#lightsaber lore

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

A Jedi's Weapon

I've been thinking about Lightsabers recently. Everyone knows them, everyone likes them, and I'm pretty sure everyone reading this wanted one when they were a kid. But lately, I've been thinking about what they represent.

Lightsabers are weapons, yes, but it's not their only function. They are useful tools, and not only in combat, but in everyday life to light fires, to cut down the branches of trees when your travelling through a forest, etc. But most of all, I like the symbolism and the meaning they have for the people of the galaxy.

Everyone can pick up a blaster and shoot. And although aiming is harder, it's nowhere near the level of difficulty that achieving mastery in lightsaber combat is. Lightsaber dueling has several forms, all of them unique and useful depending on the situation and the individual, which is amazing if you think about it hard enough.

Blasters are almost always used to kill. Sure, there are stun blasters, and Jedi do seem to be able to use them when the situation calls for it (Obi-Wan killing Grievous with a blaster in ROTS immediately comes to mind). But, if you want to defend yourself with a blaster, the only thing you can do is shoot back, aka aiming for the kill, kill them before they kill you. That's why Luke using a blaster is portrayed as a sign that he's not a Jedi yet, that's why Ezra using a blaster instead of reconstructing his lightsaber/blaster hybrid is used to signify a dangerous shift in his thinking.

Lightsabers are dangerous, yes, but the greatest danger doesn't come from your opponent attacking you before you can lift your weapon. Even Force-adepts have quicker ways to kill you if that's what they wanted to do (look at how often Vader actually uses his lightsaber in the OT, for example, the only person he kills with it is Obi-Wan and that's because Obi-Wan let himself be killed; very clearly, Vader prefers Force Choking, which is entirely fair).

The greatest danger of a lightsaber comes from your own blaster bolts being reflected right back at you. That is a good incentive to surrender and solve things in relative peace, instead of a firefight. Even if that's not enough to stop you, even if you shoot anyways, it gives you some pause, which a blaster can't do.

When it maims, it cauterizes the wound, which prevents you from dying of bloodloss and makes it easier to find medical treatment (think of Luke in ESB).

When it kills, it kills fast and immediately, if your opponent knows where to hit. (Think of Qui-Gon in TPM, where he gets to say his last words to Obi-Wan and doesn't seem to be in much pain).

Dexter says this, in Jedi Apprentice. What the lightsaber represents to the people. Hope, safety, there's someone to protect us now… unless you are the one opposing the Jedi, of course. No other weapon inspires so much hope and fear.

It's a weapon it takes a lot of time and effort to master. It's almost a self-imposed limitation.

It's a weapon with sacred value, unlike many others. It's a unique weapon connected to its user's soul. It's a weapon which is used to protect, to defend. It's a sword used as a shield.

It's the weapon of a Jedi.

A more elegant weapon, from a more civilized age.

[limnsaber]

Hey this is the lightsaber lore from season 1 of Star Wars Visions!!

The idea that young kyber crystals don’t really have color yet and instead connect and grow with their wielder? It’s so cool, and it really reflects the uncertainty Luke is going through right now.

(Star Wars Visions, The Ninth Jedi gifs by @elivanto)

[son-of-stars]

me and my brother: discussing starwars and lightsaber lore

my brother: yeah the ships in the empire era were each powered by a kyber crystal and the death star was powered by 8 kyber crystals since the fuel shortage from the clone wars was still bad

me: so the death star beam is essentially just 8 lightsaber beams combined into one big ass lightsaber?

my brother:

my brother looking up an image of the death star beam counting the points seeing 8: 🗿

[rainintheevening]

top 5 lightsaber Colors (including their meanings) :DD

I confess I haven't paid much attention to lightsaber colour lore. I don't put much stock in it, other than some of the theories about how the Sith have red ones. Especially since GL only named made four colours (thanks, Samuel Jackson).

But still, you ask, and I will answer, and make some lore up along the way.

1. Blue (I think this is Obvious? It's Anakin’s, and Obi-Wan's, and to me blue is sharp and brave and bold.)

2. Green (Colour of life, curiosity, something hopeful and persistent)

3. Purple (Mace Windu, need I say anything else? In my canon no one else has purple, and there's never more than one purple in a generation of Jedi. Rare, to me it signifies mastery, potential, power in complete control.)

4. White (Also rare. Maybe some blue ones actually turn white after a long time? But it makes me imagine someone prone to visions, and deeply connected to the Force.)

