Rule of Two/Legends



"Always two there are. No more, no less. A master, and an apprentice."

- Yoda

The Rule of Two was the guiding principle of the Order of the Sith Lords after the internecine New Sith Wars.

History
"Any master who instructs more than one apprentice in the ways of the dark side is a fool."

- Revan

To avoid the seemingly inevitable clash between power hungry Sith, Darth Bane hid from the Jedi and invoked the rule, which stated:
 * There may only be two Sith at a time in the Galaxy&mdash;a Master and an apprentice.

Darth Bane formulated the concept of the Rule of Two after discovering a holocron in the Temple of the Ancients on Lehon. The holocron belonged to the ancient Sith Lord Darth Revan, who, just like Exar Kun before him, had used an early incarnation of the Rule of Two when training his apprentice, Darth Malak.



With the knowledge gained from Darth Revan's Holocron, Bane was able to avoid further intra-Sith conflict and continue the Sith Order.

Some similarity can be seen between the Sith Rule of Two and the Jedi custom of a Master having only one Padawan at a time. Bane may even have based his Rule on this custom, seeing how "correct" and effective it had been throughout history.

For 1000 years they watched and waited, doing their best to destabilize the Galactic Republic without revealing themselves. Many centuries passed. Around 188 BBY, during the Dark Jedi Conflict, Kibh Jeen told the Jedi that the Sith had survived and were operating under the Rule of Two, though his warnings were ignored or passed off as the rantings of a madman. Finally, one Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, under his true guise of Palpatine, was elected Supreme Chancellor and masterminded a devastating galactic war involving the Republic, and, as Emperor of the newly formed Galactic Empire, brought the Galaxy under the control of the Sith, bringing about their long-overdue revenge.

"Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it."

- Darth Bane



It is worth noting that Sidious possibly broke the Rule of Two at least twice: once by training Darth Maul while still under the tutelage of Darth Plagueis; and secondly, by taking on two apprentices at once (Dooku and Vergere), though Vergere was said to be a candidate and not a "true" apprentice. It should also be noted that there are no reliable sources on this, only Lumiya's account to Jacen Solo. In the latter case, Vergere left Palpatine's instruction, while in the former, Sidious corrected his violation true to Sith form: by murdering his Master. It also appears that Sidious approached Dooku prior to Maul's death, although details on the timing are vague. However, these could be considered careful precautions to ensure the continuation of the Sith, even if they did, technically, violate the Rule in its strictest form.

Sidious, Tyranus, and Vader trained and employed a number of Dark Jedi and other Force-sensitive agents. As these agents were not taught the secrets of the Sith and were considered merely minions, not apprentices, they did not consider this a violation of the Rule of Two. It is likely that Tyranus would have chosen one of his Dark Acolytes as his apprentice, had he successfully overthrown his master.



Darth Bane, however, overlooked one possibility: that one of the Sith Lords may be redeemed. When Darth Vader killed Palpatine, it appeared that there were no others to carry on the order's traditions and teachings. Once again, the Sith had destroyed themselves - or so it seemed, as a secret apprentice of Darth Vader, Lumiya declared herself Dark Lady of the Sith and took a succession of apprentices - at least Flint, Carnor Jax and Jacen Solo - apparently following the Rule of Two, although she may also have been connected to Darth Krayt, who became a Sith during this time and abandoned the Rule of Two. She did demand that the last of her known apprentices, Jacen Solo, would take one apprentice himself.

However, after the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic and New Jedi Order were opposed by the Disciples of Ragnos, which nearly resurrected the spirit of Marka Ragnos on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords. This institution broke the Rule of Two, as it was broken by the Prophets of the Dark Side and all Imperial Remnants and Sith Remnants.

By the year 130 ABY a new Sith Order had risen to take the place of that of Darth Bane's order. However, this order has abolished the Rule of Two and replaced it with the Rule of One.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Jedi vs. Sith
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
 * Star Wars Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4