There were blue lightsabers and there were red lightsabers. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader. Back when all we had was A New Hope, it was real simple. Only two lightsaber colors there were, no more, no less. Sabers for good guys and sabers for bad ones. Then along came the third installment of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, and a young Jedi Knight by the name of Luke Skywalker, wielding a green lightsaber of his own design, and we all knew it: The Jedi order wasn't over yet, and his new lightsaber hilt and blade opened up a galaxy of new possibilities.
Fast forward about 16 years and we were suddenly experiencing Star Wars legends like jedi Mace Windu fencing bad guys with a magnificent purple lightsaber in the Attack of the Clones and our imaginations raced to figure out what kind of lightsaber crystals could create such a thing (Samuel L. Jackson's preference aside). The prequel trilogy gave us so much when it came to a force users' lightsaber blade. If you were bad enough like Darth Maul, you could manage a double-sided blade, not that it helped him any. And there must have been an abundance of blue and green crystals on Jedha because during the clone wars, during the battle of Geonosis, there were plenty blue and green lightsabers to go around, and strangely enough, they didn't seem to do much good for their users either... oh well.
True Star Wars fans won't let you forget that a yellow lightsaber does exist, perhaps under the robe of jedi master Yaddle, in the hands of jedi guardians at the temple, or among some knights of the old republic - but these are a rare find to see in action. Are yellow lightsabers Star Wars canon? - A little mynock told us that ISWWR investigators may have some evidence to shed some light on the matter soon...
Ahsoka
Now let's peer into the future of the colors of lightsabers to uncover something new! Unless you live under a rock on Ahch-To, you've seen the previews of the Ahsoka Tano series coming up on Disney+. And in it, well, there it was for all of us to see - a bearded character flaunting none other than an Orange Lightsaber. An orange saber can only mean one thing: the dark side of the force... But wait, the sith use RED sabers, so a lightsaber not being completely red in color, makes us wonder, is there a conflict here? After all, the Ahsoka trailer also shared with us she's still playing the neutral card, a rogue Jedi of sorts, with her colorless, white lightsabers. Is there really an orange kyber crystal, or is this middle ground of a color telling us something special, and what important role does it play?
“Nepalese Jedi”
Kyber or Kyanite?
Here is where the ISWWR investigation comes in. We've already proven to you that the Star Wars Universe is OUR universe, so whether we're discussing the light side of the force, or the mysteries of the Sith, there is always a link to our existence. And we think the link in this case, are the KYANITE gemstones of Nepal!
Back in the early 2000s, we published an article about the "Nepalese Jedi" (Evidence #ISWWR0000027) and the only known photograph of one in existence. Like a Jedi sentinel class, these men were called the Gorakhnath Warriors who were sworn to defend and protect their king, Gyanendra. To defend him, they needed a weapon worthy of the task, and the photo we discovered featured a Gorakhnath with, what no doubt was, a lightsaber in his hand! How was that possible? Where did he get it? And, most importantly, at least for this article, WHAT COLOR WAS IT?
As mentioned above, kyanite, is a gemstone - a gemstone mined in the small land-locked country of Nepal. Kyanite typically is blue in color, but on a rare occasion, miners come across a rare color - yup, you guessed it, orange! Kyanite is known for its unique property of having a different hardness along different crystallographic directions, which is called anisotropy. This means that it is harder along the length of its crystals than across them, making it perfect for manufacturing refractory materials that can withstand high temperatures. Does this sound like something familiar to you? Perhaps what is needed to construct an orange lightsaber is not an orange kyber crystal, but an orange kyanite crystal. Who knows, perhaps kyanite and kyber are actually the same thing - they could just have different names on different planets.
Another interesting connection to Nepal and the Star Wars world is the fact that the Ewok language seems to be a combination of Nepalese and Tibetan. Did Ewoks ever visit Nepal? Well, you have heard of the legend of the yeti, right? We'll save that for the subject of another article.
Too many coincidences can only mean that these tales may not just be Star Wars stories, but something much closer to home. As Thrawn and the empire strikes back at the resistance, and possibly us, too, who will rise to save us? Now that we know the real purpose of kyanite, can we harness the power of these orange crystals to take us to a more civilized age, or will they prove to be the powerful weapon that will allow the dark forces to rule the galaxy, once again? Soon, we will find out...
Color Theory
Orange Kyanite Crystal
And as far as the ORANGE COLOR goes, there may be more good than bad. As far as one can remember the monks of Nepal and nearby countries dress only in orange. Today many will tell you that it started simply by the convenience of having that color dye available at the time. We feel however, it’s not a tradition, but a clue - passed on to us by the earliest Gorakhnath Warriors, so we wouldn’t forget, that the kyanite crystals - the ones for lightsabers - can still be found and used for good. From a monk’s point of view, to wield a weapon of war was truly conflicting, and orange, was the perfect color to admit it. So perhaps the orange lightsaber can be used for the light or the dark side…
In the meantime, we are publishing this finding for all of you to mind what you have learned and use it for the greater good. We don't need a rise of Skywalker, we just need somebody, somewhere to take a kyanite crystal and create the first lightsaber on earth in the modern era to save us from the phantom menace that could be only a few light years away.
Bottom line, we're excited to find out what kind of people pursue an orange crystal to create the heart of the lightsaber that becomes their defining feature! And if there ever was a time when we need some Jedi sentinels to save the day, it's now, and we won't rest until we find them.
Until next time, the investigation continues...