5. Red (Last because it's the colour of the bad guys, but still it's aestheticly pleasing. Both explanations are interesting. I'm more inclined to GL's original statement that they were synthetic crystals, made with a Sith recipe, but for fallen Jedi it makes a good story that they were originally natural colours. How they might change colour is for you to choose.)

[thenewjediorder]

It’s also just a risky move in general, as stated. You’d have to dedicate time to train with it, and even if you were good at it—still chances of things going awry in a real combat scenario.

Cheers to the wookieepedia entry for this beautiful Tràkata technique-related logic pretzel

"it's unsportsmanlike" "it's weak" brooo Tràkata is a murder-suicide move if you dedicate two seconds of thought to the concept!! Why are they making it out to be some sort of obvious cheater move when it's 100% useless unless you wield a second lightsaber lol

(Also iirc Obi-Wan was the only person to ever use this form on-screen in conjunction with jar'kai? Bad sport king we love to see it)

[sithfox]

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) Issue #47 - The Razing of Exegol Part 2

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

^ Darth Maul 002 (2017) drawn by Luke Ross & Nolan Woodard.

[stardusthuntress]

Thank you!!!! Honestly I’ve never understood this either!!! And it’s been on my mind a life lately!!! (Read: prepare for an infodump)

I must add that there is an interesting episode in Visions that kinda adds 2 pieces to this:

First you have to be ready to wield it or the blade won’t get a color

Second the color comes from the wielder. Which implies that Ahsoka changing is actually the cause of the blade color change

However they do clearly make a point in tcw s7 to show that Anakin actively changed the colors…

Like op mentioned, there are other instances of color specific lore, but with the s7 addition, none of it makes any sense, honestly:

Mace Windu’s purple blade (behind the scenes, it was because Samuel L Jackson wanted it) was said to have been the result of a successful blend of Bogan (dark) and Ashla (light) fighting techniques, which allowed him to use his emotions for strength (like the Sith), but not be consumed by them - but idk if this is legends or canon or fanon at this point, but this whisper has certainly been around for a while

Temple guards are shown to have yellow blades in Rebels

The Jedi Path book clarifies that the yellow blades are indicative of Sentinels, as they remain attached to a place (Rebels Temple Guards: their temple) and focus on other non-Force-specific skills

The Dark Saber… tho this one is such a unique case I think I’m mostly gonna ignore it here. Essentially it signifies how unique and important it can be to blend two cultures harmoniously instead of letting them destroy each other

As was mentioned by op, the bleeding or purifying, interestingly this one plays a role later in Ahsoka’s life in particular

Again tho, op was right, while it was a cute moment in tcw s7, it didn’t really make sense. And I honestly am just more confused with the addition of the Visions lore in particular.

The story of Ahsoka’s sabers was already unique. Not only was she able to rescue a pair of crystals and purify them, she was also one of the few Jedi shown to wield two blades, even when she was younger (one of which was yellow a shoto blade, I believe). Again, remember the yellow signifies the Sentinels thing… perhaps that piece of lore developed after clone wars? Still, now that it is lore and has been confirmed by Rebels, it could have an interesting implication on Ahsoka’s story line. She does seem to be a guardian of the ways of the Jedi, gathering as much knowledge as she can, almost a historian that experienced part of the history, herself…

looking forward to her series for sure!!!

Anakin changing the color of Ahsoka's lightsabers is such a weird writing choice to make because it honestly makes zero sense with everything we've been shown or told up until then about how lightsabers work.

In the Gathering arc, we see all of the kids pick up what appear to be pretty similarly colored white crystals, but they don't all end up with the same color lightsaber. We hear them discuss the importance of choosing the design of the hilt to suit them, but never once hear them discuss any importance to choosing the COLOR of the saber. There's never any indication that the Jedi can choose the color of their saber, it's effectively chosen for them when they're led to a crystal to begin with.

The only other times we know someone can change the color of a crystal is bleeding and purifying which requires a lot of effort and appears to result only in red or white blades.

So for Anakin to have changed the color of Ahsoka's sabers from green/yellow to blue, either we need to completely discount that worldbuilding and assume that the hilt provides the color somehow and can be engineered differently, or Anakin somehow found two new crystals that he was able to confirm were blue and replaced her crystals with the new ones.

The option was there to just have Anakin have adjusted the design of hilt if they wanted to have Anakin do something to her lightsabers that was invasively sweet in a typically Anakin sort of way, to make them match his and Obi-Wan's more or something. Or if they wanted it to be genuinely sweet, he could've just given her back the sabers normally. And instead, they just... threw out everything we ever knew about the lightsabers just to give Ahsoka sabers that they were going to have her throw away in 3 episodes anyway and never get back. I don't really see the point of it when the lightsabers have no emotional impact upon anything.

