Shad Jelavan was a Human male Jedi Padawan. He was under the tutelage of Q'Anilia, a Miraluka Jedi Master, at the Jedi Tower located on the planet Taris. As a native of Taris, Jelavan stood out among the five Padawans training under the five Masters at the Jedi Tower, showing exceptional promise. In 3966 BBY, an accident resulted in the death of his parents, leaving him orphaned. He dedicated his stipend to providing for his sister and brother. Possessing remarkable talent with the Force, Jelavan maintained strong friendships with his four fellow Padawans. He shared a particularly close bond with Zayne Carrick, a fellow Human, consistently encouraging him despite Carrick's struggles with the Force.
By 3964 BBY, Jelavan was on the verge of becoming a Jedi Knight, having successfully completed his final trial by navigating Taris' perilous rogue moon while blind. Following this achievement, the group returned to Taris for a celebratory banquet and Knighting ceremony. Unbeknownst to Jelavan and his fellow Padawans, their Jedi Masters were secretly members of a Jedi Covenant, committed to preventing the resurgence of the Sith. During the rogue moon test, they experienced a vision that they interpreted as one of their Padawans being responsible for the destruction of the Jedi Order. Driven by the need to eliminate this perceived threat, the Masters murdered Jelavan and three of his classmates during their Knighting ceremony. Carrick, arriving late, managed to escape and was subsequently falsely accused of the massacre.
Born on the planet of Taris, Shad Jelavan was a Human male. He was one of three siblings, including his sister Shel and younger brother Shay. His connection to the Force was discovered early in his infancy by a Jedi Knight, leading to his training from a very young age. By 3977 BBY, Jelavan was studying at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, where he quickly befriended four other younglings: Zayne Carrick, also Human; Gharn, a Nagai; Oojoh, a Ho'Din trainee; and Kamlin, a Falleen. Jelavan and Carrick were particularly close, with Carrick regarding Jelavan as his closest confidant. Jelavan frequently attempted to encourage his Human friend, who often struggled as a Jedi learner. The five students grew up together, and by 3969 BBY they were all transferred to Taris' Jedi Tower to train as Padawans. Each Padawan was assigned to one of the five Jedi Masters stationed at the academy. Jelavan became the apprentice of Q'Anilia, a Miraluka seer. In 3966 BBY, Jelavan and his siblings were orphaned when their parents perished in an accident in Taris' Middle City. Jelavan then used his stipend to support Shel and Shay, who had no other means of support.
By 3964 BBY, Jelavan, along with his peers, was nearing the completion of his training. By this point, Jelavan had earned a reputation as a highly promising Jedi prospect. Lucien Draay even mentioned him in an interview with the Taris Holofeed, describing him as the kind of Padawan every Master wished they had. In that year, he and his friends gathered for their final test as Jedi Padawans. The five trainees were dropped from a shuttle onto Taris' rogue moon—a planetoid within the Taris asteroid belt, constantly bombarded by thousands of meteors every hour. They were instructed to navigate the treacherous terrain while wearing environment suits with their blast shields lowered, effectively depriving them of their physical sight and forcing them to rely solely on the Force for guidance. Jelavan was the first to successfully complete the trial, reaching the Masters' encampment on a promontory. After the other four Padawans arrived safely, they all returned to Taris. The five Masters secluded themselves in the Jedi Tower for several days before emerging to announce their decisions regarding who would become a Jedi, and to arrange a banquet and ceremony to reveal their choices.
However, Jelavan and his fellow apprentices were unaware of the Masters' true intentions. While awaiting their Padawans' return on the rogue moon, the Masters—secretly part of a Jedi Covenant dedicated to preventing the return of the Sith—shared intense visions depicting the destruction of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic by a mysterious figure clad in a red environment suit, identical to those worn by the Padawans. Interpreting this to mean that one of their apprentices was the destroyer, the Covenant resolved to kill the Padawans in a preemptive strike. During their seclusion in the Tower, they devised a cover story. Jelavan would be the scapegoat—the Covenant would claim that he, denied Knighthood due to his stubborn nature, flew into a rage and murdered the other four Padawans before being killed by the Masters.
