The Valley of the Jedi, also known as the Valley of the Souls, served as the location for the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, which was the concluding engagement of the New Sith Wars. This battle occurred a thousand years prior to the Battle of Yavin.
It was in this valley that Lord Kaan's thought bomb ensnared the spirits of countless Jedi and Sith, who remained trapped until Kyle Katarn ultimately released them.
Subsequently, the Valley of the Jedi transformed into a highly concentrated zone of Force energy, recognized as a Force nexus. It is generally regarded as the most potent Force nexus throughout the galaxy.
Situated within the "badlands" of Ruusan, the Valley's location was a few hours away from the former site of Olmondo, and several days distant from Fort Nowhere. The surrounding terrain mirrored the planet's typical features, including rocky, scree-covered foothills, mesas, canyons, and piles of rocky debris nearby. The cave system that formed the necropolis was quite distant from the rich metal deposits that Ruusan possessed.
The Convergence of Force energy in the Valley had several effects on the surrounding geographic area, which could be felt by living beings, especially those sensitive to the Force. Morgan Katarn described the air as feeling unusually thick, followed by a subtle sensation in his mind that evolved into a constant hum, tingling skin, and a feeling of unease, with a strong urge to flee. Moaning voices, perceived as originating from within, affected one's consciousness, leading to headaches and intense emotions. Yun, a young Dark Jedi in the Valley's vicinity, found it easier to focus thoughts and convert them into energy. Jerec's troops stationed there were often disturbed, tormented, and even possessed by loud apparitions of restless spirits, which they nicknamed "screamers."
The Valley's entrance was an open area encircled by towering rock formations that resembled sentinel statues; an ancient roadbed led to this entrance. This area was actually the roof of a cavern, featuring a collapsed, jagged opening approximately half a kilometer wide, which served as the only source of light for the area below. Stairs, curving to the right, led to an arch and the cavern's floor. The monument itself comprised hundreds of slabs from the chamber's ceiling, spires adorned with hieroglyphics, statues, tombs, and even miniature temples. Corridors radiated from the Valley, leading to satellite caverns where various artifacts were stored. At least one aqueduct channeled rainwater into the Valley.
Around the Valley, the Imperial Remnant under Jerec constructed a garrison consisting of prefabricated buildings, a docking tower with platforms, Stormtroopers, AT-STs, shuttles, TIEs, and attack droids to guard the perimeter. The tower also served as a docking station for freighters that were loaded with archaeological loot and transported back to their fleet. Before entering orbit, ships had to navigate a complex maze of canyons to reach the desert.
As the New Sith Wars neared their conclusion, the Brotherhood of Darkness's position had deteriorated to such an extent that their leader, Lord Kaan, resorted to using a thought bomb in an attempt to end the conflict.
Kaan and his Brotherhood lured the Jedi into the depths of one of Ruusan's caves and detonated the thought bomb, with the intention of eliminating Jedi Lord Hoth's Army of Light. However, Hoth anticipated Kaan's strategy and left the majority of his army behind, only bringing ninety-nine Jedi with him (a total of one hundred, including Hoth himself). This act of sacrifice proved worthwhile, as the Sith were unable to control the thought bomb, resulting in the annihilation of the entire Brotherhood of Darkness and the end of the New Sith Wars. A consequence of the thought bomb was that the spirits of the Jedi and Force users killed could not become one with the Force and remained imprisoned in the nexus.
Johun Othone, a Jedi Knight and former Padawan of Hoth, defied the Jedi Council's wishes by constructing a monument to honor the heroes of the Army of Light and Lord Hoth, featuring a mausoleum embellished with massive statues. He also placed a large Adegan crystal in a chamber for Jedi meditation. The monuments were built using stones sourced from various planets, reflecting the diverse origins of the Army of Light's heroes. The heroes' graves were located in a central underground cavern of natural origin, surrounded by several satellite chambers that were carved around it. These chambers were filled with artifacts that presumably belonged to the fallen Jedi warriors.
Some time after departing Ruusan, and around the time she murdered her cousin, Darth Zannah revisited the Valley, becoming the last individual to do so for centuries. Shifting nebulae soon obscured hyperspace routes to Ruusan, making the planet difficult to locate within the wider galaxy.
Certain Jedi believed that the Empire or Dark Jedi might seek to exploit the power contained within the Valley. Due to the monument's "illegality," the Jedi Council eventually forgot about the Valley, which gradually became a legend. Over a millennium later, Yoda and a select few others, including Qu Rahn and Luke Skywalker who learned about it from Yoda, were aware of the Valley but did not know its location or even whether it truly existed. Rahn had unsuccessfully searched for it by 1 BBY. Luke had also heard others mention it after Yoda. Another individual familiar with the Valley's lore was the Prophet Cronal, and through him, the Inquisitor Jerec.
