Kyber Crystals And Recent Changes

Kyber crystals, let's talk about it.

Changes.

How crystals work has changed in the past few years. With the Disney takeover, I'm sure we can expect more changes to come. One thing that Disney has changed recently is Sith crystals and how they work.

But, let's back up.

Kyber crystals are what power a lightsaber. Simply, they are force-attuned crystals that focus energy and intensify it. Young Jedi would take pilgrimages to Ilum to harvest their own crystal to use in the construction of their first lightsaber. This was seen as a journey and not just a scavenger hunt. In order to receive their crystal, a youngling had to challenge themselves. We see this perfectly in The Clone Wars season 5, episode 6: The Gathering. Each of our characters has to gain wisdom and overcome a fear in order to find and retrieve their crystals. The implication is that each crystal is imbued with an owner in mind. Each time you return to the cave, or other planet that grows crystals, one particular crystal will call or sing to you.

Now, Disney has taken this concept one step more. In the new Ahsoka novel by E.K. Johnson, Disney has chosen to change how Sith use crystals. Originally, Sith crystals were synthetic. The red color did not grow naturally and so had to be made much like a science experiment. Now, we have an exchange between Ahsoka and Bail Organa.

"They're beautiful, Ahsoka" he said.

"They used to be red", Ahsoka said. "When the creature had them, they were red. But I heard them before I ever saw him on Raada, and knew they were meant for me."

"You changed their nature?" he asked.

"I restored them," Ahsoka replied. "I freed them. The red crystals were corrupted by the dark side when those who wielded them bent them to their will. They call it making the crystal bleed. That's why the blade is red." (p. 348)

New canon dictates and Sith crystals are Jedi crystals that have essentially been stolen and warped by their owners. Since the crystals did not belong to them, they have to mentally bend the crystal with the force in order to make the crystal work. This raises a couple of questions.

1) Do Sith have crystals that call to them, or do kyber crystals only call to light side users?

2) When a Jedi turns dark, do their crystals as well?

Unfortunately, I don't think we'll get much information on the first. We know at some point Vader switched to a red saber, so he must have found a crystal or looted one from a dead Jedi to use. The second question, well, it's an odd one. When Anakin becomes Darth Vader, his lightsaber remains blue. This makes sense in one way because that is his crystal. He has no need to bend it since it already works with him. However, if crystals are as sentient (think wands in Harry Potter) as Disney has made them, I believe that once an owner's nature has changed, the crystals should change. Given, that's opinion, though I believe one with merit. Unfortunately we can't know anything for sure looking back.

Vader lost his lightsaber in his duel with Obi-Wan and was forced to create a new lightsaber with a red blade. In new canon, this means he simply found a new crystal and bent it. Old canon said he received an artificially made Sith crystal since red was not a naturally occuring color. Once again, waiting is the name of the game.

There is a mantra all Jedi must learn as they piece together their lightsabers. It seems appropriate to end with it now.

The crystal is the heart of the blade

The heart is the crystal of the Jedi

The Jedi is the crystal of the Force

The Force is the blade of the heart

All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, and the Jedi. We are one.

The Jedi Path. Page 62