In Star Wars, the term "Sith" is used too quickly. Does this character have a red lightsaber? Use the Dark Side of the Force? He must be a Sith.
Except that is not necessarily true.
While all Sith use the Dark Side of the Force and traditionally wield red lightsabers, not every red-lightsaber-wielding Dark Force user is a Sith. In actuality, the Sith is an order, much like the Jedi. To top it off, it's a very selective order, only taking a single apprentice every fifty years or so. But to understand the current Sith, we must delve deep into the past of the order.
((WARNING! This article will contain spoilers for "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" and "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"!))
The Sith Empire
The Sith Empire was in power during the time of the Old Republic- in legends, anyways. (No canon exists this far back, to my knowledge.) During the time of the Sith Empire, thousands upon thousands of Sith roamed the galaxy, with the primary intent on hunting Jedi and conquering the galaxy. But the Sith Order was also built on a code, which said hate was the path to power. This hatred created rivalries among the Sith, and those rivalries quickly escalated to miniature wars. Between these internal conflicts and the war with the Jedi and the Republic, the Sith quickly died off, until there was a single Sith left standing: Darth Bane.
The Rule of Two
Darth Bane saw the weakness of the fallen Sith Order. He saw how the Sith had been so concentrated on themselves that they had essentially brought about their own destruction. Thus, he established the Rule of Two: a Sith code that allowed only a Master and an Apprentice to live. Never more, never less. When one died, a new Sith was chosen. This progressed for many years in the shadows, and even into the Star Wars we all know and love. This new development in the Sith Order allowed it to grow in power while remaining in the shadows, as when a Sith was killed, their power was absorbed by whoever killed them.
The Clone Wars
Many exceptions to the Rule of Two existed, and during the Clone Wars, there were a variety of apprentices. Maul, a former Sith Lord, was cast aside, making room for Count Dooku in the duo. Dooku also trained Grevious in lightsaber combat, although to his disappointment, the cyborg could not utilize the Force. Dooku's primary apprentice was a Dark Force adept named Ventress, who was known among the Separatists as Dooku's personal assassin. Palpatine later discovered Ventress' secret training, and ordered Dooku to dispose of her. Ventress escaped her own assassination, and full of betrayal, went on to become a bounty hunter on the run.
Palpatine Reborn
Palpatine was arguably the most powerful Sith to exist since the creation of the Rule of Two. Darth Plagueis was well known for being the Sith Lord who could create life, and Palpatine claimed that Plagueis passed on all his knowledge to his apprentice (Darth Sidious, who was Palpatine himself) before he was killed in his sleep. Logically, this means Palpatine had the knowledge to create life, a skill unheard of before the time of Plagueis and Palpatine. Somewhere within that vast supply of power was the ability to transfer his essence from one physical form to another. A combination of this, and a clone hidden on the planet Exegol, allowed Palpatine to not be killed in the Death Star II. Instead, he simply transferred his essence into his clone form, and focused on building up the Sith Fleet. When the time came, he broadcasted his presence across the galaxy, and waited for Rey to come to him, hoping to make her his apprentice, and to continue the Rule of Two.
What Does This NOT Mean:
Of course, there are many Dark Force users out there: Ventress never lost her connection to the Force, however she was never officially inducted into the Sith Order. Maul's powers never vanished, either, and he had been cast aside. The Galactic Empire raised up Inquisitors- Dark Force users- to hunt and kill Jedi. And Snoke and Kylo Ren, while heavily proficient Dark Side wielders, had never been given the chance to join the Sith.
The Dark Side is far more expansive than what people typically think it is, though the Sith is actually a much more exclusive group in comparison.
Except that is not necessarily true.
While all Sith use the Dark Side of the Force and traditionally wield red lightsabers, not every red-lightsaber-wielding Dark Force user is a Sith. In actuality, the Sith is an order, much like the Jedi. To top it off, it's a very selective order, only taking a single apprentice every fifty years or so. But to understand the current Sith, we must delve deep into the past of the order.
((WARNING! This article will contain spoilers for "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" and "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"!))
