Shaela Nuur, a female Human, distinguished herself as a Jedi Knight during the tumultuous era of the Great Sith War and the period that followed. She underwent training on Ossus, a planet serving as the library world for the Jedi Order. Under the guidance of her Neti Jedi Master, Ood Bnar, she flourished into a formidable and promising Knight. As a testament to her progress, Bnar gifted her the Solari crystal, a potent Force artifact suitable for use in lightsabers, provided the wielder resonated with the light side of the Force. Tragically, Nuur experienced the loss of both Bnar and Ossus during the Great Sith War, when the Cron Supernova brought devastation to the planet.
Following the war's conclusion, Nuur was handpicked to join a specialized team of Jedi tasked with locating and eliminating terentateks. These terentateks, ancient monsters resurrected by the instigator of the Great Sith War, posed a significant threat to Jedi due to their consumption of blood from Force-sensitives. In what became known as the Great Hunt, Nuur, alongside fellow Knights Duron Qel-Droma and Guun Han Saresh, purged several planets of these creatures. As they hunted together, a romantic connection blossomed between Nuur and Qel-Droma, igniting jealousy within Saresh. After their mission on Tatooine, the Great Hunt was officially declared over. Nevertheless, the Jedi Council from the Enclave on Dantooine dispatched the trio to Korriban for an unofficial mission: to ensure the complete eradication of any remaining terentateks.
On Korriban, tensions rose as Nuur, Qel-Droma, and Saresh debated the morality of their actions during the hunt. This disagreement resulted in Saresh's departure, leaving Nuur and Qel-Droma to continue the terentatek hunt alone. While battling one of the creatures inside a cave in the Valley of the Dark Lords, Qel-Droma met his end. Driven by vengeance, Nuur pursued the beast alone. She found it within the tomb of the Sith Naga Sadow, but was killed when the crystal Solari in her lightsaber ceased functioning, a consequence of her deviation from the light side of the Force. Her body remained undisturbed for decades, until Revan, a Jedi Knight, discovered it forty years later during the Jedi Civil War.
Hailing from the era known as the Old Sith Wars, Shaela Nuur, a Human female, lived during the era. Gifted as a Force-sensitive, Nuur was inducted into the ranks of the Jedi Order and eventually became the apprentice of the venerable Neti Jedi Master, Ood Bnar. Throughout her training on Ossus, the world that housed the Order's grand library, Nuur garnered Bnar's trust and confidence, leading him to consider her his most promising student. Under his tutelage, she constructed her initial lightsaber, prompting the Neti Master to bestow upon her the Solari crystal, recognized as one of the most ancient and potent lightsaber crystals in the possession of the Jedi Order.
Despite her reservations, Bnar insisted on Nuur accepting the gift, reminding her that the crystal was impervious to corruption and could only be wielded by those pure in the light side of the Force. Nuur internalized Bnar's words, accepting the crystal and integrating it into her yellow-bladed saber. During the Great Sith War in 3996 BBY, Nuur suffered the loss of both Ossus and Master Bnar when allies of the Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun triggered a supernova in the Cron Cluster. The resulting energy surge decimated Ossus, killing all life on its surface. Ood Bnar was presumed to be among the casualties.
As the Great Sith War drew to a close, the Jedi Order embarked on plans to restore order to the galaxy. The Jedi Council prioritized the threat posed by terentateks, fearsome creations of the ancient Sith that sustained themselves by consuming the blood of Force-sensitives. These creatures were resistant to many powers employed by the Jedi. Their resurgence during the war led to numerous Jedi deaths. To eradicate these monsters, the Council initiated the Great Hunt in 3995 BBY, a systematic campaign to eliminate them from their habitats.
Shaela Nuur was selected to participate in the Great Hunt, alongside the Human Duron Qel-Droma and the Twi'lek Guun Han Saresh. Their successful hunts on Onderon, Yavin IV, Tython, and Ossus established them as the most skilled and effective terentatek hunters in the Order. Their strong bond led the Council to entrust them with increasingly perilous missions, confident in their ability to resist the dark side of the Force. However, tensions arose as Nuur and Qel-Droma's growing romance fueled Saresh's jealousy.
During the final year of the Great Hunt, Nuur, Qel-Droma, and Saresh, accompanied by Cale Berkona and a Cathar Jedi, were dispatched to Tatooine in the Outer Rim. To purge the planet of terentateks, the group tracked the beasts to a cave in the desert. A battle ensued, resulting in the death of the Cathar Jedi. The remaining Jedi managed to kill all but one terentatek. Despite Berkona's near-fatal encounter with the beast, Qel-Droma used the Force to influence its mind, creating an opening for Saresh and Nuur to eliminate it. Following the battle, Nuur oversaw the cremation of the terentateks before departing Tatooine with her surviving companions.
