Tenel Ka Djo’s Turquoise Lightsaber

1. Who is Tenel Ka Djo?

Tenel Ka Djo was a female Jedi Knight from Hapes. She was the daughter of Prince Isolder and Teneniel Djo, a witch from Dathomir. Even though she was next in line to rule Hapes, Tenel Ka liked her mother’s ways better than her father’s. This made some people in Hapes angry, including her grandmother, Ta’a Chume. Tenel Ka didn’t like to use her full name, Tenel Ka Chume Ta’ Djo.

As a young teenager, Tenel Ka joined Luke Skywalker’s Jedi school. There, she became good friends with Jacen and Jaina Solo, Lowbacca, Raynar Thul, and Zekk.

While at the Jedi school, Tenel Ka and her friends fought against the dangerous Shadow Academy. They also stopped the Diversity Alliance and put an end to the return of Black Sun. During the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, Tenel Ka was part of a team that went to Myrkr to destroy the voxyn queen, which hunted Jedi. On this mission, she realized she was in love with Jacen Solo, but he was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong. Tenel Ka survived the mission and later became the Queen of Hapes, even though she didn’t want to. A year later, she found out that Jacen had survived.

During the Killik problem in 36 ABY, Tenel Ka agreed to send Jacen Solo a fleet to help the Killiks, who were now led by their old friend, Raynar Thul. She and Solo also had a daughter named Allana. Tenel Ka left the Jedi Order to focus on being Queen.

In 40 ABY, some people tried to kill Tenel Ka and Allana to take control of Hapes. When Jacen turned to the dark side, he promised not to kill Tenel Ka or Allana, even though his Sith teacher Lumiya said it would bring peace to the galaxy.

During the Battle of Kashyyyk, Tenel Ka turned against Jacen because she was shocked by what he did. This made Jacen care more about Allana’s life than Tenel Ka’s. He was ready to kill Tenel Ka if she tried to keep Allana from him. He later took Allana to force Tenel Ka to work with him again, but Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa Solo rescued Allana when Tenel Ka asked them to. This is when the older Solos found out they were related to Allana. They kept it a secret, and Tenel Ka let the Jedi move to the Transitory Mists, inside Hapes.

Tenel Ka soon aided in the defeat of Jacen, who had become Darth Caedus, by trapping his fleet over the Jedi’s base on Shedu Maad. But a virus that targeted Hapan royal blood was released on her main ship. Jacen reached out to her just before he died, telling her to protect Allana. With his help, Tenel Ka and Allana escaped the virus, but Tenel Ka realized Hapes wasn’t a good place for Allana to grow up. She asked Han and Leia to take her to the Jedi school on Shedu Maad and raise her away from Hapan politics.

By 43 ABY, Tenel Ka still hadn’t rejoined the Galactic Alliance because she didn’t like Chief of State Natasi Daala or what the Imperial Moffs were doing. Later, the Lost Tribe of Sith tried to kill her. After they failed, Tenel Ka helped move the Jedi school on Ossus before the Sith could attack.

2. How Did Tenel Ka Create Her First Lightsaber, and What Went Wrong?

For her first lightsaber, Tenel Ka carved intricate battle etchings into the hilt using one of the smaller teeth from her great-grandmother Augwynne Djo’s favorite rancor. She applied a black paste made from dampened volcanic sand and polished the tooth to highlight the carvings.

The young Jedi apprentice used lava crystals, later discovered to be flawed, that produced a gray-white blade. These lightsaber crystals were found in a local volcano lava tube. The hollow of the tooth was slightly too small for the crystal arrangement she wanted, but feeling the urgency to keep up with her friends who were further along in their lightsaber construction, she decided to make do with what she had.

Tenel Ka believed her skills as a warrior could compensate for any deficiencies in the weapon, not considering that a lightsaber is an energy weapon. The flawed crystals in an imperfect arrangement resulted in a defective lightsaber.

During an ill-fated sparring session with her fellow apprentice Jacen Solo, Tenel Ka’s lightsaber’s power source overloaded during an intense blade lock, causing the blade to disappear. Focused on their sparring, Solo was caught off guard by the sudden loss of resistance. Unable to withdraw his lightsaber in time, he accidentally severed Tenel Ka’s left arm just above the elbow. The faulty lightsaber fell to the ground, exploded, and destroyed the severed forearm, leaving nothing to be reattached.

3. How Did Tenel Ka Rebuild Her Lightsaber with a Turquoise Blade?

Later, after recovering at Reef Fortress on Hapes and thwarting an assassination attempt on herself and her paternal grandmother, Ta’a Chume, Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, Tenel Ka decided to resume her Jedi training and rebuild her lightsaber.

To honor both aspects of her mixed heritage, she used the second rancor tooth from Dathomir, a planet known for its wild, untamed, fierce, and proud nature.

This time, she forwent the battle etchings of the first lightsaber and incorporated several Gallinorean rainbow gems from the tiara of the Royal Princess of Hapes, symbolizing her inheritance of regal bearing, refinement, power, wealth, and political shrewdness.

This lightsaber was carefully made and produced a turquoise blade. The use of several Rainbow Gems made her lightsaber one of the most expensive in the galaxy.