After enduring centuries of imprisonment and suffering, even the most enlightened souls of Jedi Masters had lost their minds, and they were often perceived as mindless, wailing apparitions causing chaos. The Bouncers of Ruusan held firm to the Poem of Ages, believing that they would be liberated when a 'Knight' returned to release them.
Ruusan had been largely forgotten, known only to a handful of smugglers, until 1 BBY when they transported colonists from Sulon to escape the Empire's oppression. Their leader, Morgan Katarn, a Rebel sympathizer, decided to explore the area to ensure his people's safety. He encountered the local inhabitants, whom he named "Bouncers", who regarded him as a legendary figure. According to the Poem of Ages, they believed that he would free the trapped spirits. Following their guidance, Katarn discovered the Valley, but the overwhelming power of the Force and the tormented spirits overwhelmed him, along with his inability to assist them.
Katarn never disclosed his experience to anyone except Qu Rahn, whom he met later. Rahn identified it as the legendary place he had sought and cautioned Katarn about the potential danger if this information fell into the hands of Emperor Palpatine or his Dark Jedi. He even refused to learn the planet's location and instructed Katarn to record and conceal the information. Katarn complied, creating a map hidden in plain sight. Rahn hoped that at some point after the Emperor's fall, he would find an opportune moment, and Katarn would lead a team to the Valley for research.
Meanwhile, around the time of the Battle of Endor, Jerec, now with significant military and financial resources, was searching for the Valley on behalf of the Prophets of the Dark Side, as well as the Pentastar Alignment. Cronal, now known as Blackhole, was unaware of this and, after Palpatine's death, tasked Jerec with discovering the Valley for the glory of the reincarnated Emperor and his Dark Empire. Jerec, of course, intended to find it for his own purposes and exploited the funding from all three parties.
Luke had also heard the legend from others after Yoda. With Katarn missing, Rahn himself attempted to assemble a team and find his way there before Jerec. Rahn and his team were captured above Dorlo by Jerec's apprentices, and Jerec executed him after extracting the information that Katarn had a map to Ruusan carved into the ceiling of his house.
Traveling to Sulon, they acquired the map. Rahn's spirit communicated with Kyle Katarn, Morgan's son, and instructed him in the Force. Katarn tracked down 8t88, the droid that had decoded the map, and retrieved the coordinates from its internal memory.
Using the coordinates, both factions journeyed to Ruusan. Jerec's Vengeance Battle Group invaded the planet and established a garrison around the Valley, while simultaneously looting its archaeological treasures, despite the havoc caused by the "screamers." Jerec had noticed that the forces imprisoning the screamers had weakened over the centuries and made some repairs to keep them contained, allowing him to harness their power.
After Jan was captured by Jerec's forces, Katarn battled through waves of stormtroopers and defeated Jerec's remaining Dark Jedi minions until he finally confronted Jerec himself at the Valley's heart. There, Jerec reveled in the Valley's power, becoming almost godlike. Katarn managed to sever Jerec's connection to the Valley's power and defeat him. Katarn then freed the trapped spirits, fulfilling the Poem of Ages.
Antinnis Tremayne, a High Inquisitor, was among those who knew about the Valley during the Imperial Remnant's reign, and he shared this knowledge with his ally, Lord Hethrir. Hethrir tasked the rogue Jedi Desann with locating the Valley. To achieve this, he orchestrated the "death" of Jan Ors at the hands of Tavion Axmis in front of Kyle Katarn, who had abandoned the Jedi path. Driven by vengeance, Katarn returned to the Valley to tap into its residual Force energy to restore his weakened connection to the Force. Unbeknownst to him, Desann tracked him to Ruusan as part of his plan. Desann deployed his forces and began using the Valley's power to enhance the abilities of mildly Force-sensitive recruits, creating the Reborn.
Fortunately, Katarn had disclosed the Valley's location to Luke Skywalker as a precaution. Skywalker led Rogue Squadron to Ruusan and defeated Desann's forces, forcing him to retreat from the planet and cutting off his supply of Reborn warriors.
The planet also became a target for Tavion's Disciples of Ragnos. Tavion was using Ragnos's scepter to drain areas of the Force in order to resurrect Marka Ragnos. Kyle Katarn was assigned to investigate cult activity there.
Despite Katarn's fulfillment of the ancient prophecy, the spirits of Jerec and the ancient Sith continued to linger in the valley for millennia.
The name "Valley of the Souls" was used interchangeably with Valley of the Jedi on the LucasArts website for Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. The name was also used in Part 2 of The Dark Forces Saga.