[mearchy]

I do understand the lightsaber being a Jedi weapon because they connect with kyber and a lot of the weapon’s fighting styles depend on Force-assisted acrobatics. But I saw someone talking ab how if a lightsaber was a real weapon that could cut through metal and stone and shit it would be generating such an insane amount of heat that it would melt your entire arm off just from being near it, and I think it would be really cool if the reason it’s the Jedi Weapon is that while wielding it they are using the force to contain and compress all tht heat energy into just the area of the blade. And anyone who activates a Jedi lightsaber without permission/supervision (and this is where I also like the idea of hidden switches being on the inside so only Jedi can easily reach them and turn them on) immediately just gets hit by an insane wave of heat that scorches everything in a five foot radius. Even cooler if the hilt no longer has a “channeling” mechanism and the only reason the blade maintains a blade shape at all is because the Jedi manipulating it is consciously making it do that. Otherwise it’s just a non-directional blast of burning kyber energy.

[covillain]

Much like Jaster another Starwars Charakter that is so unimportant in the main Storyline and almost everything about them is fandon. But still I love them. So here a drawing of Feemor!!

Unfortunally I am shit at drawing backrounds and the paper I drew this on is new so the colours didn't turn out how I wanted them to. Nevertheless I hope you like it. :]

[americankimchi]

jedi survivor said "in this game jar'kai isn't a force ability but a stance! it allows you to have an unrelenting offense + better parries but your defense becomes weaker in response" and like. fellas. i literally do not use any other stance. i've fully unequipped the dual-blade because i simply do not care for it. it's me and my off-hand saber until i inevitably die to hubris

[endorablerey]

thinking about the fact that cal is one of the last jedi to find a kyber crystal on ilum before the empire completely decimates the planet in order to build the death star. by the time ahsoka visits the planet is crumbling and an ancient jedi rite of passage is forever gone.

[differentfandomsandthings]

The Acolyte imo is:

I mean, what even is this show?!💀 Sol and Qimir were the only good things here. It should have been about them instead of Osha and Mae...

[four-white-trees]

sometimes when i get really into a project i find myself feeling euphoric, almost infatuated with the project. I'm deeply in love with it, the characters, the story. this is what writing is all about for me

[high-fantasy-sw]

On the subject of Lightsabers:

I have lightsaber references! All on heroforge obviously, because I cannot draw blades, and with notes that mark their most distinguishing trait. SOme of these are colors, others are blade type, it really just depends on the most interesting thing about the blade. I'll put notes on how they differ from how they look in the AU in the notes, because obviously Heroforge only has so many blade options and they don't all look exactly like I see them in my mind. Enjoy!

The Disaster Trio

Obi has a sword and shield because Soresu is a defensive form. His shield and the crossbar of his sword are both based on the crest of the Jedi Order. In AU Canon, this is more obvious.

Ahsoka has twin daggers because her fighting style is highly acrobatic, and full length swords would make that... rather dangerous; to save space I only put one of the pair. In season 7, Anakin replaces the Kyber Crystals in her original daggers, so they are technically the same daggers but now they burn the same blue as his saber.

Anakin's sword is a dual-handed greatsword, because his form is very aggressive and relies a lot on hacking away at your opponent and physically overpowering them. Also something something dual-edged sword, something something foreshadowing.

Male Jedi

Kit's flame is less a flame and more of watery magic. This is because he is of an aquatic race, and I thought it was cool :D

Yoda has a rapier because his form is very acrobatic and rapiers lend well to that.

Not going to lie, I struggled with Ki-Adi's saber, so I made his really unique in that his blade is darker than the flame that burns by a drastic amount.

MACE okay so. My guy has an executioner sword, because he is the Arbiter Of Justice (tm). Also, these kinds of swords have blunted ends and aren't meant to be used in combat, meaning that for Mace to actually use it as a weapon he needs incredible skill. Which he has. I love Mace Windu :D

Lady Jedi

Shaak's blade is supposed to be wavy like Ahsoka's daggers; wavy blades are a symbol of the Togruta in this AU. However, Heroforge didn't have any good options for this >:(

Barriss's and Luminara's swords have hilts made of Mirialan metalwork- Mirialan metal is fired with special potions that turn it special shades of red and green and gold. It is almost as valued as Mandalorian stained glass in the Galactic Archipelago. If you look closely, the little you can see of Luminara's bracers is also made of Mirialan metalwork.

