The shadeshine was a stone that, after contact, would heighten one's senses to an extreme degree, turning some, like sight and touch, into transmitters as well as receivers. Whoever touched the stone could speed up the metabolism of other persons and heat up or thicken the space around them, along with other abilities. However, anyone who touched the stone would die within a standard year as his or her senses eventually became so sensitive to external stimuli that the person's body and mind could no longer stand it. The person would eventually die in agony, burned from within.
The monarchs of Ventooine, the Satabs, were in the possession of the only shadeshine known to exist in the galaxy. Each year, the Satab would chose a successor to hand down the stone and go into suspended animation. Han Solo ended the tradition along with the rule of the Satabs by killing the last of them and destroying the shadeshine by throwing it into Millennium Falcons thrust tubes when he visited Ventooine during his smuggling days.
In the comic, the nature of the Shadeshine's power is explained, but not the source of that power. It is unknown whether it is a Force-sensitive object or if its properties are the—unrelated to the Force—natural effect this particular mineral has on Humans (and possibly other species).
In the comic, the nature of the Shadeshine's power is explained, but not the source of that power. It is unknown whether it is a Force-sensitive object or if its properties are the—unrelated to the Force—natural effect this particular mineral has on Humans (and possibly other species).