Yoda, the ancient and revered Jedi Master, lived his final years hiding on the swamp planet of Dagobah. Nine hundred years old, Yoda had trained Jedi for eight centuries, and was very powerful in the Force. Among his last pupils were the most important (and reckless) Jedi in recent history, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker. When Yoda was 700 years old, he served on a council of Jedi Masters instructing new students aboard the massive Jedi training vessel Chu'unthor. The starship crashed onto the planet of Dathomir. The Jedi Masters attempted to free the vessel from its swampy confines but they were repulsed by the Dathomirian Nightsisters.
Much of Yoda's history is unknown. Just prior to the dark times that accompanied the fall of the Republic, Yoda trained the Gannathan royal King Empatojayos Brand in the ways of the Force. Another student of his was the powerful and stern Qu Rahn.
Another tale of Yoda's past involves stopping a swath of destruction cut by Dark Jedi from Bpfassh. One of these dark siders had gotten as far as Dagobah, were Yoda bested him in direct confrontation. The Bpfasshi Jedi died, his dark Force absorbing into and twisting a nearby tree -- forming a dark side nexus. It is believed that Yoda chose Dagobah as his hiding place due to the dark side energies emanating from the tree. From a distance, Force-users like the Emperor would not detect Yoda since the master's bright light side presence would be canceled by the Bpfasshi dark side presence.
Yoda served an important role in the Jedi Council. When young Padawans began their first foray into Jedi training, they did so under Yoda's guidance. Many of the Republic's greatest Jedi trained under Yoda when they were children -- schooled in groupings called clans. Once the Jedi hopefuls grew older, approaching their teenage years, they would then be paired to an elder Jedi Knight or Master to continue training one-on-one.
