Savage Opress/Legends

"This is not the work of a Sith Lord or a Jedi&hellip;but a reckless, impulsive animal."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Savage Opress's massacre on Devaron

Savage Opress was a powerful Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother who became a feared practitioner of the dark side of the Force during the Clone Wars. Originally a tribal leader on Dathomir, Opress was handpicked by the Nightsister Asajj Ventress to become her mate and servant, as part of her bid for revenge on her former Master, the Sith Lord Count Dooku. After being the only Nightbrother to pass Ventress's grueling tests of Selection, Opress was taken to Mother Talzin and her Nightsister witches, who employed their dark magic to grant him fearsome abilities and placed him under their control. To prove his now-imbued loyalty to Ventress, Opress murdered his younger brother, Feral, whom he had protected for his entire life. Entering the ongoing war on the side of Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems, the formidable Opress served as a Dark Acolyte during missions against the Galactic Republic at Devaron's Temple of Eedit and on Affa. Opress became a Sith apprentice to Dooku, who intended to use his new acolyte to overthrow his own Master, Darth Sidious, and claim control of the galaxy.

While Opress was subjected to brutal Sith training under Dooku's charge, Ventress prepared to pit the monstrous Nightbrother against Dooku. However, when Ventress's crusade for revenge culminated at Toydaria, she and her ex-Master found that neither of them could contain Opress's impulsive nature and boundless rage. In what became a three-way lightsaber duel, Opress overcame his indoctrinated allegiance to Ventress and broke free from his dual service to the Sith Lord and the jilted Nightsister. After further battling his way through Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, Opress returned to Dathomir, where he learned from Mother Talzin that he had another brother aside from Feral: the former Sith Lord Darth Maul. With Talzin's blessing, Opress set off for the far reaches of the Outer Rim to recover his exiled brother, whom he hoped could help him become strong enough to defeat Ventress, Dooku, and any agents of the Jedi Order. Opress found the weakened Maul on Lotho Minor, and after helping him regain his memories via a talisman from Talzin, he brought him back to Dathomir.

Born into darkness
"A brother? But all of my kin were killed!''" "''Not all of them. He lives in the Outer Rim, in exile."

- Savage Opress discovers his long-lost brother, Darth Maul, from Mother Talzin

A Force-sensitive Dathomirian Zabrak male, Savage Opress was born to Kycina, a Nightsister of the planet Dathomir, in the last decades of the Galactic Republic's rule. He had at least two brothers among his kin, one of whom, Maul, was born in the year 54 BBY. During infancy, Opress and Maul underwent rituals to be consecrated as initiates in the warrior culture of the Zabrak Nightbrothers. With a reputation of being brutal warriors, the Nightbrothers were subservient only to the matriarchal Nightsisters, who kept them for breeding and warfare. For their initiation as Nightbrothers, Kycina submerged them both in an oily bath energized with ichor from her Nightsister magic, ceremoniously giving them the Nightbrother tattoos that they would carry for the rest of their lives. However, Opress never learned of his relationship to Maul or even of his brother's existence until years later due to the actions of his mother, who hoped that Maul would grow up differently instead of being a Nightbrother pawn of the Nightsisters' leader, Mother Talzin. Kycina concealed Maul's existence from Talzin and secretly gave him away at Dathomir's Blue Desert City before he was even a standard year of age, while Opress was taken from his mother by Talzin to become one of the Nightbrothers. Opress thus grew up only knowing his younger brother, Feral, whom he vowed to watch over in the Nightbrothers' dangerous way of life.

While Opress and Feral lived on Dathomir, Maul was raised and trained by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, under whose tutelage he became known as the feared Sith Lord Darth Maul. Maul was eventually presumed dead in 32 BBY after being cut in half by then–Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi during the final battle of the Invasion of Naboo. Initially part of the same clan, Feral and Opress grew up in the Nightbrothers' village in an isolated region of Dathomir, which was headed by Brother Viscus. Nightsisters often came to the village for the Selection, a ritual series of tests in which the witches claimed servants and mates from the Nightbrothers' nine formidable tribal heads, with death awaiting contenders who failed the Nightsisters' combat challenges. Because the Nightsisters made periodic, unpredictable visits to their village, Opress and his brethren were forced to stay in fierce fighting shape at all times. Opress often sparred with Feral in his free time, and he learned much about cruelty in his early life. All too aware of the threat of the Nightsisters, Opress did his best to protect his younger brother from the fearsome witches. By the time of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, both Opress and Feral became tribal heads within the Nightbrother village, further heightening their risk of becoming candidates for the Nightsisters' deadly Selection. Opress himself gained credit as a fierce yet compassionate warrior, though his life was to soon intertwine with the very essence of the dark side of the Force.

