Anor, Nom

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Species:
  Yuuzhan Vong

• Gender:
  Male

• Size:
  1.77 meters

• Weapon:
  plaeryin bol; amphistaff

• Affiliation:
  Yuuzhan Vong

• 

From the Expanded Universe

Spearheading the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy was a silver-tongued and black-hearted executor known as Nom Anor. Though that was his true name, it was only one of several he bore during his advance mission to infiltrate a galaxy of infidels.

This highly skilled member of the Intendent caste has bioengineering talents that rival the skilled Shapers of his people. He crafted organic tools of cloak and dagger, and created an insidious virus with which he afflicted Mara Jade Skywalker. Even when stripped of weaponry, Nom Anor was not unarmed -- his eye socket conceals a plaeryin bol capable of spitting deadly venom.

Anor worked both as a subtle manipulator and a political firebrand, disrupting the politics of local systems and stirring up trouble for the New Republic and the new Jedi order. Anor pulled the strings behind Xandel Carivus, a key member of the Imperial Interim Council that replaced the Empire after the death of Palpatine's clone. His behind-the-scenes actions helped hasten the eventual downfall of the fragmented Empire.

Nom Anor disappeared for years, resurfacing on the planet Rhommamool as the leader of the Red Knights of Life extremist group. His heated rhetoric against droids, technology and the Jedi amassed a sizable following, straining the delicate peace between Rhommamool and sister planet Osarian. As the crisis escalated on the twin worlds, Nom Anor again vanished, faking his own death.

His advance mission was over; shortly after the Rhommamool incident, the Yuuzhan Vong invasion began in force. This principal incursion, led mostly by members of the intendent caste, was deemed a failure, and Anor's status was tainted by association. The next Yuuzhan Vong wave consisted of the warrior caste.

Anor forged tenuous alliances in an effort to smooth differences between him and the warrior caste, who were predisposed to distrust the intendent. Anor hatched a scheme to use a defector to defeat the Jedi, but this eventually failed. Anor was able to recover by bringing the Hutts into the Yuuzhan Vong fold as allies. Knowing full well the Hutts were untrustworthy, Anor used them to sew disinformation into the New Republic ranks.

Anor was finally able to redeem himself in Warmaster Tsavong Lah's eyes by devastating and conquering the world of Duro. It was a hollow victory, as the Warmaster did not promote Anor, and the intendent then found himself competing with Vergere, Tsavong Lah's mysterious alien underling and advisor.

Upon the discovery that Jacen and Jaina Solo were twins -- a relationship of great significance in Yuuzhan Vong mythology -- Tsavong Lah tasked Anor and Vergere with the capture of the Solo children. The opportunity came when the Solos infiltrated the heart of a Yuuzhan Vong operation on Myrkr. By mission's end, Anakin Solo was dead, Jaina Solo had escaped, but Jacen Solo had been captured.

Anor intended to twist Jacen Solo into the instrument of Jaina Solo's destruction, fulfilling an ancient Yuuzhan Vong prophecy when one twin sacrificed the other. Jacen proved difficult to break, however. Aided by the traitorous Vergere, Jacen escaped his captivity into the overgrown wilds of the Yuuzhan Vong-conquered Coruscant. Nom Anor led the charge to recapture him, but ultimately failed. Jacen Solo's efforts subtly destabilized the Yuuzhan Vong transformation of Coruscant, and the Yuuzhan Vong visions of perfection and infallibility began to erode.

Despite his failure, Nom Anor continued to risk heresy in his quest for information he could use to his advantage. Donning an ooglith masquer, he infiltrated a Yuuzhan Vong heretical sect, and learned that some of the deepest tenets of the Yuuzhan Vong philosophy may have foundations as unstable as Yuuzhan'tar's transformation. Failing the Warmaster again by advocating the disastrous attack on Ebaq 9, Anor fled to the depths of Coruscant, in disguise among the shamed castes. He gained popularity and power as Yu'shaa, a heretical prophet who spoke of reform and eventual freedom for the outcast Shamed Ones. Anor hoped to strike back at Overlord Shimrra in revenge for his misfortune.

When word of the living planet Zonoma Sekot was found, Nom Anor saw his opportunity. He knew Zonama Sekot was something Shimrra deeply feared. Confirming the planet's existence and location, Nom Anor returned to Shimrra and was reinstated for his discovery. He was elevated to the rank of Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar and was tasked to quell the growing ranks of heretical Shamed Ones, but Anor found that he could not control the very revolution he had previously sparked and fanned as Yu'shaa. In the interest of self-preservation, he again adopted the guise of the Prophet and led the Shamed Ones in battle against the warriors.

Attempting to escape the conflict, Anor was instead defeated and captured by Mara Jade Skywalker. Anor revealed to Mara Shimrra's plot to use the Republic's own Alpha Red virus to destroy Zonoma Sekot. He then agreed to take the Mara to Shimrra's Citadel while on the constant look out for an opportunity to escape. Shimrra was defeated, and Nom Anor, realizing he had no future, died when his escape craft crashed onto Coruscant.

Behind the Scenes

Though Nom Anor as a Yuuzhan Vong infiltrator was created for The New Jedi Order series of novels that started with Vector Prime, comic readers first got a brief, shadowy glimpse of the character in Crimson Empire II, where the character's motives and background remain largely a mystery.