Grievous

Grievous, born Qymaen jai Sheelal, was a Kaleesh male warlord who served within the military forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems as a commanding officer during the Clone Wars in the final years of the Republic Era. In addition to his position as a general within the Separatist Droid Army, the Kaleesh held the title of Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies throughout the war, where he led countless engagements against the Republic's Grand Army. Recognized for his ruthless tactics and extensive cybernetic enhancements, Grievous utilized the Separatist Droid Army and his adept combat skills to instill fear throughout the galaxy as he traveled to and invaded planets while engaging numerous Knights of the Jedi Order, his sworn enemies.

A native of Kalee, a planet within Wild Space, Sheelal grew into a fearsome warrior and warlord of his people and developed exceptional skill in warfare and military strategy during his homeworld's war against the Yam'rii, an insectoid species from the invading neighboring planet Huk in the star system with the same name near theirs. After demonstrating his military brilliance and earning a fearsome reputation on his homeworld, Qymaen jai Sheelal eventually adopted the name "Grievous," a name that inspired fear among his enemies. Grievous fought alongside the Izvoshra, Kalee's finest warriors, and organized them into his personal bodyguard, with each serving as a khan commanding their own troops. Grievous then waged war against the Yam'rii with increased intensity and determination while on the offensive. The Sith Lords Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, his Sith master, recognized his exceptional potential as he led his people in their ruthless war against the Yam'rii. Under Grievous's leadership, the Kaleesh successfully drove the Yam'rii back to their homeworld. Grievous then launched a series of campaigns on Huk itself, and advanced across the Huk worlds. However, the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order intervened in the conflict on the side of the Yam'rii, leading to punishment and famine for the Kaleesh and generating an enduring grudge in Grievous. The Sith, who had significant plans for Grievous, offered him cybernetic enhancements, which the Kaleesh accepted and took on over time. Sometime later, Dooku conspired to mortally wound Grievous and sabotaged his shuttle, which resulted in a gruesome crash that left the man on the brink of death. After that, Grievous gave up almost everything that remained of his organic form—whether lost in the crash or by his own decision-making—to survive.

The reconstructed Grievous became a skilled lightsaber duelist under Dooku's guidance, who trained the Kaleesh in the arts of lightsaber combat and eventually welcomed him into a position as a warrior in the Confederacy. Shortly after the advent of the Clone Wars, Grievous was quickly granted the rank of general, as well as the title of Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, making him one of the most powerful people within the Separatist Alliance, second only to his master Dooku. Grievous wielded his skills as a brilliant military strategist and melee combatant during numerous campaigns against the Republic throughout the Clone Wars while also gaining a reputation for hunting and killing Jedi Knights as a Jedi hunter. He made a habit of claiming the lightsabers of defeated Jedi as trophies and weapons to be used against other opponents. His position and threat level led to his preeminence as one of the Republic's primary targets throughout the course of the war. As the war played out, Grievous found a personal nemesis in Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom he dueled on numerous occasions.

Days before the end of the war in 19 BBY, Grievous, under orders from Darth Sidious, launched a daring and unprecedented assault on the planet Coruscant, the capital world of the Republic. In his assault, the Kaleesh managed to take the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, Sheev Palpatine—in reality secretly Sidious himself—captive aboard his flagship, the Providence-class Dreadnought Invisible Hand. However, during the battle, the Chancellor was rescued from the general's grasp by Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, an engagement that also resulted in Dooku's death. Subsequently, Grievous became the de facto leader of the entire Separatist Alliance and immediately withdrew of all remaining reinforcements and fled into the Outer Rim Territories, prolonging the war. Following the Battle of Coruscant, Grievous, succeeding Dooku as the Confederacy's Head of State, retreated to the planet Utapau, where he addressed and relocated the members of the Executive Separatist Council to the planet Mustafar under Sidious's orders. However, unknown to the general, Grievous's location on Utapau was betrayed by Sidious, resulting in a Republic invasion of the planet in an effort to bring a decisive conclusion to the war. Grievous was ultimately slain by his nemesis, General Kenobi, following a prolonged chase between the two, which resulted in the war's conclusion as well as the Confederacy's systematic collapse soon after.

Text and facts from the “Grievous” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.