Selection and transformation
"As long as I live, you will not harm him! Please, spare him. Take me."

- Savage Opress protects Feral by submitting himself to Asajj Ventress

While the Clone Wars consumed countless lives across the galaxy, Opress resided with the Nightbrothers, their homeworld remaining relatively unaffected by the pan-galactic conflict. Around 21 BBY, the second year of the war, the Nightbrothers became host to Asajj Ventress, a powerful Nightsister in search of a servant from the Zabrak warriors. Formerly a Confederate-allied Dark Acolyte for the Order of the Sith Lords, Ventress had recently been betrayed by her Master, Count Dooku, and she now sought to acquire an adept servant for a plot to gain revenge on her ex-Master. Ventress arrived at the Nightbrothers' village square aboard an Ubrikkian speeder just as Opress was sparring there with Feral. When brought forward by Viscus alongside the other tribal heads for Ventress's inspection, Opress warned Feral against drawing attention to himself, hoping that neither of them would be subjected to the Nightsister's tests. Nevertheless, both brothers were among the six clan leaders who were deemed fit as candidates for the Selection, to Opress's dismay. Opress, Feral, and the other four tribal leaders proceeded to the nearby combat arena known as the Crucible for Ventress's trials.

In the first trial, the Test of Fury, Opress, Feral, and their comrades were to face Ventress herself in armed combat. Fighting with a curved dagger, Opress was initially Force-pushed against the combat field's railing by Ventress, who also countered the other warriors' moves with considerable ease. Recovering and rejoining the fight, Opress approached the Nightsister, avoiding several spears that she threw at him. When she targeted Feral, Opress abandoned his dagger and quickly came to his younger brother's aid, though their brief distraction was enough for the unimpressed Nightsister to knock them to the ground. As night fell, Opress, Feral, and the only two other remaining Nightbrothers graduated to the next round, in which the four warriors were to confront Ventress without the light of the Crucible's torches as part of the Test of Night. The two other Zabrak warriors fell to Ventress's deadly chain-sickle in quick succession, but Opress managed to pinpoint Ventress's third strike in time to pull himself and Feral out of harm's way. Quickly bringing his dagger up in the direction of the Nightsister, Opress ordered her to show herself, earning a portion of Ventress's respect. Now the only two surviving contenders in the Selection, Opress and Feral were faced with the third and final challenge: once more fighting Ventress, but now amidst the Crucible's moving pillars of stone brought forth from the ground in what was known as the Test of Elevation.

Opress tried his best to stay close to Feral and evade Ventress amidst the Crucible's added dimension, but Feral soon lost his purchase on one of the platforms and fell to the ground. When Opress found his brother, Feral was at the mercy of Ventress, who was preparing to kill the winded contestant with a Force-choke. Intervening on his brother's behalf, Opress lashed out at Ventress and bodily threw her against an adjacent pillar. Placing himself between Ventress and the weakened Feral, Opress fended off the Nightsister's attacks, refusing to let harm come to his brother. He ultimately requested that the Nightsister spare his brother and instead take him as her servant. After Feral reluctantly obeyed her order to leave them, Ventress continued her fight with Opress in hand-to-hand combat. During his subsequent battle with Ventress, Opress drew upon his rage on several occasions and attempted to use his brute strength to fatally wound her in the head. However, it was Opress who took a beating, and he finally surrendered his life and pledged his allegiance to the Nightsister when triumphed over. Nevertheless impressed by Opress's combat style and fighting prowess in spite of his defeat, Ventress took her newly acquired servant and mate away from his village the next morning aboard her Ubrikkian speeder. Opress spared Feral, who remained behind with the other Nightbrothers, a glance of farewell before leaving with Ventress.

Crossing much of Dathomir to reach the fortress of the Nightsisters, Opress was brought to Mother Talzin, who served as both the leader and shaman of Ventress's coven. After examining Opress and sensing the hate and power coursing through his veins, Talzin touched her finger to his forehead to put him into an enchanted sleep and had the Nightbrother brought to the altar known as the Font. In an ancient ceremony that was heavily rooted in the dark side, Talzin and a full coven of her spellcasters bound together, channeling spirit ichor and the rawest hatred to make Opress an avatar of primal anger for Ventress's plot for vengeance over Dooku. Subjected to the dark magicks of the Fanged God, Opress was granted greater height and size, a full crown of vestigial horns, and fearsome power: he gained even more brutality, an unmatched ferocity, and heightened physical potential and Force abilities. In addition, the Nightsisters placed him under their control so that Ventress could dictate his actions. Although the Nightsisters' sorcery allowed them to invoke Opress's spell of loyalty at any time, Talzin, being an expert shaman of Nightsister magic, secretly ensured that he would ultimately remain loyal only to her.

