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Synthetic lightsaber crystal

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(Redirected from Synth-crystal)


Synthetic lightsaber crystal
Production information
Manufacturer

Self fabricated

Creators

Varies

Discovered

Between 6,900 BBY[1] and 3,961 BBY[2]

Value

Varies

Physical and technical specifications
Structure

Crystal

Size

Between 1 to 3 inches

Weight

Varies

Capacity

Generates a slightly stronger lightsaber blade than is the norm.

Usage and history
Purpose

Lightsaber focusing crystal

Heritage

Sith

Affiliation
  • Sith
  • Dark Jedi
  • Dark Side practitioners in general
[Source]
"I don't need to remind you that a crimson blade doesn't guarantee that the wielder is a Sith, any more than every person strong in the Force is a Jedi. Asajj Ventress was a mere apprentice to Dooku, not a true Sith. A crimson blade can owe to nothing more than a synthetic power crystal. Then crimson is simply a color, like Master Windu's amethyst blade."
―Roan Shryne[src]

A Synthetic lightsaber crystal, commonly referred to as a Synth-crystal, is a type of Lightsaber crystal that is artificially created, rather than naturally formed by geological processes. Due to the methods used in their creation, they often formed with a red coloration, though they could be made with any color through special manipulations of the creation process or on the crystal itself through the Force.[3] The red-hued lightsaber blades generated by synthetic crystals with a red coloration were often nicknamed "bloodshine blades". As a result of their artificial origins, synthetic crystals created more powerful lightsaber blades and could be more easily augmented.

It should be noted that not all red lightsaber crystals were synthetic. Red-hued crystals were known to form naturally in the Crystal Caves on Dantooine, along with blue, green, yellow and violet crystals. However, unlike the other crystals, the red crystals were typically found in unhatched kinrath eggs. Though red crystals were ordinarily unsuitable for use in lightsabers, the Sith discovered that they could create synth-crystals which they energized, magnetized, and modified with the power of the dark side of the Force in special furnaces, causing the crystal to glow in harmonic vibration. As a result of their common usage by Sith and other Darksiders after this discovery, synthetic crystals with a red coloration became a staple of such groups, and their use among Jedi was strongly discouraged.[3]

Contents

Specifications

Creation

The red-hued synth-crystal powering Darth Vader's lightsaber.

Synthetic lightsaber crystals were manufactured within a machine known as a geological compressor. The original purpose of the compressor was to replicate geological conditions on distant worlds in a laboratory setting, and it was easily adapted for creating synthetic crystals, as crystals are a result of geological processes. The raw material that the crystal was fashioned from was easily accessible, simply being minerals with a high carbon concentration. The raw material would then be placed within the machine and essentially left to bake for a period of twenty four hours, during which time, the initiate creating the crystal would meditate on it with the Force, guiding the formation and increasing the potentcy. This allowed for an initiate to create a crystal that best suited his or her own needs.[3]

Most synthetic crystals are red, as a result of both the forging process and often the initiate's intentional manipulations, as most individuals who utilize synthetic crystals are Darksiders. However, synth-crystals could be made in any color, requiring only slight adjustments of the compression process and special manipulations through the Force during the forging. As Jedi frowned on the use of synthetic crystals in lightsabers, most individuals who utilized colors other than red were Darksiders looking to hide their affiliations.[3]

Variants

"This synthetic crystal is stronger than the one powering your lightsaber now, and it is much, much stronger than the natural crystals the Jedi use in their own weapons."
―Qordis[src]
A Sith lightsaber with a blade generated by an unstable synth-crystal.

In addition to the numerous colors synthetic crystals could be fabricated in, there were also variations in the crystals themselves that affected how they focused lightsabers.

