Celestial Chalice

The Celestial Chalice was a sizable, circular temple situated within the Pijali palace on the Inner Rim planet Pijal. This soaring amphitheater, topped with a glass dome, was the only section of the palace visible from the sky, owing to the surrounding densely forested landscape. Within the palace's royal reception hall, a pair of well-oiled wooden doors provided access to the Celestial Chalice's entrance tunnel. The temple's elaborate inner entryway was constructed from polished white stone initially sourced from Pijal's ocean cliffside. Unlike the majority of the royal palace's interior design, the Celestial Chalice was richly adorned with gilded ceilings and a blue-tiled floor.

During coronation ceremonies, the temple's octagonal altar served as a platform for Pijal's future monarch to address the planet's citizens before their crowning. The Celestial Chalice featured ample seating encircling the dais, allowing music to be easily heard due to the chamber's echoing acoustics. Sometime after inheriting Pijal's throne in 48 BBY, kohlen crystal–powered shields capable of withstanding lightsaber strikes were installed in the temple to surround the Celestial Chalice's altar. Furthermore, the glass panes composing the amphitheater's domed roof were modified to become retractable at will.

Constructed centuries before the Republic Era to celebrate Pijal's gods and their customs, the Celestial Chalice held a pivotal position within the planet's royal palace. For numerous years, the temple functioned as a site for the monarchy's sacred rituals, occurring two or three times during a monarch's tenure. After Princess Fanry of Pijal inherited the right to the throne in 48 BBY, she planned to seize absolute power at her coronation by rejecting the Governance Treaty, a monarchy initiative supported by Rael Averross, her lord regent. In preparation for her crowning, she directed alterations to the Celestial Chalice, including the installation of shields and a retractable roof. Following this, the Pijali honor guard practiced under Deren, the royal guard captain, in evacuating a monarch from the temple via its roof utilizing dropships.

During a mission to safeguard Fanry in 40 BBY, Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi Master, experienced a Force vision depicting the princess's coronation in the Celestial Chalice culminating in violence. Jinn visited the amphitheater and, upon confirming that his vision's details matched the chamber's physical characteristics, concluded that his premonition would soon materialize. The Jedi Master briefly encountered Orth, the Pijali Minister, in the temple, finding her claim of inspecting the Celestial Chalice's security measures suspicious due to the late night hour. She, in turn, questioned his reasons for visiting the temple when tours were available during the day. Jinn's warnings regarding his vision were ultimately dismissed by those he shared them with, including Averross and Orth. Consequently, Jinn declined to ratify the Governance Treaty on behalf of the Galactic Republic at Fanry's coronation, citing his vision of the temple.

When Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Padawan, explained Jinn's refusal to the Jedi High Council, they designated him as the Republic's official representative in his Master's place. Distressed, Jinn remained concerned about his vision of violence unfolding in the Celestial Chalice during Fanry's coronation. The day before the crowning, the temple's entrances were sealed off under Deren's command. When Kenobi attempted to visit the amphitheater, royal guards denied him entry, citing security protocols. During the coronation ceremony, guests were escorted into the Celestial Chalice and directed to their seats. As stately music played, Fanry entered the temple and proceeded to the dais at the room's center.

After pledging her allegiance to Pijal, she received a ceremonial sword from the Skykeeper—the religious leader of Pijal—and was crowned queen. Fanry then stabbed the Skykeeper with the weapon as she commanded Deren to activate kohlen crystal–powered shields that encircled her dais. After publicly condemning democratic ideals and the Governance Treaty, she instructed her captain to eliminate several individuals who opposed her, including Kenobi and Meritt Col, the Sector Supervisor from the Czerka Corporation. Kenobi, utilizing his sabotaged lightsaber powered by a kohlen crystal, breached the shield protecting Deren and wounded him. Appalled by the sight of her injured companion, Fanry fled the Celestial Chalice through its roof, using ascending cables to board a royal troop dropship with Cady, her enslaved attendant.

Following the princess's escape, Kenobi deduced that the kyber crystal in his lightsaber had been replaced with a kohlen crystal in an attempt to sabotage it prior to his entry into the Celestial Chalice. Jinn instructed Averross to gather loyal royal guards and secure the airspace surrounding the amphitheater. Shortly after their departure from the Celestial Chalice, Cady betrayed Fanry due to the ruler's lack of concern for liberating enslaved workers of the Czerka Corporation. As a result of the coronation's violent outcome, the Republic later declared Fanry's coronation invalid. Before Jinn and Kenobi left Pijal, Averross expressed remorse for disregarding the Jedi Master's warnings concerning his Celestial Chalice vision. The Celestial Chalice was indirectly referenced in the second chapter of Skywalker: A Family at War, a comprehensive biography of the Skywalker family penned by Kitrin Braves, a journalist, and published after the 35 ABY release of The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, a book by Beaumont Kin, a historian. The work explored Jinn's violent visions of Fanry's coronation in the Celestial Chalice and their eventual realization.

The Celestial Chalice made its debut in Master & Apprentice, a 2019 novel authored by Claudia Gray. At different points, the novel describes the Celestial Chalice's tiles as "bright-blue" and then "midnight-blue." This article acknowledges that the tiles are blue but omits the shade discrepancy.