Now a monstrous, honor-lacking warrior whose sole purpose was to kill all those in his path, Opress's first instinctive act when awoken in his new enhanced form was to choke Ventress with his bare hands. After obeying her strained command to release her, Opress was presented with a final test to prove his ingrained loyalty to her. Feral, who had been taken prisoner by the Nightsisters following the Selection, was brought before the transformed Opress, who was ordered by Ventress to kill his brother. For all the care and protection that he had afforded Feral as an elder sibling up until that point, Opress strangled his kin in a single stroke in a monstrous display of cruelty, deriding Feral's pleas for mercy. Thus assured of her agent's allegiance, Ventress gave Opress a short first lesson in the practice of the dark side&mdash;to draw power from hate and never sympathize with the enemy, beginning what was to be an abusive method of teaching for the Nightbrother. For weaponry, Talzin conjured an enchanted pike from raw spirit ichor for Opress, who also employed his newly granted bulk to heft an entire suit of full-body plate armor, including the cuffs and shoulder armor reserved for those who had survived the Crucible.

Apprentice to the Sith
"I foresee we will do great things together. I shall teach you the ways of the dark side. Soon, your powers will rival that of the great Sith Lord Darth Maul. We will be even more powerful than Lord Sidious. We shall rule the galaxy together, my apprentice.''" "''I am your servant, Master."

- Dooku and Savage Opress

Bestowed with the power of the Nightsisters, his life committed to the dark side, Opress was to be gifted to Count Dooku, becoming a Dark Acolyte for Dooku's Confederacy and replacing Ventress herself as the Sith Lord's personal assassin. When the time was right, Ventress would unleash her warrior against her former Master, seeking his death for his betrayal during the Battle of Sullust. Talzin and fellow Nightsisters Karis and Talia escorted Opress aboard a captured Sheathipede-class transport shuttle to Dooku's homeworld of Serenno, where the Count maintained a palace residence. Upon being introduced by Talzin to Dooku, Opress bowed to his new Master as a gesture of loyalty, though the Nightsisters' sorcery would ensure that this allegiance would not be permanent. As Dooku required proof of his warrior abilities before any training could commence, Opress was sent on his first assignment: to seize control of the Temple of Eedit on the jungle planet Devaron for the Separatists. Because the temple served as a military outpost for the Republic and the Jedi Order, the base's capture would would enable the Confederacy to conquer that area of the galaxy. Dispatched alone to the Devaron system aboard Dooku's personal Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop, complete with an FA-4 pilot droid, Opress proceeded to the Temple of Eedit, where a battle for control of the outpost was already raging between the Republic and the Confederacy.

Upon landing on the path leading to the temple, Opress pushed through the B1 and B2 infantry droids of the Separatist Droid Army, focusing only on the defenders of the temple: a clone trooper detachment from the Grand Army of the Republic led by Jedi Master Halsey and his Padawan, Knox. Wielding his enchanted pike, Opress smashed his way through the clone troopers, his blade cutting through their armor to lethal effect. After all of the troops had been eliminated&mdash;including the unit's leader, Clone Commander Trauma &mdash;Opress was left only with Halsey and Knox, who had in the meantime destroyed the remainder of the battle droids. Intent upon challenging the Jedi, Opress disarmed Halsey of his lightsaber before engaging the Jedi Master in combat. Although the diminutive Halsey initially used his formidable agility to great effect, Opress battered him to the ground and killed him with a stab through the chest. Knox soon followed his Master into death, being speared on the end of Opress's blade when he attacked the Nightbrother. With all droids, Jedi, and clones slaughtered, Opress approached the Temple of Eedit alone and reported his success to Dooku via holoconnection.

Impressed by the work of his new acolyte, Dooku had Opress return to Serenno at once. Opress's performance on Devaron earned him praise from Dooku, who formally took the Nightbrother agent as his Sith apprentice. Besides intending to train Opress to the level of the revered Darth Maul, Dooku envisioned using his new apprentice to overthrow his own Sith Master, Darth Sidious, in accordance with the Sith's Rule of Two doctrine. With Sidious defeated, Dooku and Opress would claim control of the galaxy in the name of the Sith. In his new capacity as Dooku's apprentice, Opress embarked on another assignment for his Master as part of a Sith plot regarding the Republic's Fondor Shipyards. Entrusted with Dooku's solar sailer, Opress was given instructions for his mission on a datadisc and traveled to the planet Affa. There, he was to confront the Hutt merchant Noggox, an industrialist independent of the Hutt Grand Council who sponsored Republic business, but was content to watch the war between the Republic and the Confederacy from a distance. As two of his Republic-allied freighters had recently been raided by the pirate Dool Pundar en route to Fondor Shipyards, Noggox had enlisted the help of a Jedi Padawan named Nuru Kungurama, who claimed that the pirates were being backed by the Confederacy and had been dispatched by the Jedi High Council to escort Noggox's other freighters to Fondor.

