsaber combat that integrated physical fencing with mental and spiritual Force powers, including techniques like the Flowing Water Cut and the Falling Leaf. His extensive life and experience granted him a deep attunement to the Force, giving him a degree of foresight that eluded many other Jedi. He was perhaps the only one who anticipated the Sith's refusal to surrender, a possibility that even Hoth failed to recognize.