At the banquet, Jelavan arrived with his siblings and socialized with his friends. Carrick arrived late, crashing through a window and damaging a caterer's table, and was instructed to pay for the damages by his Master, Lucien Draay. Jelavan provided Carrick with the money to cover the cost, despite Carrick's objections. Later, the group proceeded to the Masters' chamber to learn their fates. Jelavan arrived late, having escorted his brother and sister home. Upon arriving, he noticed that Carrick was also late and the ceremony had not yet commenced. However, Jelavan quickly sensed that something was amiss. The Masters had their lightsabers drawn, an unusual occurrence that they attributed to the ceremony. However, Lucien Draay also had his lightsaber drawn, implying that Carrick was to be Knighted. Initially delighted that Carrick was to be Knighted, Jelavan's happiness turned to suspicion. Despite their close friendship, Jelavan did not believe Carrick was ready to become a Jedi Knight, as the clumsy apprentice consistently finished last in every test. The other Padawans shared his concerns, and Jelavan, troubled by the Masters' unconvincing explanations, directly questioned Lucien Draay about what was happening. The Masters responded by slaughtering Jelavan and the other Padawans, with Jelavan falling victim to his Master, Q'Anilia. Carrick arrived moments later and managed to escape. The murders were blamed on Carrick, and substantial bounties were placed on him and his alleged "accomplice," Marn Hierogryph, a local Snivvian thug.
Medical droids removed the bodies of Jelavan and his friends. The story of the massacre became a major news event on Taris, and holograms of Jelavan and his class, dubbed the "Taris Four" by the media, were displayed even in the depths of the Lower City. Jelavan and his friends were publicly mourned, and the Masters of the Covenant spoke highly of them at their funerals. The year following the murders, Raana Tey, Kamlin's Master, experienced a nightmarish vision where Jelavan and his Jedi class replaced the Jedi Covenant, and she took Zayne Carrick's place, witnessing the murders of her fellow Masters. In her dream, Jelavan wielded a red lightsaber, similar to those used by the Sith. Jelavan's sister Shel was devastated by his death. During the Mandalorian siege of Taris in 3963 BBY, Raana Tey exploited this grief in an attempt to use her to kill Zayne Carrick, who was on the planet assisting the Taris Resistance. Shel was instructed to attack Carrick with Jelavan's old lightsaber, which was stored in a room within the Jedi Tower. However, Shel discovered the truth and turned on Tey, stabbing her with Jelavan's lightsaber before the deranged Jedi Master was killed in a massive explosion shortly afterward. Xamar, Gharn's Master, later confessed to the murders to the Jedi Council and exonerated Carrick. Shel eventually joined Carrick's Rogue Moon Project, an organization dedicated to assisting refugees, wrongly accused fugitives, and others in need.
Despite his considerable talent with the Force, Jelavan remained a steadfast friend to his classmates. He was especially close to Zayne Carrick, whom he consistently tried to motivate despite Carrick's limitations as a Jedi prospect. Believing that the galaxy needed more Jedi Knights regardless of skill level, Jelavan encouraged Carrick to persevere. He even attempted to boost his friend's morale by suggesting that Carrick was intentionally misleading the other Padawans to create a false sense of security. Although Jelavan did everything he could to support Carrick and genuinely wanted him to become a Jedi Knight, he privately doubted Carrick's abilities and did not believe the Jedi Masters would ever grant him Knighthood. Jelavan was generous with his resources, regularly using his stipend to support his sister and brother, and providing Carrick with all the money he had to compensate for a damaged table at their banquet. Despite this generosity, Jelavan possessed a rebellious and defiant streak, and, with his keen insight, was not afraid to challenge the Jedi Masters when he sensed something was wrong. His headstrong nature was even incorporated into the Jedi Covenant's original cover story for the Padawan massacre. Jelavan had fair skin, blond hair—styled in a Padawan braid—and blue eyes.
Jelavan possessed significant talent with the Force and was considered one of the most promising of the five Padawans on Taris. Even as a child, he consistently won every game the Padawans played and finished first in their final test on the rogue moon. Jelavan had the ability to perceive through the Force when his physical sight was impaired, a skill he demonstrated on the rogue moon.
As a Jedi Padawan, Shad Jelavan typically wore Jedi robes, along with a belt with multiple pouches and gloves that extended to cover his entire forearm. By 3964 BBY, Jelavan possessed his own blue lightsaber.
Shad Jelavan made his debut in Knights of the Old Republic 1, the inaugural issue of the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, authored by John Jackson Miller, illustrated by Brian Ching, and released in 2006. Although killed in the first issue, Jelavan appeared in various flashbacks throughout the Commencement arc. Jelavan was also mentioned in several later Knights of the Old Republic issues. In 2008, Jelavan was given an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia incorrectly states that Jelavan's parents were killed when Jelavan was an infant, but he was actually already a Jedi Padawan when the incident occurred.