Sent to remove Noggox from action before Kungurama could reach Affa, Opress landed at the main hangar of Noggox's fortress, where he allowed himself to be captured and deprived of his pike by the Hutt's bodyguards. Brought directly to Noggox in chains for questioning, Opress warned the merchant that a Jedi was approaching, though the Hutt mistook his words to mean that the Jedi posed a danger. Opress instead revealed his ties to Dooku, and his awareness of Noggox's request for the Jedi's help, before breaking free of his shackles and reclaiming his halberd. After killing Noggox and the entirety of his bodyguard entourage, Opress made his way back to the solar sailer to announce his success to Dooku. Although Opress wished to remain on Affa so that he could confront Kungurama, Dooku ordered him to immediately return to Serenno. Reluctantly obeying his Master, Opress departed from Affa, leaving the victims of his massacre behind for discovery by Kungurama and his clone trooper unit, Breakout Squad. Having become brutally adept in the use of his enchanted halberd, Opress upgraded his preferred choice of combat weaponry to a double-bladed lightsaber, for which he received training from Dooku. In the throne room of the Count's palace, Opress engaged in a practice session of lightsaber combat with Dooku, a highly accomplished swordsman who owed his reputation to his previously abandoned career as a Jedi Master.

In his first sparring session with Dooku, Opress was the first to attack, swinging his lightsaber at Dooku with powerful strikes. However, his Master easily avoided his assaults, and Opress was disarmed of his lightsaber and briefly Force-choked. Dooku then brought both his and Opress's lightsabers around his apprentice's throat, ending the duel. Although Opress lacked technique with wielding a lightsaber, Dooku sought to hone his student's natural ability in combat, with training that would draw upon the Nightbrother's strong feelings of hate. Opress's Sith training continued, and his next lesson took place outside on the palace grounds with his Master. After witnessing a demonstration of the power of the Force by Dooku, who simultaneously raised a number of heavy stone pillars, Opress was tasked with accomplishing the same feat. Reaching out with the Force, Opress was initially able to lift only a few of the pillars to a meager height, and he deemed the assignment impossible. Drawing upon his apprentice's hate, even hatred for his own Master, Dooku blasted him with Force lightning until Opress gained a crude proficiency of the Force and was able to lift the blocks a greater distance. Although Opress questioned how one could defend against Force lightning, Dooku withheld the method of resistance from Opress to avoid making his Sith apprentice too powerful, promising to reveal such secrets in due time.

Breakaway from servitude
"I was betrayed by Ventress. The Jedi are after me. I'm not nearly strong enough to defeat them all!"

- Savage Opress, to Mother Talzin

Having completed the initial stages of his Sith training, Opress was sent on his next assignment as Dooku's apprentice: to capture King Katuunko of Toydaria alive. Katuunko had previously spurned an offer from Dooku to join the Confederacy in favor of an alliance with the Republic, and Dooku, holding a grudge against the Toydarian King, now sought to force the Republic-allied monarch into siding with the Separatists. Opress traveled to Katuunko's palace on Toydaria aboard Dooku's solar sailer, proceeding to the surface of Toydaria unchallenged thanks to the lack of naval forces defending the Republic world. Upon touching down at the palace's landing platform, Opress swiftly defeated the Toydarian royal guards who came to confront him, slaying two of them with his lightsaber and Force-choking a third guard. Opress continued into the palace unopposed, cutting through the main entrance door and effortlessly killing the six remaining guards between him and the alarmed Katuunko, who, despite the armed intrusion, refused to be intimidated by an assassin. Taking a repulsorpod to the level of Katuunko's throne, Opress jumped onto the King's podium and slashed at the King, who drew his Toydarian ceremonial sword in a valiant but fruitless attempt to defend himself. Opress easily severed Katuunko's ceremonial sword, and when the Toydarian attempted to fly out of range, the Nightbrother slammed him against a wall into unconsciousness.