Nuur and her team spent the following week at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine to recover. Upon hearing of Tatooine's cleansing, the Jedi Council declared the Great Hunt officially concluded, believing the terentateks were eradicated from the galaxy. However, a few days later, Nuur, Qel-Droma, and Saresh were summoned to a meeting with the Jedi Council of Dantooine to discuss a new assignment. They were congratulated for their accomplishments and informed that one world remained to be cleansed: Korriban, the ancient homeworld of the Sith. The Jedi High Council decided that the three young Jedi would be the only ones assigned to the hunt to maintain secrecy. Despite the Dantooine Council's reservations about the High Council's decision, they agreed that Nuur, Qel-Droma, and Saresh were capable of defeating the monsters and resisting the strong influence of the dark side emanating from Korriban.
The night before leaving Dantooine, Nuur and Qel-Droma relaxed on the hills surrounding the Enclave. As they watched the sunset, Nuur was reminded of Ossus and her time with Master Bnar. Duron held her hand and assured her that Bnar was present in the Force, remembering her fondly.
The Jedi trio arrived on Korriban the next day, landing in Dreshdae, one of the few inhabited areas. Their initial goal was to gather information on the possible location of a terentatek. To achieve this, they split up to pursue different leads. Nuur accompanied Qel-Droma to a cantina to meet with underworld contacts who claimed they could lead them to the beast. The contacts, a Quarren and an Ithorian, agreed to arrange a meeting between the Jedi and a half-breed Massassi species member who could guide them to the terentatek, in exchange for a kilogram of illegal spice. While the Jedi agreed, Nuur also began planning to infiltrate Korriban's Sith Academy to gather information on the terentatek's whereabouts.
After a week on the planet, Qel-Droma began to feel the dark side's influence. In their room in Dreshdae, he confided in Nuur his doubts about the mission and expressed the pain he felt when killing terentateks. Nuur comforted him, but he was interrupted by a powerful and painful vision of the Sith's return and a new galactic war. As Qel-Droma regained awareness, Nuur embraced and kissed him, just as Saresh entered the room.
An indignant Saresh began to criticize their behavior, which he deemed shameful. This infuriated Nuur, who accused the Twi'lek of being self-righteous and arrogant. They argued about their actions in relation to the Jedi Code, accusing each other of moving towards the dark side. In an emotional outburst, Qel-Droma silenced them by shattering the room's windows with the Force. Saresh told Qel-Droma and Nuur that he could no longer stay with them if they couldn't control their passion, as it endangered them all. The two Humans refused to renounce their love, prompting Saresh to leave them to hunt the terentatek alone. Before leaving, the Twi'lek gave them a pass key that would grant them access to the Valley of the Dark Lords, an ancient burial ground for the Dark Lords of the Sith, where he had learned a terentatek resided. He pleaded with them to leave Korriban before it was too late.
Nuur and Qel-Droma ignored Saresh's warnings and decided to stay on the planet until their mission was complete. While traveling into the Valley of the Dark Lords, they sensed the death of Saresh, who had gone to Kashyyyk after leaving them in search of a terentatek there. They continued into a deep cave at the end of the valley, where they fought and killed several of Korriban's native Tuk'ata and wraid beasts before encountering a terentatek. Nuur attacked aggressively, severely wounding the beast, but was knocked aside when Qel-Droma failed to influence its mind. Qel-Droma rushed the terentatek but was quickly seized by the beast, which plunged a claw into his chest before fleeing.
Nuur rushed to Qel-Droma's side as he experienced another vision. This time, he was calmed by the future he saw, but couldn't explain it to Nuur. Duron Qel-Droma succumbed to his wounds and died in her arms, begging Nuur to flee Korriban. Nuur, again ignoring advice, succumbed to the dark side in anger. Seeking vengeance for her lover's death, she followed the blood trail left by the wounded terentatek to the tomb of the ancient Sith Naga Sadow. Despite noticing a second set of terentatek tracks near the tomb's entrance, Nuur entered the labyrinth, using her lightsaber for light. She found the beast that killed Qel-Droma, as well as a second, unwounded terentatek. Before she could engage either creature, her lightsaber flickered and deactivated as the Solari crystal reacted to her betrayal of the light side. Alone and defenseless, Nuur was killed by the monsters while remembering Master Bnar's warning to always stay in the light.
The Jedi Council sensed Nuur and her companions becoming one with the Force but, fearing further losses, refused to send anyone to investigate or retrieve their remains. Thus, the trio's fate remained a mystery to the Order for decades, serving as a warning about the threat of terentateks. Despite the near-extinction of the monsters during the Great Hunt, they survived on Korriban and Kashyyyk due to the failure of Nuur, Saresh, and Qel-Droma.
