Singing stone

Singing stone
Historical information
Location(s)	Coruscant Ryloth The Halcyon
Physical specifications
Substance type	Crystal/gemstone
Color	Purple Teal (Hayananeya)
Properties	Produced music under the flow of water Intoned to the galaxy's vibrations (in Twi'lek legend)
Usage and history
Use(s)	Meditation and contemplation of the Force Mystical navigational powers (in Twi'lek legend) Personal pendant
Cost	Invaluable; either found, inherited, or stolen

"I'm glad you brought schematics—no one's seen this stone for centuries. These singing stones are legendary for their special properties and shape that comes from ancient, traditional Twi'lek mining practices…"

―Zabaka, to Halcyon guests

Singing stones were crystals sacred to the Twi'lek people of the planet Ryloth. Their mythology held that their homeworld's singing stones were in tune with the galaxy and provided navigational powers. Among them was the invaluable Hayananeya gemstone, which laid in the hyperspace compass of the Halcyon starcruiser. Singing stones also formed a small fountain that Jedi Grand Master Yoda used for meditation and contemplation purposes. The stones produced soft music as water flowed over them.

Description

"They could be after Shug's hyperspace compass! The gem at its center is invaluable…"

―Captain Ponk, warning Master Assek in light of the Nihil raid

According to the craftsperson Zabaka, the properties and shape of singing stones were special by virtue of ancient mining customs of the Twi'lek people. According to Twi'lek mythology, the singing stones of Ryloth, their homeworld in the Outer Rim, were intoned to the galaxy's vibrations and had mystical powers of navigation. The Twi'leks considered the stones sacred, and one of them was named Hayananeya, which was a teal and spherical faceted cabochon that was also known as the "Singing Stone" and the "mother of the singing stones" that told her "children" what song to sing. Stories of it were passed down to Twi'lek children, who learnt that only their people could hear the stones. The Hayananeya was embedded in the invaluable hyperspace compass of the MPO-1400 Purgill-class star cruiser Halcyon. Twi'lek singing stones were considered to be family on Ryloth, and they were either found, inherited, or stolen.

Singing stone crystals formed a small fountain kept by the Jedi Order's Grand Master Yoda at his quarters in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Core Worlds capital planet of the Galactic Republic. The crystals emitted soft sounds under the flow of water. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi usually found the music emanating from the fountain deeply soothing, noting that it resembled sounds between that of a chime and a stringed instrument.

History

Lonesome pilgrim, chased by tears

"[…] in motion things are, and stopped, they cannot be. All must proceed as the Force wills it."

―Yoda counsels Obi-Wan Kenobi after contemplating the flow of a singing stone fountain

The Hayananeya singing stone went missing in 266 BBY. Stolen from Ryloth, it ended up being laid in the hyperspace compass of the engineer Shug Drabor, who kept his compass aboard the Chandrila Charter Company's starcruiser Halcyon, which embarked on its maiden voyage in 241 BBY. Upon Nihil raiders' attack on the Halcyon in 231 BBY, Captain Gol Ponk warned Jedi Master Nib Assek that the Nihil might be seeking the hyperspace compass' gemstone. The Nihil were successfully repelled after stealing codes for the Chandrila Charter Company shipyards. Shug Drabor was grateful to the Jedi for saving his starship and his compass, and he built the Lightsaber Training Pod aboard as a token of appreciation.

Yoda's quarters, where a fountain of singing stones was installed

In 19 BBY, when Kenobi was summoned to Yoda's quarters, the young Jedi found the Grand Master sitting by a singing stone fountain as per usual, though Yoda was regarding the fountain's flow in the Force instead of meditating. Kenobi was concerned about the well-being of his fellow Jedi Master and friend Quinlan Vos, who had recently gone incommunicado during his mission to assassinate the Sith Lord Dooku and end the Clone Wars. Not even the combined influence of the stones and the similarly soothing scent of special oils heated over small flames in Yoda's room could alleviate Kenobi's sense of worry.

Over Ryloth's chaotic and long history of invasion and occupation, the latest by Dooku's Separatists during the Clone Wars and then by the Galactic Empire after the Sith usurped the Republic's democracy at the end of the war in 19 BBY, the planet's sacred singing stones were lost to the Twi'lek people. After the Rebellion eliminated the Empire's leadership in 4 ABY, the Halcyon's hyperspace compass appeared no longer in use to the rebel Leia Organa, who was appreciating how the instrument required simple manual adjustments, unlike navigation computers. In 34 ABY, the First Order destroyed the New Republic's leadership and began a quick campaign of conquest over the galaxy, including over independent worlds. Among them was Ryloth. The Ryloth Defense Authority militia sheltered the Resistance as it recovered from the Battle of Crait in its war against the First Order, though the respite was brief as the Rylothian government soon capitulated to First Order authority.

Gaya's call

"She stands there dazzling in all her glory. A caged spectacle, so beautiful, her tragic story. She comes from mystic zones and ancient temples, but she was stolen from her sacred land. She's the chosen one. A golden sovereign cheering bright. I can hear her singing out to me. She's the fortune of a thousand tribes."