Before he could carry Katuunko back to the solar sailer and escape from Toydaria, Opress was stopped by the arrival of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who, at the behest of the Jedi Council, were tracking down the Separatist assassin behind the murders of Halsey and Knox on Devaron. With the inert Katuunko slung over his shoulder, Opress battled with Kenobi and Skywalker simultaneously atop the repulsorpods in a short but fierce duel. At the instant that Katuunko regained consciousness and broke free from the distracted Opress's grip, Skywalker and Kenobi jumped onto Opress, tackling him and attempting to pin him down. In his aggression, Opress Force-choked Katuunko to death and then threw Skywalker and Kenobi off himself and onto an adjacent repulsorpod, with only Skywalker maintaining a grip on the platform. Opress crushed Skywalker's handhold beneath his boot and quickly used his lightsaber to disable the repulsorpod, which fell directly onto the two winded Jedi. Skywalker and Kenobi survived only by using the Force at the last moment to prevent the pod from flattening them, though this left them momentarily distracted from Opress.

Not wasting any time, Opress grabbed Katuunko's body and dragged it onto the solar sailer. Before lifting off from the palace, Opress reached out with a massive Force-push to send Skywalker's and Kenobi's T-6 shuttle off the landing platform to its destruction many meters below. Skywalker and Kenobi arrived too late to prevent Opress from escaping from Toydaria with Katuunko's body, and with their shuttle gone, they were forced to borrow Katuunko's personal Peregrine-class star yacht, the Thief's Eye, to pursue Opress's solar sailer. In the meantime, Opress brought Katuunko's corpse to Dooku, who had arrived in orbit of Toydaria aboard a Providence-class carrier/destroyer. Receiving Opress on the bridge of his destroyer, Dooku was not pleased with his apprentice's performance, for the Nightbrother had killed Katuunko in his haste to escape from the Jedi. Despite Opress's pleas for forgiveness, Dooku subjected his apprentice to a bout of Force lightning for his disobedience, stopped only by the arrival of a newcomer on the dreadnaught's bridge: Asajj Ventress, who had deemed it time to execute her revenge on Dooku. Although Dooku told Opress that he could make amends for his mistake by killing Ventress, the Nightsister used Talzin's magic to turn Opress against his Master. Ventress touched finger to Opress's forehead, recalling his memory of his allegiance to her and activating the spell that ensured his loyalty to the Nightsisters.

Remembering his indoctrinated loyalty to Ventress, Opress helped her challenge Dooku, and a lightsaber duel ensued. Opress initially provided support for Ventress, brutishly slashing at his former Master while Ventress dueled him. When Ventress was knocked aside, Opress took over, relentlessly battering away at Dooku's defenses. He won a brief advantage over the Sith Lord by disarming him and knocking him against a wall. Opress's victory was short-lived, as the disarmed Dooku recovered in time to evade his advances and repelled him with Force lightning, for which the Nightbrother had no defense. Regaining his lightsaber, Dooku focused on dueling Ventress while simultaneously countering Opress's attacks with more Force lightning. Three times Opress attempted to kill Dooku while his former Master was locked in combat with the Nightsister, only to be swiftly thwarted each time by the Sith Lord's Force lightning assaults. Furthermore, Ventress remained unsympathetic to Opress's lack of success, refusing to let the Nightbrother's weakness be her downfall. At that moment, Opress's fury surpassed his loyalty to Ventress, and he broke free of her spell of allegiance. His service to Ventress was replaced only with hatred for both her and his former Master.

Beaten and wounded but free from Ventress's influence, Opress retaliated against both Ventress and Dooku, grabbing his adversaries in a powerful Force choke and telekinetically throwing both of them against an adjacent wall. In an ensuing three-way duel, Opress directed overpowering lightsaber strikes at his opponents, knocking them against another wall. To counter Opress's brute force, Ventress and Dooku teamed up, with the Nightsister and Sith Lord using telekinesis and Force lightning, respectively, in concert to hurtle the Nightbrother against the door to the bridge. While Opress was catching his breath, Dooku fled from the bridge via an escape hatch, and Ventress pursued him without the aid of her one-time Nightbrother servant. With his hefty suit of armor, Opress was too large to fit through the hatch, and the arrival of Skywalker and Kenobi interrupted him just as he was about to cut through the hatch with his lightsaber. Bellowing a battle cry, Opress turned his focus to the two Jedi, and their proceeding duel took them through the dreadnaught's hallways. At one point, Skywalker forced a B1 battle droid bystander in Opress's direction, but the Nightbrother simply threw the droid aside and relentlessly continued their duel.

Locked in a heated duel, Opress, Skywalker, and Kenobi eventually reached the destroyer's hangar (by which time Savage had sustained a minor injury in the form of losing one of his horns). There, all of the assembled battle droid troops turned on Opress on Dooku's orders, forcing Opress to focus on the droids instead of Skywalker and Kenobi. By this time, the weary Nightbrother had no interest in conquest, only escape. Surrounded and assaulted from all sides by nearly twenty B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, and shielded droidekas, Opress released a massive Force pulse against his droid attackers, eliminating all of them and knocking Skywalker and Kenobi aside. With his adversaries momentarily pushed back, Opress took the opportunity to escape from Dooku's dreadnaught, taking his former Master's solar sailer back to Dathomir. Besides refuge from his enemies, Opress sought a new focus, as his life was no longer controlled by Ventress or Dooku.

