Valara Saar, also known by the title of Prophetess, was a Human Force Adept who hailed from Yashuvhu. She was a female who lived during the decline of the Galactic Republic and into the era of the Galactic Empire. Saar became aware of the Jedi and was eager to join the Jedi Order when the Republic ship Pathfinder III arrived at Yashuvhu. Gifted in the skill of language acquisition, she rapidly gained proficiency in Galactic Basic Standard. Consequently, she acted as a mediator between the Yashuvhi natives and the Republic crew. Ultimately, she persuaded the initial contact team to transport her off-world with the aim of becoming a Jedi. Despite her talent and keenness to learn, she was unable to become a member of the Order, and she then began a period of wandering. After traveling without direction through the galaxy, she made her way back to her home planet. There, in the isolated Yashaka Mountains, she continued her study of the Force and became an instructor to some of the Yashuvhi people. Her teachings, along with her encounter with the Chiss Ascendancy, were rediscovered in 28 ABY by Luke Skywalker during his search for Zonama Sekot.
Saar also had two duuvhals, which were not only her pets, but also her companions and trained fighters. Zeev, the first duuvhal, was adopted when she was young, but he perished in a battle on Aargau while she was wandering. Later, after resettling on Yashuvhu, she adopted another duuvhal, which she named "Jedi".
Saar's ancestry included a Human Jedi who had crash-landed on the isolated planet of Yashuvhu at some point during the Old Republic era. Her natural talents with the Force were apparent from her early childhood. She also inherited the sacred scroll, an ancient document on which her long-deceased relative had recorded a portion of the Jedi Code. Furthermore, early in her life, Saar adopted a duuvhal as a pet and named it "Zeev."
In the years preceding the Clone Wars, the Republic exploratory vessel Pathfinder III landed on Yashuvhu as part of its first-contact mission. The crew discovered that the Human population was interested in communicating with the Jedi aboard the vessel and learning about them. The first-contact specialists were able to convey some information about the Jedi to the Yashuvhi, which was received with great religious enthusiasm. However, Valara Saar was the most interested of all the Yashuvhi. Her aptitude for rapidly learning and understanding languages enabled her to communicate with the explorers, who used Galactic Basic Standard instead of the native language.
Saar persuaded the crew of the Pathfinder III to take her to other worlds, with the intention of following the Jedi path. However, her free-spirited nature found the Jedi's ways too restrictive. Although she was taught valuable skills and worked diligently, she ultimately left the Jedi without becoming a member of the Order. Disappointed, Saar chose to seek her destiny elsewhere in the galaxy, becoming a wanderer. She used her Force skills in exchange for passage to different planets. She assisted those in need wherever she encountered them and continued to expand her knowledge of the Force without a master's guidance, bartering her skills for transportation from planet to planet. Saar also formed several important friendships during her travels. However, during a mission on Aargau, her pet and companion duuvhal, Zeev, was killed.
After years of wandering, Saar eventually returned to her native Yashuvhu, despite her friends' offers to take her wherever she needed or wanted to go. She chose isolation, residing in a hut hidden in the Yashaka Mountains. The Yashuvhi began to refer to her as the "Prophetess" and protector of the people. She became a teacher of the Force, only teaching her students what she believed they were ready to learn, while also learning much herself. During this time, Saar developed her own philosophical principles, which she imparted to her students. Her teachings were clearly influenced by the Jedi Code and expanded philosophies. She also acquired a new duuvhal pup to replace Zeev, naming it "Jedi." This pup was her only companion, as she never had a partner.
Although Saar lived in seclusion, she was known as a defender of her people, particularly against the Chiss Ascendancy. In 28 ABY, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker discovered documents in the Chiss Expeditionary Library on Csilla regarding Valara Saar and her home planet while searching for information about Zonama Sekot. The Cheunh text mentioned a Chiss landing party that had "only recently" arrived on Yashuvhu. Saar—who, according to the records, had aged considerably—initially refused to meet with the Chiss, even though some of her followers had. However, when the team approached her dwelling, she forcefully expelled them from the planet. The Chiss records strongly suggested that she wielded what appeared to be a lightsaber during the encounter.