The Sith Empire
The Sith Empire was in power during the time of the Old Republic- in legends, anyways. (No canon exists this far back, to my knowledge.) During the time of the Sith Empire, thousands upon thousands of Sith roamed the galaxy, with the primary intent on hunting Jedi and conquering the galaxy. But the Sith Order was also built on a code, which said hate was the path to power. This hatred created rivalries among the Sith, and those rivalries quickly escalated to miniature wars. Between these internal conflicts and the war with the Jedi and the Republic, the Sith quickly died off, until there was a single Sith left standing: Darth Bane.
The Rule of Two
Darth Bane saw the weakness of the fallen Sith Order. He saw how the Sith had been so concentrated on themselves that they had essentially brought about their own destruction. Thus, he established the Rule of Two: a Sith code that allowed only a Master and an Apprentice to live. Never more, never less. When one died, a new Sith was chosen. This progressed for many years in the shadows, and even into the Star Wars we all know and love. This new development in the Sith Order allowed it to grow in power while remaining in the shadows, as when a Sith was killed, their power was absorbed by whoever killed them.
The Clone Wars
Many exceptions to the Rule of Two existed, and during the Clone Wars, there were a variety of apprentices. Maul, a former Sith Lord, was cast aside, making room for Count Dooku in the duo. Dooku also trained Grevious in lightsaber combat, although to his disappointment, the cyborg could not utilize the Force. Dooku's primary apprentice was a Dark Force adept named Ventress, who was known among the Separatists as Dooku's personal assassin. Palpatine later discovered Ventress' secret training, and ordered Dooku to dispose of her. Ventress escaped her own assassination, and full of betrayal, went on to become a bounty hunter on the run.
Palpatine Reborn
Palpatine was arguably the most powerful Sith to exist since the creation of the Rule of Two. Darth Plagueis was well known for being the Sith Lord who could create life, and Palpatine claimed that Plagueis passed on all his knowledge to his apprentice (Darth Sidious, who was Palpatine himself) before he was killed in his sleep. Logically, this means Palpatine had the knowledge to create life, a skill unheard of before the time of Plagueis and Palpatine. Somewhere within that vast supply of power was the ability to transfer his essence from one physical form to another. A combination of this, and a clone hidden on the planet Exegol, allowed Palpatine to not be killed in the Death Star II. Instead, he simply transferred his essence into his clone form, and focused on building up the Sith Fleet. When the time came, he broadcasted his presence across the galaxy, and waited for Rey to come to him, hoping to make her his apprentice, and to continue the Rule of Two.
What Does This NOT Mean:
Of course, there are many Dark Force users out there: Ventress never lost her connection to the Force, however she was never officially inducted into the Sith Order. Maul's powers never vanished, either, and he had been cast aside. The Galactic Empire raised up Inquisitors- Dark Force users- to hunt and kill Jedi. And Snoke and Kylo Ren, while heavily proficient Dark Side wielders, had never been given the chance to join the Sith.
The Dark Side is far more expansive than what people typically think it is, though the Sith is actually a much more exclusive group in comparison.
Palps is a clone! COOL!!!! That makes sense, actually!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know what's canon, everything from point 3 onwards is true*.
*When I say true, this only means true in the current universe of Star Wars. It used to be true before Disney bought Lucasfilm and proclaimed all of the pre-existing star wars books "Legends".
Fair point -shrug- Mostly all Sith-related knowledge before The Clone Wars is legends lol
DeleteUnfortunately. But maybe we'll get some lore in the high republic
DeleteDoubt it; the Sith had been presumed dead for at least a thousand years, as of The Phantom Menace. That meant not even Yoda had laid eyes on a true Sith Lord. The High Republic only occurs...what? 400-ish years before the Skywalker Saga? The Sith are probably presumed dead, so only rumors of the Sith would exist. Rumors Yoda would've known about, and thus rumors that would've existed within the Jedi Order at the time of Anakin Skywalker
DeleteGood point. High Republic takes place 232 BBY...so no Sith. :P
Delete