Reunion on Lotho Minor
"Your legs?''" "That scum took it." "The Jedi&hellip;you remember. I've brought a gift for you." "For me? Food?" "''No. Something to regain your memory."

- Savage Opress is reunited with a near-mad Maul and presents him with the Talisman of Finding

Despite his break from his imbued allegiance to Ventress, Opress retained his loyalty to Mother Talzin, and it was with her that he sought an audience on Dathomir. Upon landing at the Nightsister fortress, the wounded and weakened Opress limped to Talzin's lair, collapsing of fatigue before he could even sit down at Talzin's table. After Talzin helped him up, Opress told her of Ventress's betrayal, admitting to his fear that he lacked the strength to defeat Ventress, Dooku, and the Jedi. Talzin calmed him and revealed that there was one individual who could help him become more powerful: his long-lost brother, Darth Maul. Believing up until that point that the now-dead Feral had been the last of his kin, Opress had not even been aware of his second brother's existence. Talzin tasked him with finding Maul, who was in exile in the Outer Rim, with the help of a Talisman of Finding that had been imbued with the power of the Nightsisters. Striving for more power to stand against his enemies, Opress agreed to seek out his surviving brother and promised to return to Talzin. Before Opress departed on his quest for Maul, Talzin told him that both he and his brother had an important destiny to fulfill in the galaxy.



At one point, Opress dueled a Jedi Knight on Dathomir, employing his substantial rage in the battle. The Talisman of Finding with which Opress had been entrusted by Talzin had in fact been imbued with Maul's blood during her first encounter with Maul many years ago, and it was to help the fallen Sith Lord regain his memory, which he had lost in recent years. Opress found Maul on the planet Lotho Minor, in the tunnel caves where Maul had carved out a secluded life for himself for well over the past decade. Having been cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo, Maul had been forced to replace his entire lower body with a crude six-legged cybernetic apparatus, and his mind had been broken, leaving him with only scant memories of his life. Furthermore, he had not even been aware of his kinship to Opress prior to losing his memories, and he thus did not recognize his long-lost brother when Opress introduced himself as such. Telling Maul about his previous life as a Sith Lord, Opress was pleased to discover that his brother at least remembered that a Jedi had severed his legs, and he then presented him with the Talisman of Finding from Talzin. Maul reclaimed fragments of his lost memory, and though he still could not recall Opress's face, he agreed to return with him to Dathomir, where he could seek out help from Talzin in exacting his revenge on Kenobi. Accompanied by his brother, Opress piloted his starship back to Dathomir, where Talzin awaited their return.

Return to Dathomir
"Come, let us fix what has been broken."

- Talzin prepares to restore Darth Maul to his former glory

Opress, along with Maul, arrived on Dathomir's surface to discover it in ruin. As he surveyed the corpses and debris that were strewn about the area, a green mist began to materialize around him: Talzin. She explained that Dooku had dispatched his minions to destroy the Nightsisters but that they would continue to survive as they always had. The witch quickly turned her attention to Opress's ship, where the broken Maul awaited.

The trio made their way into the innards of the Nightsister village where Talzin immediately set to work. Using her magicks, she purged Maul's psychosis from his mind, rejuvenated his frail body and replaced his spider-like appendages with sleek, metallic legs -- Maul was reborn.

The newly restored Maul reflected on his past as a Sith, but also the future that had been robbed of him by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Opress presented Maul with a lightsaber, half of Maul's original saberstaff, and implored his brother to take revenge. Maul complied.

Confrontation at Raydonia
"Brother, what are we doing here? The Jedi won't be out this far in the galaxy." "In a galaxy at war, Savage, there is only one way to get the attention of the Jedi: slaughter of the innocent. Mercilessly and without compromise."

- Savage and Maul arrive on Raydonia

Maul's quest for revenge brought him and Opress to a small village on the remote world of Raydonia, where the former Sith Lord intended to exterminate the innocent villagers in an attempt to draw out Kenobi.

It was not long before Kenobi arrived on the planet alone, but by then it was too late -- Opress and Maul had already slaughtered the entire village. Maul confronted the lone Jedi and just as the two prepared to battle, Opress revealed himself to Kenobi and the brothers quickly overwhelmed their prey. They loaded the unconscious Jedi aboard their ship where they proceeded to brutally beat him into submission. Maul was intent on making Kenobi suffer to his last breath. Opress left the two adversaries to begin preparations for takeoff. Unbeknownst to Opress, however, a stowaway had infiltrated the ship: his old enemy, Asajj Ventress, who had turned to the life of a mercenary and was dead set on collecting a bounty that had been placed on Savage's head.