Grievous's CoLlEcTiOn *cough hack whEEZE*

My favorite is the midnight blue one >:)

I have nothing else to add, I literally just designed sabers I thought looked freaking cool. If you want to make up lore for them, PLEASE do, I'd love to see it :D

Sith

THE DARKSABER okay so it has lightning instead of a flame because I wanted to replicate those crackles that it has. Anyway I think it looks really cool :D Also the serrated edge? *chef's kiss*

Dooku's saber is a rapier because it's the Gentleman's Fire Sword. However it does not look exactly like this in AU canon; I have a Dooku drawing ref in the works and when I post that I can explain it better. Also it is modeled on Yoda's because I really want to play up that Fallen Jedi Angst >:)

Ventress's sickles (much like Ahsoka, I only put one here to save space) is highly based on her Nightsister heritage. Even when she was a Padawan, I think she had that inspiration in her Jedi blade. Their blades are shaped like moons, and even her force signature is tinged with Nightsister Green (because her dark side powers also incorporate Nightsister Magick; if they didn't, they'd be pure blood-red, because it's important to me for Lore Reasons (tm) that while Jedi can have this whole array of colors, Sith all have the same shade of red).

Original Trilogy Bois

Luke's green force signature is tinged with blue because I will always associate Luke Skywalker with blue. Don't ask me why. But Luke is BLUE and I will DIE ON THIS HILL. FIGHT ME.

Vader's saber is based on his greatsword from when he was Anakin, because I think he got attatched to the design. Also because I want that visual motif of "Anakin is still buried in there" because I am a sucker for symbolism and metaphors. But you know that already ;)

I don't have Anakin's original (and by original i mean like his umpteenth) saber, AKA Luke's first saber, because it's basically the same as we saw earlier, and these swords were TIME CONSUMING to render. However, I will note that the very tips of the flames on that saber begin to be tinged with sith red because of the atrocities Anakin committed with it. Someday I'll have a picture of it for you and you'll see what I mean

I don't have Old Obi's either, because again, TIME. CONSUMING. TO. RENDER. But it's basically the same as it was in the Clone Wars, just more corroded because my man was living in the desert.

If I cared enough to make Palpatation's saber (see i call him that because he gives me heart palpitations of rage) it would be here. But I do not. So it is not

(Okay. Yes he has a Saber in this AU I just haven't made it yet because I am Mad At Him)

Tagging: @whyoneartheven @majorproblems77 @anime-obsessed @lilliesandlight

[theangelwithawand]

Cal Kestis’s Lightsaber

Cal’s lightsaber is cool. I know the reason for the stances is because video game, but character and story-wise it makes sense too.

The different stances give Cal increased adaptability for different situations. It plays into the whole “Survivors. We adapt.”message.

It also shows Cal’s natural combat prowess. No one taught him to wield these other stances, he figured it out on his own, building on a strong foundation from Jaro Tapal.

It’s also a great reminder of his scrapper days. Light sabers are notoriously difficult to build and modify, and for Cal to build such a complex weapon, it is clear how much Prauf taught him on Bracca.

Finally, I love what the double bladed saber represents for Cal. He builds it on Ilum after overcoming a moment of hopelessness. He takes the broken crystal and uses it to make a double bladed saber that can split apart. He adapts.

A lot of people comment that his double bladed stance feels really powerful compared to others, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s on purpose. Story-wise it makes the most sense for it to be the one he favors. Yes, he usually defaults to a standard saber in cut scenes but that’s the one he was trained on. He’s also had the double sided saber since the first game, meaning he’s had five years of training with it. He’s had the split sabers too, but he used them as a special attack within the double sided saber stance.

As much as I love Jedi Survivor, I don’t think the studio understands how crossguard sabers work. I understand having it be a heavy two-handed weapon because video game, but crossguard sabers aren’t from a custom emitter. When you bleed a crystal wrong you need vents to emit the excess energy. It’s nothing game breaking but I think it’s funny.

I’m sure that I am not the first one to come up with this headcanon, but I like to think that Cal changes his lightsaber color from its canonical blue to green after starting something with Merrin so he can match her magick. Because Cal is dorky like that.

Also, the lightsaber he uses technically isn’t his. It belonged to Jaro Tapal.

Anyway, thanks for my too-long meta analysis of me reading too deeply into things that probably only exist because of video game mechanics!