The venerable Jedi Knights were not the only beings in the
galaxy to wield lightsabers. The Dark Lords of the Sith
fashioned their own laser swords, creating unique weapons
which came to symbolize the Sith order.
Though similar to a Jedi lightsaber, the design of the Sith weapons
reflected their differing views on the Force. Rather than use the natural Adegan
crystals to create the saber blade, the Sith manufactured artificial crystals to give their weapons an eerie red glow. These crystals were forged in a blazing furnace, and were sometimes helped along by the Force powers of the Sith. They often focused their hatred into the crystals to increase their potency.
Not all red-bladed lightsabers used synthetic crystals, however. A number of Jedi Knights carried red-bladed sabers which contained an Adegan crystal, and the Sith lightsaber wielded by Darth Vader also housed a natural crystal. Vader's saber differed from most other lightsabers in that it featured a black shroud around the blade emitter to protect the Dark Lord during combat. Each Sith lightsaber had a unique design, none more so than Count Dooku's curved hilt. The ex-Jedi created his lightsaber based upon a classical look used when the Form II lightsaber techniques Dooku used were popular. Though his weapon was unique at the time of his defection to the dark side, the design prompted other dark side users to create a similar saber. Asajj Ventress and Komari Vosa wielded twin lightsabers based on the curved hilt design. |
