At the center of Respawn's action-RPG Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan forced to flee when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine executes Order 66, the slaughter of the Jedi. A Jedi's weapon is his lightsaber, and normally, he or she is expected to keep the first one they build their entire lives - indeed, each hilt is unique to the individual. So how, then, does Cal end up having to build a second one?
Before Order 66, Cal is apprenticed to General Jaro Tapal and stationed on the star destroyer Albedo Brave. As clone troopers turn on the pair, Cal loses his first lightsaber, and Jaro is fatally wounded. The latter es down his own saber, temporarily solving Cal's problem, although he goes into hiding on Bracca for five years to escape Palpatine's purges under the newly-founded Galactic Empire. Since Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order wouldn't be much of a game if Cal stayed in hiding, he goes on the run after accidentally exposing himself to Inquisitors by using his Force powers to save a friend.
While Cal does end up wielding Jaro's lightsaber in his mission to rebuild the Jedi Order, he accidentally destroys it during a Force vision experienced in the Tomb of Kujet on Dathomir. As audiences know from Luke's vision on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back, such visions can be extremely powerful. With little alternative, then, Cal travels to the planet Ilum to locate a kyber crystal and build a second saber, mixing the remains of Jaro's weapon with those of Cere Junda's, the former Jedi Knight who takes Cal under her wing.
Building A New Lightsaber Is A Rare Feat
The effort nearly kills Cal. He barely survives a plunge into freezing water, and even once the saber is forged, his attempted escape leads him directly into the path of an Imperial garrison, including even a pair of AT-STs. The reward, thankfully, is a double-bladed hilt that can be split in two for twin blades. This proves handy when Cal and his friends return to Dathomir, as well as later events better left unspoiled.
It's worth reiterating Cal's circumstances are rare by Knights of the Old Republic. It harkens back to ancient mythology and often symbolizes a new or reclaimed path, as it does here.
