Kissed by Fire: Cal Kestis

Chapter 17

Cal's gaze went from her to his lightsaber. "Can I finish up this first? My lightsaber is kinda all over the place," he answered meekly.

Y/n laughed gently, saying, "Of course." Walking over to his side, she folded her arms over her chest as she looked down at the pieces of his brilliant weapon. "So, this is what a lightsaber looks like on the inside."

Cal quirked a grin at her words, nodding his head. "Yeah. Usually when Padawans get their first lightsaber, they build it with the Force. It's just been such a long time for me, I find using tools simpler and quicker. It's more familiar to me now," he told her, glancing over to her before looking down at his weapon.

She watched as he put the pieces back together, creating a different hilt than he had before. However, looking between the metal, she saw something glowing from within the handle. "What is that?" she asked in wonder, leaning on the workbench to get a closer look.

Cal opened the lightsaber to see what she was looking at, giving a smile when he realized what it was. "That is a kyber crystal. It's basically what powers a Jedi's lightsaber, connecting the hilt to the user," he explained. "A lightsaber without a kyber crystal is like... the Mantis without Greez."

"You're saying it's like the heart?" she questioned.

Cal raised his brows, impressed with her analogy. "Yeah, exactly."

"So, if Jedi have to build their lightsabers as children, where do they get the crystals from?" she continued. Cal couldn't be happier to explain his past to her, especially when she was so intrigued with it.

He finished putting his lightsaber back together, fully turning to her as he said, "There's a planet way out in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy that the Jedi have used to find their kyber crystals since the first generation of Jedi. It's called Ilum. Going there for the first time is... it's like nothing else. The entire planet is frozen, cold, and brisk. But inside the caves, thousands of kyber crystals are formed. Padawans have to search for their crystal, and theirs alone, before the sun sets."

"How do you know how to find your crystal?"

"It's a sort of calling through the Force. Like a song or a melody that only you can hear," he told her, the memories of finding his first kyber crystal clear in his mind. The song still echoed there today.

"Wow," Y/n blinked, finding herself grinning. "Everything you Jedi did, all your history and traditions, it's just all so beautiful."

"Not when the politics started," Cal sighed, and took a deep breath as he held his lightsaber in his hand. He thought a moment, before taking her hand and pulling her away from the workbench.

"Cal, what are you doing? I still need to change your bandage," she complained, but he simply shushed her and drew her closer.

"I want you to see something," he told her, and held out his lightsaber to her hands. "Take it."

Her eyes shot open, glancing between the hilt and the boy in front of her. She was speechless for a moment before finally finding her words and saying, "No way, Cal."

"Yes, come on, Y/n. Please," he said, his grin widening as he brought it closer and closer to her.

"Cal, that's your blade. I, honestly, don't feel worthy to hold it," she shook her head, holding her hands up to avoid it.

He took one of her hands and brought it down, opening her palm and setting the hilt down in it. The cool metal was like ice against her skin. "I thought the same thing when my master first gave it to me," Cal told her, and she quieted, letting it fall into her grip. "I had just dropped my own lightsaber during... during the Purge. I was careless, and I let one of the clones shoot it from my hand." The disappointment he held at himself was evident in his eyes. "Master Tapal gave this to me right as he... when he died." Cal's voice caught in his throat. "It took me a while to feel like I could actually use it. Like it.. accepted me, and I it."