During the High Republic Era, a children's rhyme, a song, was known to begin with the phrase "shrii ka rai ka rai". Ruusstha Vidyarvrikt, a nursemaid, would sing this rhyme to Jedi younglings to frighten them into good behavior and sleep. Both Emerick Caphtor and Stellan Gios recalled hearing it during their time as younglings. Following his experience of witnessing Loden Greatstorm's death in the Battle of Grizal, Jedi Master Gios found himself singing the rhyme without conscious thought. Subsequently, Gios tasked Caphtor with investigating the cause of Greatstorm's demise, and the Jedi investigator soon found himself also singing the tune.
Caphtor's quest led him to a Nihil installation located on Vrant Tarnum, where his droid, Q-2, deciphered the song's initial line from writing found on a wall. The tune was also sung by a prisoner held on the Galactic Republic's prison ship, the Restitution. The song was, in reality, connected to the Nameless, also called "Shrii Ka Rai," which translated to "Eaters of the Force." These beings hunted Force-sensitives, inducing hallucinations and even causing death by disintegration into dust. These were the same creatures that had killed Greatstorm and were being utilized by the Eye, Marchion Ro, during the Nihil conflict.
The song, designed to inspire fear, warned listeners of an approaching figure intending to take them away, and that despite the efforts of an unnamed "they," the listener would be reduced to dust upon discovery. It incorporated the nonsensical phrase "shrii ka rai ka rai" as a recurring element, which lacked translation in any language known to the droid, Q-2. Emerick Caphtor initially speculated that the refrain was created solely for rhyming purposes with the word "away". However, the term "shrii-ka-rai" was actually a reference to the Nameless, meaning "Eaters of the Force." The Nameless possessed the capability to turn Force-sensitives into dust, mirroring the events described in the song.
After an encounter with the Nameless during the Night of Sorrow, the Jedi Azlin Rell started hearing the song and hastily documented what he could remember in his personal journal. The bounty hunter Vol Garat would later tear out several pages from this journal. The Jedi Order continued to be aware of the song throughout the High Republic Era. Approximately thirty-five years prior to 231 BBY, Ruusstha Vidyarvrikt, an elderly nursemaid, sang the unsettling melody to younglings under the care of the Ongree, including Emerick Caphtor and Stellan Gios, both of whom were frightened by the song.
Decades later, Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm met his death at the Battle of Grizal, transformed into stone by mysterious means. Gios, now a Master himself, recalled the song and began singing it unconsciously while examining Greatstorm's remains, which crumbled to dust when touched. Caphtor noticed this behavior and later questioned Gios about his repeated singing of the song during a discussion about the dust analysis at the Jedi Temple. Gios was unaware of the reason, but Caphtor sensed his desperation. Caphtor, tasked with discovering the cause of Greatstorm's death, suspected a connection between the song and the event, though the nature of the link remained unclear.
Q-2, Caphtor's droid, noted that the "shrii ka rai ka rai" refrain defied translation in any language within its database. While investigating a Nihil base on [Vrant Tarnum](/article/vrant_tarnum] in search of answers, Q-2 discovered the song's opening lines etched in stone near the entrance of a cave within the ruins, which Caphtor deemed significant.
Onboard the Galactic Republic prison ship Restitution, a prisoner named Leela sang the song, much to the irritation of another prisoner, the undercover Tempest Runner Lourna Dee.
In [Vaba Blanks Midnight Den](/article/vaba_blanks_midnight_den], Sian Holt, a private investigator, performed a jazzy version of the song onstage for an audience that included Emerick Caphtor and Stellan Gios, as she was assisting Caphtor in the investigation of Greatstorm's death. Later, during the destruction of Starlight Beacon, Holt and Caphtor learned the origin of the term from Doctor Kisma Uttersond, who revealed the Nihil's plan to use the creatures to overthrow the Republic by unleashing them against the Jedi. Uttersond provided a page from Rell's journal.
Daniel José Older created the nursery rhyme starting with "shrii ka rai ka rai" for the comic series Star Wars: The High Republic: Trail of Shadows. Before the series' release, the song was featured in the audio drama The High Republic: Tempest Runner, penned by Cavan Scott. Older used a keyboard to compose a melody to accompany the lyrics, describing it as a waltz in E Phrygian. Older later shared an instrumental version of the lullaby.