Synthetic lightsaber crystal



"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

A Synthetic lightsaber crystal, or Synth-crystal was a synthetic reconstruction of a crystal, commonly with a red shading rather than those geometric models naturally created, although they can be made in any color. Due to the common red coloration, they were often nicknamed 'bloodshine blades'. Synthetic crystals were used because they created a more powerful blade and were more easily augmented.

Not all red lightsaber crystals were synthetic. They were known to form naturally in the Crystal Caves on Dantooine, along with blue, green, yellow and violet crystals. However, unlike these colors, 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.

History


"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

The process of creating a Synth-crystal attempted to replicate millennia of geological compression using machines and computers and was not always successful. The machinery was known as geological compressor and was commonly used to replicate geological conditions on a different world inside a laboratory. The raw materials could be gathered on any world with sufficient carbon concentration. Once placed inside the compressor, the Force-user guided the formation of the crystal with the Force, which sometimes took days to proceed.

Although unstable, these "Sith" crystals produced a red blade which struck fear into the hearts of their enemies which was in fact stronger than the beams that regular crystals produced and 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. Additionally, Sith blades were also less maneuverable than their Jedi counterparts.

Originally the Sith used Synth-crystals due to a need to stay hidden from the Jedi; eventually it became a tradition. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious produced unique synthetic crystals for all his apprentices, using his considerable powers and abilities to create extremely powerful blades that were practically alive with the dark side. However, one of his apprentices, Darth Vader, used a synthetic crystal colored light crimson, instead of the red shading used by his predecessors. Sith synth-crystals were usually made by the Sith master, rather than his apprentice, although Darth Maul was one notable exception.

All synthetic crystals used by the Sith generated a blade slightly more powerful than traditional, natural crystals, but the blade was also less maneuverable and more unstable than that of their Jedi counterparts. Though rare, it was known that Sith-made lightsabers with synthetic crystals could, on occasion, overload the blade of a regular lightsaber, causing it to short out (as almost happened to Obi-wan Kenobi during his duel with Darth Vader on the first Death Star), giving the Sith a small psychological advantage over their enemies. It was also common for the Sith to use the Force to channel their hatred for the Jedi during the forging process, imbuing it with the dark side of the Force and shaping it into greater potency.

For many Jedi, the idea of using a synth-crystal was close to anathema, as they believed they should rely on crystals found naturally across the galaxy. 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. In fact, because Sidious had most of the sites where crystals occurred naturally looted or destroyed, the New Jedi Order had to rely on synth-crystals almost exclusively.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers
 * Fury
 * ''Invincible