Forty years after her death, Nuur's body was discovered by Revan, the reformed Dark Lord of the Sith, during the Jedi Civil War that Duron Qel-Droma had foreseen. Revan found her remains while searching Naga Sadow's tomb for Rakatan Star Maps. After killing two terentateks in the tomb, Revan examined Nuur's body, finding the Solari crystal and the dead Jedi's datapad. The last entry on the datapad was Nuur's explanation for her actions and an apology to her Master for her behavior.
Nuur had fair skin and blonde, curly hair worn in paired braids clasped behind her head. During the Great Hunt, she had a long scar running vertically from her temple to her jaw on the right side of her face. While typically wearing normal Jedi attire, Nuur wore a red-and-black combat jumpsuit on Tatooine and Korriban.
As a leading figure in the Great Hunt, Nuur developed a strong passion for her work, despite the Jedi Code's prohibition of passion. Unafraid of the dark side's dangers and the necessary crimes to find a terentatek, Nuur volunteered to infiltrate the Sith Academy on Korriban to find the beast. She also formed a strong bond with Qel-Droma and Saresh, which was strained by differing interpretations of the Jedi Code and Saresh's jealousy. This strain reached a breaking point during the hunt on Korriban, with Nuur engaging in a shouting match with Saresh. After falling to the dark side, Nuur recognized her error but continued on her path, apologizing to her old Master shortly before her death.
Shaela Nuur and Ood Bnar developed a close relationship of mutual admiration and appreciation during her training. Bnar recognized the strength of the light side within her and believed she was pure enough to be worthy of the Solari crystal. Nuur doubted her worth but was reassured by her Master's praise. She missed Bnar greatly after the Sith War and reminisced about her time with him on Dantooine, as the sunsets there reminded her of Ossus.
Nuur and Duron Qel-Droma developed a strong romantic relationship while working together during the Great Hunt. Nuur shared her memories of Ossus with him and confided in him about the loss of her Master. Qel-Droma supported and comforted her when she longed for her Master, reassuring her that he was in the Force, listening to her. Despite their friendship and attraction, Qel-Droma was critical of Nuur's methods on Korriban, condemning her plan to infiltrate the Sith Academy.
Just as Qel-Droma comforted Nuur during her recollections, Nuur comforted Qel-Droma after his apocalyptic visions. Following his premonition of the Jedi Civil War, Nuur reminded him that it was just a vision before embracing him in a kiss. She later angrily defended her feelings for Qel-Droma to Saresh and refused to renounce her love for him, just as he refused to do the same for her. When her lover was mortally wounded by a terentatek, Nuur was overcome with grief and lost to the dark side. She blamed Saresh for Qel-Droma's death but claimed her hatred for the Twi'lek was nothing compared to her desire for revenge against the animal that killed Qel-Droma. Before dying, she accepted her abandonment of the Jedi ways, claiming that nothing mattered after the death of her love.
Although they worked closely during the Great Hunt, Nuur and Saresh had an antagonistic relationship in its final stages. This was due to Saresh's jealousy of Nuur and Qel-Droma's relationship, as well as differing interpretations of the Jedi Code. Saresh repeatedly warned the two humans that their passion would lead to the dark side but was unsurprised to find them kissing. This led to an argument between the three Jedi, with Nuur accusing him of dark-sided behavior and arrogance. Unlike Qel-Droma, Nuur embraced the conflict with her Twi'lek companion and refused to hold back. She later regretted Saresh's death but felt he was to blame for his own demise, as well as Qel-Droma's.
As a student, Nuur earned the trust and confidence of Ood Bnar, who considered her the most promising student he had trained. Under his guidance, Nuur constructed a well-balanced and clearly defined yellow-bladed lightsaber, exemplary of excellent lightsaber construction. Her abilities inspired confidence in the Jedi Council, who counted her among the Order's greatest hunters. During the Great Hunt, she contributed to the near-extinction of the terentatek species and personally killed several of them, despite their lethality, particularly to Jedi. Shaela Nuur was also part of a three-way bond with Duron Qel-Droma and Guun Han Saresh, which aided them in battle and in their devotion to the light side. However, this bond proved too weak to withstand the dark aura of Korriban.
Shaela Nuur was first featured in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, although her name is sometimes incorrectly spelled "Nur" in the game. In the game, she is presented as skeletal remains discovered by the player in Naga Sadow's tomb. The datapad found on her remains, along with those of Duron Qel-Droma and Guun Han Saresh, served as the basis for the comic "Shadows and Light," written by Joshua Ortega and illustrated by Dustin Weaver. Additionally, Nuur was included in the 2008 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.