Vhiin Thorla, whose Twi'lek name was Vhiin'Thorla, was a male Twi'lek who held the rank of Jedi Master in the decades leading up to the Clone Wars. A gifted and empathetic Jedi, he worked as a primary instructor at the Almas Academy and was reputed to possess great skill with a lightsaber.
About a year before the First Battle of Geonosis, the Almas Council dispatched Vhiin to investigate a pirate invasion of the Mid Rim. While the mission was ultimately a success, it resulted in the tragic death of his first Padawan, Kritz Drassarb. Overwhelmed by sorrow and remorse, he entered a period of self-imposed isolation on his home planet of Ryloth. During his time in exile, Vhiin began to experience intense Force Visions centered on the enslavement and exploitation of his fellow Twi'leks. Prompted by these visions, he journeyed to the Bright Lands and began constructing The Enclave as a sanctuary for freed Twi'lek slaves. While managing The Enclave, Vhiin chose to take on another Padawan upon discovering Dorv'Tilsta, a Force Sensitive Twi'lek boy.
While Vhiin was away, problems arose at the Almas Academy, leading the Council to summon him back. To achieve this, they dispatched the heroes of Cularin to Ryloth, who eventually succeeded in finding the exiled master. Soon after the heroes arrived at The Enclave, a gang of slavers attacked in an attempt to recapture several former slaves who had been "freed" from their grasp. With the assistance of the Almas Jedi, Vhiin successfully defended against the slavers' assault, which only reinforced his commitment to The Enclave.
The specific roles that Vhiin Thorla held during his time at the Almas Academy are not well documented. However, it is known that he was a contemporary of other Almas Masters, including Lanius Qel-Bertuk (Headmaster), Kirlocca (Weaponsmaster), Jurahi (Master of Visions), Ti-Amun Tiro (Master of Philosophy), Devan For'deschel (General Instructor and later Mistress of Lightsabers), and Darrus Jeht (General Instructor). Master Thorla was also renowned as a skilled lightsaber duelist, even rivaling the Wookiee Master Kirlocca in combat prowess. During his time at the Academy, Thorla began mentoring a Padawan learner.
Slightly over a year before the First Battle of Geonosis, the Jedi High Council located on Coruscant began receiving concerning reports about increased pirate activity along the Mid Rim. As a result, the Mid Rim Senate representatives urged the Jedi to take action to protect the shipping lanes from pirate attacks. The Jedi High Council convened to discuss the matter and decide who to send to address the threat. During these discussions, several Council members pointed out the Almas Academy's proximity to the Mid Rim. Considering this, the Jedi High Council requested that the Academy send a team to investigate the claims.
The Almas Council decided that Master Thorla, along with his Padawan, would be dispatched to look into the pirate allegations. Master Thorla accepted the assignment with quiet determination and began preparing for himself and his Padawan to depart for the Mid Rim.
Master Thorla and his Padawan promptly arrived in the Mid Rim and established a base of operations from which to work. With the assistance of locals sympathetic to the Jedi Order, Thorla was able to create a network of contacts and resources to aid in the investigation. Upon confirming the existence of a significant pirate incursion targeting the Mid Rim shipping lanes, Thorla utilized his contact network to determine the location of the hidden pirate base. After discovering the secret installation, Thorla devised a covert plan to infiltrate the pirate base and dismantle it from within. Following careful planning, Thorla and his Padawan successfully infiltrated the pirate base and put their plan into action.
Although the plan succeeded in eliminating the pirate leaders, tragedy struck during their retreat when Thorla's Padawan was killed. A dying pirate triggered an explosion that resulted in his death. In a relatively short time, Master Thorla fulfilled the Council's request by defeating the pirate incursion and eliminating their threat from the Mid Rim.
However, this victory came at a cost that Thorla found unbearable. Rejecting offers from others to recover the body, Master Thorla took it upon himself, burdened by grief, to return to the destroyed pirate base and retrieve his Padawan's lifeless body. After carefully wrapping and placing the body in his ship, Thorla began the long journey back to Almas.
Upon his return to the Almas Academy, Headmaster Lanius Qel-Bertuk requested a private meeting with Master Thorla. Thorla asked Master Qel-Bertuk to meditate with him on the events that had occurred, and after some time, Qel-Bertuk departed to gather the Almas Council. Master Thorla was summoned before the Council of Almas to provide an account of his mission, and he meticulously recounted every detail, from their arrival in the Mid Rim to their collection of information, and the events that led to the death of Thorla's Padawan.
After completing his account, Thorla quietly awaited the other Masters to speak. After several tense seconds, Master Qel-Bertuk leaned forward and stated wisely that the death of the Padawan was not Thorla's fault. Thorla continued as if he had not heard the headmaster. Thorla informed the Council that he believed his Padawan's death was solely due to his failure to pay attention to the Unifying Force, and that if he had, he would have foreseen the pirate's intention to cause the explosion. Thorla told the Council that he would accept whatever punishment they deemed appropriate for the negligent death of his Padawan. It was at this point that Thorla sensed the compassion, but also the confusion, emanating from the other Masters. Master Qel-Bertuk repeated to Thorla, in a calm but firm voice, that the death of his Padawan was not his fault and that he should remember not to feel sadness for his fallen Padawan but instead to feel joy for his Padawan who was now one with the Force.
However, Thorla was unable to overcome his grief over what he insisted was his mistake, and he announced his intention to go into exile on his homeworld of Ryloth. He believed that he could commune with the Force and perhaps find his way again. The Council remained silent as Master Thorla left the Council chambers. Later that day, under the star-filled night sky of Almas, the Padawans, Jedi Knights, and Jedi Masters of the Almas Academy gathered around the solemn funeral pyre of Thorla's fallen Padawan. Amidst this backdrop, Jedi Master Vhiin Thorla quietly gathered his few belongings and, with a heavy heart, left the Academy for his self-imposed exile on Ryloth.