Opress rejoined Maul and Kenobi in the cargo hold where the brothers continued to beat the weary Jedi until Ventress confronted the evil duo. Presented with his own opportunity to exact revenge, Opress was eager to make his former master pay for her "betrayal." Using her powers of illusion, Ventress managed to temporarily lure the brothers away from Kenobi and came to his aid. Opress and Maul quickly returned, however, and confronted their sworn enemies. An intense duel commenced between the two parties but Opress and Maul soon proved themselves to have the upper hand. Kenobi and Ventress made a hasty escape despite the brothers' best efforts to stop them. Their attempt to exact revenge had failed.

Opress warned Maul that the Jedi Order would now be after them, but his brother was counting on it.

Wanted fugitives
"Your brother is too wild, Maul. He lacks focus like you lack legs."

- Jedi Master Judd

Together, Opress and Maul cut a bloody swath throughout the galaxy, eventually catching the attention of Ja'Boag, the owner of the Rim Commercial Mining company. Ja'boag placed a bounty on the heads of the brothers. As such, many bounty hunters attempted to bring the two Nightbrothers to justice. This culminated in a confrontation with a band of hunters on the forest world Paklan, who attempted to use a Falleen envoy (known for their pheromone secretions) in order to negotiate a peaceful surrender. Naturally, Maul rejected this offer, snapping the neck of the Falleen and sending Opress to kill the hunters. Opress killed many of them with ease while Maul took out the Wookiee wingmen they brought along. Leaving the leader of the hunters as the only survivor, Maul and Opress coerced him into revealing Ja'boag's name; Maul decided the best plan of action was to confront Ja'boag directly in order to nullify the bounty. Opress openly expressed his disappointment in Maul's decision; he believed it was the Sith way to hide in the shadows. Regardless, Maul decided to press on, leading his brother to a Rim Commercial compound on the mining world Moorjhone.

Opress watched as his brother swayed a Rim soldier into carrying a live thermal detonator to the mouth of the base, destroying most of the outer base defenses; the disoriented survivors were quickly killed at the hands of the two's lightsabers. As they entered the base, Ja'boag and a squad of soldiers attempted to intercept them; after Ja'boag made a comment on the two in jest, Maul ordered Savage to kill "it": Opress used the Force to fling the diminutive CEO into a pit of lava; however, he was saved by the sudden arrival of the Jedi Masters Salmara and Judd, along with Padawan Dray. Enraged, Opress and Maul used the combined power of a Force push to wipe out most of the security forces, and attacked Judd, who wielded a lightstaff. While Judd distracted the two, Salmara used the Force to fling a container of carbonite at Opress; unaware of what was inside the container, Opress slashed it with his lightsaber in an attempt to deflect it, and he was quickly coated and frozen inside the substance. Maul fled the scene soon after, and Savage was taken prisoner.

Maul eventually found himself in the company of the indigenous clans of Moorjhone. The people, driven from their caves after the arrival of the Rim Commercial Mining company, beckoned Maul for assistance in reclaiming their planet: Moorjhone, once every ten years, experienced the Day of Three Suns in which all life on the planet would be burned, and the caves were the people's shelter from the purifying fires. The leader of the clan offered Maul assistance in reclaiming his brother in exchange for assistance in reclaiming the mining caves.

Personality and traits
"I hate you!"

- Savage Opress shows his hatred for Count Dooku

As a Nightbrother, Savage Opress only wanted to protect his younger brother, Feral, and would have given his life in exchange for his brother's. He begged Asajj Ventress to spare Feral and take him instead. Opress and Feral had a close relationship until Opress was corrupted by the Nightsisters. Although he hesitated to kill the brother he had once loved, Opress obeyed Ventress' command to kill Feral and strangled him to death.

After being transformed by the Nightsisters, Opress turned into a ferocious beast, and was described by Obi-Wan Kenobi as "a reckless, impulsive animal". All the honor he'd possessed as a Nightbrother was replaced by rage and hatred, much like his long lost brother Darth Maul. He killed and destroyed Republic Clone Troopers, Jedi and Separatist droids without hesitation or remorse. However as time went on Opress' growing resentment towards both Ventress and Dooku caused him to break free of their control and he tried to strangle both of them with the Force.