―Gaya's song "Hayananeya"

Gaya, the musician who sought the Hayananeya singing stone aboard the Halcyon

In the same year, the Resistance made secret supply arrangements with Captain Riyola Keevan of the Halcyon, which launched its 275th anniversary cruise from the Core World Chandrila to the Outer Rim planet Batuu, having been restored to its original design during the New Republic Era and continued operating under Chandrila Star Line. The starcruiser left the Chandrila system with a filled cargo hold and dozens of guests, who were able to see the Hayananeya singing stone in its hyperspace compass, which was displayed in an alcove between the passenger services desk and The Chandrila Collection boutique on Deck 6, adjacent to the Atrium. A plaque in Aurebesh noted that the compass had been restored by Shug Drabor "in the earliest days of the Halcyon's travels." When the starcruiser's guests initially mustered in the Atrium, Cruise Director Lenka Mok introduced the compass as a treasured highlight of the Halcyon that was used by Shug Drabor.

Joining the cruise was the Twi'lek musician Gaya, the human manager Raithe Kole, and the Rodian keyboardist Ouannii. Each of them wore a golden necklace featuring a purple singing stone, and the troupe had struck a deal with Captain Keevan to help the Resistance. However, Keevan distrusted Gaya and Kole as they were Rylothians who were focused on securing Ryloth's interests. The crew of the Halcyon hence recruited sympathetic guests to ensure the delivery of its cargo, including coaxium hyperfuel, to the Resistance. As the guests enjoyed dinner in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room on Deck 4, Gaya performed for them a series of songs with Ouannii on the keyboards. Among the songs was "Hayananeya," named after the sacred stone of the same name.

Before singing her song, Gaya described Ryloth's history as a tragedy, epitomized by the flight of the Hayananeya from her homeworld, and she expressed hope that the singing stone could be found and returned to restore harmony at home. The song itself referred to the Hayananeya and "her tragic story," recounting the stone's origin in "mystic zones and ancient temples" and sacred status to "a thousand tribes," yet the stone was stolen and traveled continually as a "lonesome pilgrim" with a ceaseless mission and "chased by all her many tears." At the end, Gaya sang about how she was hearing the Hayananeya's song, calling out to the stone in her wish for its return to Ryloth with the expectation that emancipation was close at hand.

After dinner, First Order forces seeking the Resistance detained the starcruiser over the Core World of Kuat, and stormtroopers guarded the hyperspace compass aboard. Later, Kole asked sympathetic guests to work with him to swap the singing stone in the compass with a counterfeit. The manager sent them datapad schematics of the Hayananeya to be relayed to the craftsperson Zabaka at the Toydarian Toymaker in Batuu's Black Spire Outpost. After Kole's collaborators sliced into Zabaka's comms to send the schematics, the craftsperson mentioned to them the singing stones' legendary status—she claimed that their properties and shape derived from traditional Twi'lek mining practices of old, and that the Hayananeya had not been seen for centuries.

Zabaka then made a replica of the Hayananeya for Kole's collaborators, who smuggled it in a crate of toys aboard the Halcyon. Following the space battle between the First Order and the Resistance over Batuu, Gaya hosted an autograph session while Kole and his collaborators prepared their heist outside the Cargo Hold on Deck 4. Kole told his team about the significance of the singing stones to Ryloth, using his pendant as an example of an inherited singing stone, and that the Hayananeya ought to be liberated and taken back to its rightful home. As some members of the team stole the Hayananeya, other members made loud distractions in the Atrium. Among them, the aspiring singer-guitarist Sandro Alimander performed alongside Ouannii, the Saja lightsaber trainers distracted the stormtroopers, and other guests conversed with Captain Keevan.

Although Keevan confronted Kole, he had successfully replaced the singing stone with the counterfeit alongside his team. Kole subsequently handed over the Hayananeya to Gaya before their collaborators outside the Cargo Hold, where the pair thanked their supporters for retrieving the stone. Kole recounted how he had dreamed of returning it to Gaya since they were small, and Gaya recalled that she had heard stories about the Hayananeya as a child, and that the stone's "repatriation" would serve as a beacon for the people of Ryloth to a place of safety; she expressed her belief to the team that the Hayananeya's return would fulfill her mission to pass on the message of hope and love to her people, still "enslaved" but not forgotten. Kole later told his inner circle of collaborators that Gaya had dubbed them her "singing stones."

Behind the scenes

Singing Stone

Singing stones appeared in the 2015 novel Dark Disciple, authored by Christie Golden. The novel adapts an unfinished eight-episode story arc for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series which was written by Katie Lucas, Matt Michnovetz, and Dave Filoni. Through the 2011 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic's Update 4.1, which was released by BioWare in 2016, the stone from the current canon continuity was introduced to the Star Wars Legends continuity as the Singing Stone, which was pictured as a maroon gemstone.

The singing stone was first pictured in the current canon continuity in the first issue of the Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy comic series, which was written by Ethan Sacks, illustrated by Will Sliney and Rachelle Rosenberg, and published by Marvel Comics on February 2, 2022. The stone was made as a physical prop for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser immersive hotel experience, which opened on March 1 in the same year.

Appearances

• Dark Disciple (and audiobook) (First appearance)
• Halcyon Legacy 1 (First pictured) (In flashback(s))
• Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

Sources

• 10 Things We Loved About Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser on StarWars.com (original link is obsolete) (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Datapad (Galactic Starcruiser)
• Dispatches from the Halcyon: The Story on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (original link is obsolete) (Posted on StarWars.com) (Picture only)
• Dispatches from the Halcyon: Meet the Characters Aboard Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser on StarWars.com (original link is obsolete) (Picture only)
• 7 of the Coolest Star Wars Nightspots on StarWars.com (backup link) (Picture only)
• Tales from the Twi'lek Track List – Stream Gaya on May the 4th on D23.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Original Soundtrack