Standard

A standard synthetic crystal was created through the successful replication of the geological structure of natural crystals. Standard crystals set the baseline for synthetic crystals in general; they generated a more powerful lightsaber blade than natural crystals, and often demonstrated a red coloration, though that was easily controlled.[3] In fact, synth-crystal blades were so powerful that they had the rare potential to "break the blade" of standard lightsabers by overloading the energy matrix and instantly burning out the other lightsaber. Though this happened extremely rarely, it was a known and frightening possibility in combat.[4]

However, synth-crystal generated lightsaber blades were in general were less manueverable than the blades generated by natural crystals, and were generally more unstable.[4]

Compressed

Compressed synth-crystals were a result of a failure to accurately replicate the natural geological process that formed crystals. The result was a crystal that was far more compressed than natural crystals, causing the blade generated to be considerably thinner than standard blades. However, a byproduct of this thinner blade was that it allowed for greater precision and control.[3] In addition to a thinner blade, the other visual indicators for a blade generated by a compressed synth-crystal were oscilations of energy that ran along the length of the blade at regular, though rapid intervals.[5]

Unstable

Like compressed crystals, unstable crystals were the result of the initiate failing to accurately replicate the natural formation processes of crystals. The blades generated by unstable crystals were obviously more unstable than the norm, causing the blades generated to crackle with energy at erratic intervals, sometimes causing sparks to fly or streaks of electrical energy to run along the length. Due to the energy sparking from the blade, unstable synth-crystals caused more damage than normal when they hit enemies. However, they were much more prone to shorting out, causing the lightsaber to deactivate for a time.[3]

History

The Sith acolyte Haazen wielding a red-bladed lightsaber.

Its unknown when the Sith and other Dark side groups began using synthetic crystals, though red crystals have been in use since the days of the Old Sith Empire, with notables such as Karness Muur and his followers wielding such weapons.[1] However, at the time, most Sith wielded Sith swords rather than lightsabers, and after the fall of the Empire, red crystals ceased to be used for over a millennia.

The first Sith-follower to take up a red-bladed weapon since the fall of the Empire was the acolyte Haazen, as the previous Dark Lord in power; Exar Kun; and his followers simply continued using their Jedi lightsabers in combat.[6] Darths Revan and Malak followed suit when they rose to power, making the usage of red-crystals widespread among their Sith followers. Due to their common use within Revan's Sith Empire, red-hued crystals were marked as the staple of Darksiders.[2]

The primary reason for the usage of synthetic crystals among Sith and other Darksiders was the need to stay hidden, as most of the sites where natural crystals suitable for lightsabers could be gathered were frequented by the Jedi Order. Eventually, synth-crystal usage among such groups became a tradition, with most members considering the creation of a synthetic crystal superior to the more passive Jedi method of gathering of natural formations, which was looked on as relying on the "untamed wilds of space" to provide. In fact, synthetic crystal creation was viewed by Darksiders to be sign of greater mastery over the Force.[3]

Luke Skywalker's green synthetic crystal-generated blade.

Conversely, the Jedi frowned on the creation and use of synth-crystals among their initiates, associating this with taking the quick and easy path, as they believed they should rely on crystals found naturally.[3] However, sometimes Jedi were forced to create synth-crystals when a weapon was needed and no naturally occurring crystals were accessible. Notable examples include Luke Skywalker, who used a synth-crystal for his first lightsaber, because he had no knowledge of the natural crystals at that point, and his niece Jaina Solo. Synth-crystals made by the Jedi usually had colors other than red, to avoid similarities with the Sith. Skywalker created a green crystal, while Solo produced a violet one.[4]

In fact, because Darth Sidious had most of the sites where crystals occurred naturally looted or destroyed during the reign of the Galactic Empire, the New Jedi Order had to rely on synth-crystals almost exclusively.

Behind the Scenes

As lightsaber crystals didn't make their appearance in Star Wars mythos until later, the color difference between Jedi and Sith lightsabers was originally thought to reflect the personality of the wielder. This erroneous viewpoint was even supported by the comic book adaptation of Return of the Jedi, which depicted Luke Skywalker's lightsaber emitting a red blade when Vader ignited it.

While the idea that lightsaber blade colors reflected the personality of the wielders was eventually corrected, red crystals weren't actually established to be synthetic in nature until the release of Star Wars Insider 62 in 2002.[7]

Appearances

Sources

Darth Andeddu's red synth-crystal.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 25: Vector, Part 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Jedi Academy Training Manual
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
  5. ↑ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (video game)
  6. ↑ Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
  7. ↑ Fightsaber: Jedi Lightsaber Combat
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