When Opress discovered his long lost brother, Darth Maul, he was shocked by what Maul had become during his time in exile but managed to persuade the former Sith Lord to go to Dathomir with him by claiming that they were brothers and reminding Maul that he needed to have revenge against the Jedi, especially Obi-Wan Kenobi. Once Maul had recovered, Opress gave him a lightsaber and became Maul's unofficial student, allowing the former Sith Lord to take the lead during their mission to lure Obi-Wan Kenobi into a trap.

Although Savage Opress was often shown to be a follower rather than a leader, Mother Talzin noted that he was strong and although he usually obeyed the commands of others, Opress still possessed considerable willpower and the ability to think for himself. His will was great enough for him to break free of Asajj Ventress' control when they were dueling Count Dooku.

Powers and abilities
"You have no technique. Sloppy! But with the proper training, you could be a powerful warrior. You have a natural ability, but we must hone it. Are you up to for the challenge for putting your hate to better use?"

- Count Dooku, to Savage Opress

Combat skills
As a warrior of the Nightbrothers, Savage Opress was already quite talented in combat, being able to impress Asajj Ventress with his hand to hand combat skills. After his transformation, Opress was given an enchanted pike by Mother Talzin which he wielded with enough skill to destroy all the Clones, Droids and both Jedi during his first mission for Count Dooku.

After this victory, Opress began using a saberstaff in combat. At first his fighting style was clumsy, little more than brutish slashing which Count Dooku was able to easily avoid or deflect. Nonetheless Dooku saw that Savage had potential and began training him as his apprentice. Under Dooku's tutelage, Opress' skill with a lightsaber improved considerably. Within a fairly short time, Opress was able to hold his own against Dooku (albeit only because Asajj Ventress was fighting alongside him) and fend off both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the same time. He still retained his old aggression and had a highly aggressive fighting style, relying on brute strength in combat. The sheer force of his ferocious blows were often enough to knock his opponents weapons out of their hands, as displayed when he disarmed Count Dooku, partly due to Makashi's lack of defense against brute strength.

While searching for Darth Maul, Opress's skill with a saberstaff improved and he was able to hold his own against Asajj Ventress in a lightsaber duel, disarming her and forcing her to resort to using hand to hand combat. Although Ventress' superior speed allowed her to evade many of the Zabraks blows and strike back with blows of her own, she and Obi-Wan Kenobi were eventually forced to retreat when Opress and Darth Maul proved too strong for them to defeat.

Force Powers
Savage Opress possessed considerable Force potential and was capable of using telekinesis which he learned from Dooku. His skill with telekinesis was great enough to shove Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi's ship off the landing platform on Toydaria. Opress also had a very dangerous Force Choke which he used to kill the Toydarian King, Katuunko, and strangle both Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku, although this time he failed to kill them. He was also able to use a powerful Force Repulse, a technique that few but the most powerful Force practitioners could use, to destroy the droids Dooku sent to kill him. This technique appeared to come to him instinctively since he was wounded several times by the droids and acted out of desperation. He was also more powerful in the Force than his younger brother Maul, though had less skill with a lightsaber.

Equipment
"For you, an enchanted blade blessed with our most potent magicks."

- Mother Talzin presents Savage Opress with his first weapon, an enchanted pike

After his transformation, Mother Talzin gave Opress an Enchanted Pike. Opress would use this pike during the Battle at the Temple of Eedit, destroying battle droids and killing clone troopers as well as defeating two Jedi at the site. After Opress began training with Count Dooku, he would discard the pike in favor of a double-bladed lightsaber.

Opress also wore special combat body armor, which was highly protective against clone and Jedi attacks, battle droids, and even against the heavy acid rains of Lotho Minor.

Behind the scenes
"Savage is a lot like Frankenstein's creation. He's a monster, but you get brief glimpses of a real heart beneath the surface. He's a complicated character&mdash;I don't think he would have turned to the dark side without the manipulation of the witches. They use him."

- Katie Lucas

Savage Opress is voiced by voice actor Clancy Brown.

In Restraint, the Nightsister Kycina was revealed to be the mother of Opress, Maul, and Feral, all three of whom had been established as being brothers. However, the brothers' order in terms of age has yet to be confirmed. Although Restraint suggested all three are around the same age, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Magazine 5 indicated that Feral is Opress's younger brother. Additionally, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic UK 6.35 revealed that Opress was also older than Maul. Furthermore, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis revealed that Maul was half of a clan pair, though the other half was not revealed. Until word from an official source is provided to indicate specific family relations, this article incorporates information from all sources where possible.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Restraint
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul, Sith Apprentice
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Secret Villain
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Strange Allies
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Opress Unleashed
 * Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Death Sentence
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
 * Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Death Sentence
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Death Sentence
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy

Non-canonical appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace