In the year 3993 BBY, Guun Han Saresh, a Jedi Knight, made a journey to Kashyyyk, the world of the Wookiee species. His objective was to hunt a "great beast," a creature of legend said to dwell within the planet's perilous Shadowlands. During the Great Hunt, a collaborative undertaking by the Jedi to cleanse the galaxy of the monstrous creations of the Sith that emerged after the devastating Great Sith War, Saresh had distinguished himself as a premier hunter within the ranks of the Jedi Order. Consequently, the Jedi High Council selected him for a clandestine mission: to eradicate the savage terentatek beasts from Korriban, the Sith homeworld. However, Saresh deviated from this mission, opting instead to pursue the elusive "great beast" of Kashyyyk, convinced it was a terentatek. After preparing a trap for the creature in the Shadowlands, Saresh engaged the terentatek with his Force-imbued blade, but, to his misfortune, the sword shattered against the beast's formidable hide, leaving the Jedi vulnerable and resulting in him being eaten alive.
Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma, Sith Lords, initiated the Great Sith War in 3996 BBY, waging it against the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Despite the eventual defeat of the Sith, monstrous beings created through alchemically means by the practitioners of the dark side persisted on various planets throughout the galaxy, posing a threat to both the Jedi and the general population. In response, the Jedi High Council orchestrated the Great Hunt, a united endeavor to eliminate these creatures wherever they roamed. Over the subsequent three years, a specific group of hunters, including Humans Duron Qel-Droma and Shaela Nuur, alongside Guun Han Saresh, a Twi'lek, rose to prominence as the Order's most skilled. Following the team's cleansed of the planet of Tatooine from the dangerous terentatek beast, an official conclusion was declared for the Great Hunt. Nevertheless, the Jedi Council selected Qel-Droma, Nuur, and Saresh for a specialized, confidential assignment: the extermination of terentateks on Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith, a world deeply influenced by the dark side.
The mission to Korriban did not unfold as planned. Saresh, harboring disapproval of the burgeoning relationship between Qel-Droma and Nuur, ultimately departed from the group. He journeyed to Kashyyyk, the Wookiee world, with the intention of hunting a "great beast" that he had learned resided within the planet's Shadowlands, believing it to be a terentatek. Upon his arrival on Kashyyyk and after investigating the "great beast," Saresh became convinced of its existence and ventured into the Shadowlands to commence his hunt.
Once within the dim Shadowlands, Saresh made the decision to set a trap intended for the terentatek. He carried this out by utilizing his crossbow to kill a mykal beast, an avian creature, which he then suspended in the air using vines. Saresh withdrew to a high rocky vantage point and waited for the "great beast" to appear. In short order, the terentatek arrived to feed on the mykal. Unaware of Saresh's presence on his perch, the terentatek was subjected to a surprise assault from Saresh's Force-imbued blade. However, to Saresh's dismay, the Jedi's sword was shattered at the hilt by the terentatek's resilient hide. Rendered defenseless, Saresh was devoured by the beast.
Although the Jedi Council held a strong belief that Saresh had met his end, they lacked precise knowledge of his fate, as the risks involved in sending a search party for his remains were deemed too great. On the same day that Saresh met his demise on Kashyyyk, his former companions Qel-Droma and Nuur also fell victim to terentateks within Korriban's Valley of the Dark Lords. In 3956 BBY, thirty-seven years following the death of Guun Han Saresh, the Jedi Revan eliminated the terentatek responsible for the Twi'lek's death on Kashyyyk, discovering Saresh's datapad and his Circlet of Saresh in the process.
The conflict on Kashyyyk was initially referenced in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which was released in 2003. The event was first depicted in "Shadows and Light," a narrative featured in Star Wars Tales 23, authored by Joshua Ortega, illustrated by Dustin Weaver, and published on May 11, 2005.