Valara Saar was a free-spirited Force Adept who was already a skilled Force-user when the Pathfinder III crew arrived on Yashuvhu. She was an enthusiastic learner of the Jedi ways, having been exposed to parts of the Jedi Code through the sacred scroll passed down through her family. After persuading the first-contact crew to take her off-world, she attempted to join the Jedi Order. However, after learning some basic skills, she was not accepted, partly due to her independent nature. Consequently, Saar became somewhat disillusioned and believed that she could only grow in the Force by traveling the galaxy. After wandering for a time, she eventually returned to Yashuvhu, but she considered traveling again with the help of those she had met earlier in her life.
Saar was also intelligent, demonstrated by her ability to quickly learn new languages, such as Basic when she encountered the crew of the Pathfinder III. She continuously sought knowledge, learning about the Force even without a master's guidance. She also raised at least two duuvhals, which she trained for combat and who served as her constant companions.
Saar was known as a wise instructor, only teaching her followers what they were ready to learn. Even while teaching, she continued to expand her own knowledge of the Force. Saar's teachings incorporated many aspects of the Jedi Code and philosophical practices, including patience, humility, and compassion, as well as clarity of thought, balance between physical and mental abilities, strict dietary observance, and a solitary lifestyle. Living according to her teachings, she never took a mate or had children.
Valara Saar was already a skilled Force user when she first encountered the Republic representatives aboard the Pathfinder III, although she was untrained and considered a wild talent. She learned some skills from the Jedi before wandering the galaxy. During this time, she used her skills to barter for passage for herself to travel. Upon returning to Yashuvhu, she became a teacher of the Force and was revered for her combat skills. No one could approach her against her will, as her fighting ability surpassed all others, even without her Force abilities. She continued to grow in the Force and may have developed the ability to create Force Illusions. Her ability to fight and use the Force was evident when she drove a landing party of Chiss from the planet. The skirmish was well-documented in the Expeditionary Library.
During the era of the Pathfinder III encounter, Valara Saar was known to use a quarterstaff and sling in combat. She was also known to be accompanied by Zeev, a pet duuvhal whom she had raised from a pup. The animal accompanied her and could bite someone upon her command, injecting them with a poisonous venom. Zeev served Saar until his death in a skirmish on Aargau. Upon her return to Yashuvhu, she adopted and trained another duuvhal pup, which she named "Jedi." She was also skilled with a blaster and continued to use her quarterstaff. During the encounter with a team from the Chiss Ascendancy, it was documented that she wielded what appeared to have been a lightsaber.
The exact period in which Valara Saar lived has not been definitively established. Although the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, where Saar first appeared, covers the eras of the six Star Wars films, a more precise date cannot be determined beyond the general era in which her life events occurred. Determining an exact date is further complicated by the text of The New Jedi Order: Force Heretic II: Refugee, published the year after the web enhancement. In 28 ABY, Yashuvhu is described as having encountered the Chiss "only recently," while the following sentence states that Valara Saar was an "ancient woman called the Prophetess who oversaw the spiritual development of the colony." However, the novel also states that she expelled the Chiss landing party when they attempted to approach her dwelling. The initial reference to the spiritual development of the colony may be similar to Saar's original appearance in the role-playing supplement Meet Valara Saar: Force Adept, which states that an unidentified Jedi was marooned on Yashuvhu "many thousands of years" before Valara Saar's lifetime. This Jedi established a Force-sensitive bloodline and left behind a parchment containing part of the Jedi Code.
Valara Saar's image was first used in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game as an example of a first-level character from the Force Adept class. Wizards of the Coast later provided her background information on its website. Cory J. Herndon wrote the background information. Her likeness is also used in Star Wars Miniatures: Alliance and Empire to represent a "generic Human Force Adept."
While not definitively canon, Valara Saar also makes a brief appearance in Jedi Counseling 11: Illusion Confusion, a web enhancement and help supplement to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. In this supplement, Saar is used in an example where she casts a Force illusion of Darth Vader to frighten some guards. The supplement also mentions an encounter with at least one Yuuzhan Vong.