The Hidden Ability

The Sith are wielders of the dark side of the force – their power stemming from following the emotions of anger, hatred and jealousy.

In Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode I), Yoda tells Mace Windu, ‘Always two there are. No more. No less. A master and an apprentice,’ in relation to the Sith. Having only two members at a time, a master and a student, allows for easier secrecy and infiltration to exact revenge on the Jedi.

However, this was not always the case. The Sith Order emerged from a schism after a Rogue fled with his followers to other planets- all believing that ultimate power could be gained by following the darkness. The Pureblood Sith species were found on planet Korriban and became enslaved by the rogue Dark Jedi, eventually coming together, causing the generations of Pureblood Sith to grow exponentially over the next years.

The first Sith Empire was created by the Dark Lord Ajunta Pall which expanded over many worlds. This movement triggered the Jedi-Sith War that led to masses of infighting, which caused a significant downfall to the Sith Community. All members, apart from one, were mercilessly slaughtered by one another in the quest to be the most powerful Sith Lord.

Unlike the Jedi who have a mentor, then go on to train their own Padawan and many Younglings, Sith are only responsible for themselves and their master. They are taught to remove and kill everything that gets in their way to power, meaning Jedi- but also often their own master or apprentice. Following their teachings, it is not surprising that they were the cause of their own demise.

From the chaos, the sole survivor, Darth Bane, created the Rule of Two (roughly 4000 years before the films were set), to stop fighting between members which nearly left them defeated by the Jedi years before. He claimed that there could only ever be a single master and a single student who are devoted to each other. His knowledge was passed to his apprentice Darth Zannah, and the Sith were able to remain in hiding for a millennium.

The Sith are a highly corrupt community, and so this rule is often broken. There are many instances in which a Sith Master takes on more than one student. Perhaps the best example is the notorious Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Disguised as Chancellor Palpatine to infiltrate the Jedi Order, he restored the Sith and caused the fall of the Jedi. In The Clone Wars, Darth Sidious takes on Count Dooku – who is renamed Darth Tyranus – whilst he is still the master to Darth Maul. Darth Tyranus himself then takes on and trains the assassin Asajj Ventress but refuses to give her the full title of being a true Sith due to the Rule of Two.

In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III), Sidious brainwashes and converts the Chosen Jedi Anakin Skywalker to the dark side whilst still being bound to Tyranus. In pure greed for the strongest apprentice and to hide his true intentions, Sidious betrays his apprentice and orders Anakin to murder Tyranus, when it is found that he is Sith.

So, whilst the Sith have the Rule of Two, the pure greed that comes from following their emotions often forces them to ignore this and do whatever they want to obtain the most power.

What do you think?

Are the Sith at fault for making a rule that they could never keep, or was it created with good intentions?