Vhiin Thorla arrived on Ryloth and traveled to the Bright Lands, where he lived as a wandering nomad, surviving off the land. During this time, he began experiencing increasingly intense Force Visions. In these visions, he witnessed the enslavement and murder of his fellow Twi'leks by slavers. It was only when these visions became unbearable that Thorla realized the Force was showing him why he had been led to Ryloth: to establish a settlement to help protect the freedom of other Twi'leks. Sensing the beginning of something significant, Thorla set out to fulfill his vision.
Vhiin Thorla returned to the Bright Lands to a series of natural caves he had previously discovered. This location was approximately a two-day walk into the Bright Lands from the town of Bashka, and it was there that Thorla decided to establish The Enclave. To protect the entrance of The Enclave from outsiders, Thorla built a sturdy stone wall around it. While building The Enclave, Thorla began spreading the word that there would soon be a secure refuge for any slave who managed to escape or free themselves. Thorla promised that The Enclave would provide refugees with all the basic necessities as well as the necessary security for protection from slavers. By the time it was completed, several adult Twi'leks and a number of Twi'lek children had already begun to call it home.
At its peak, The Enclave's population reached three dozen individuals. An unexpected addition to The Enclave was Vhiin Thorla's own sister, Jacynith, who worked in Bashka at the local cantina. Under Vhiin Thorla's leadership, The Enclave was progressing rapidly, and it was during this time that he discovered the Force Sensitive adolescent Dorv'Tilsta, known as Dorv for short. Master Thorla believed that the Force had led him to find Dorv and therefore decided to take him on as his Padawan learner. Dorv took Master Thorla's decision very seriously and looked forward to the day when he would make his Master proud by being knighted into the Jedi Order.
It seemed that everything was falling into place for Vhiin Thorla regarding The Enclave and his new Padawan, and for the first time since the tragedy in the Mid Rim, Thorla felt at peace with the Force. However, Master Thorla's colleagues on the Almas Council had a different plan for him. Around this time, the Academy's Weaponsmaster, Master Kirlocca, was killed, and the Almas Council suddenly found themselves without a key senior council member. During a closed session meeting of the Council, Master For'deschel reminded the Council of Master Vhiin Thorla and his undeniable skill with a lightsaber. She also reminded the council that, despite his self-imposed exile, Master Thorla was still a member of the Almas Academy and should therefore be recalled as the Academy's new Weaponsmaster. The other Masters agreed, and at Master For'deschel's request, the heroes of Cularin, a group of freelance agents, were dispatched from the Almas Academy to locate Master Vhiin Thorla.
Upon arriving on Ryloth, the agents from Almas could sense Master Thorla through the Force. However, his Force presence was too faint, and they initially struggled to locate The Enclave. It was only after they began following reports of a wandering Twi'lek that they ended up in Bashka, where the wanderer was said to occasionally visit the local cantina, the Fungus Pit. However, the heroes were told that the wanderer had not been seen in town for several months. The agents quickly found the Fungus Pit and contacted the cantina owner who, after much hesitation, refused to help them.
However, Jacynith overheard the conversation and approached the heroes. She informed them that she was a close friend of Master Vhiin Thorla and that if what they were saying about the Almas Academy was true, she would take them to Master Thorla. The agents assured her that they had indeed been sent by the Almas Academy to contact Master Thorla and would greatly appreciate any help she could provide. Jacynith sensed the truth in their words and agreed to meet with them later that day.
Unbeknownst to Jacynith and the agents, someone else was also listening to their entire exchange. Slavers had come to the Fungus Pit hoping to track down some slaves who had been liberated from their service. The slavers managed to place a tracking device on Jacynith's cloak, and when she rendezvoused with the agents, the slavers were not far behind. Jacynith led the agents to The Enclave and proceeded to introduce them to Master Thorla. Thorla made it clear that he was very displeased with his sister for bringing outsiders to The Enclave.
Nevertheless, Thorla greeted the heroes and agreed to listen to their message from the Almas Council. However, during their conversation, the slavers who had tracked Jacynith launched an attack on The Enclave. Outraged that The Enclave's secret location had been compromised, Master Thorla enlisted the help of the agents to stop the slavers. Thorla and the agents joined The Enclave's small militia in defending their home and managed to completely repel the slavers' attack. When the Duros Slavelord in charge saw his attack fail completely, he attempted to escape. However, Master Thorla had other plans and stopped the Slavelord just outside the hidden entrance. Thorla engaged the Slavelord in combat and killed the Duros to ensure the promise of security that he had made to each resident of The Enclave.
The slaver attack strengthened Master Thorla's resolve and reinforced his conviction that the Force had brought him to Ryloth for a reason. Thorla told the agents that he would not be returning to the Academy with them; instead, he would remain on Ryloth to watch over The Enclave residents who needed him far more than the Almas Council did.
During the Great Jedi Purge, Thorla was tracked down by the Inquisitor Valin Draco. The Inquisitor managed to turn his apprentice, Dorv, against him, forcing Thorla to strike down the younger Twi'lek. Devastated by the loss, Thorla was subjected to torture by Draco to reveal what he knew about other Jedi who had escaped the purge. He was eventually freed by a group who had been pursuing Draco.
While his strength lay in dueling, Master Thorla also possessed the rare ability to sever a being from the Force using a wall of light-side energy.