Rise and Fall of the Galactic, or Third Sith Empire
Part I : Sidious and Maul
[Darth Maul’s background is based on The Phantom Menace novel, Star Wars Adventure Journal: Darth Maul, the Dark Side Sourcebook and a fairly liberal reading of Vader: The Ultimate Guide.]
As the history of how the Galactic Empire came into existence and subsequently fell only a generation later, is overwhelmingly documented and told by innumerable versions, it seems ridiculous to retell the entire saga. Instead, what deserves more attention is the role that the Sith played behind the scenes, that led to the point when Darth Sidious was able to stand before the assembled Senate and showing them his true face, announce the death of the Jedi Order to thunderous applause. From the time Sidious killed his Master until his most famous death at the Battle of Endor, he had only three apprentices. However, the power of the Dark Side flowed through many more than just these four, and there are many who deserve special attention.
The history of the last Sith Master begins somewhat before his ascention to that position. For while he had not begun Sith indoctrination or Sith-specific training, Sidious had been training his apprentice for twelve years in secret before he killed his master. He had found a Zabrak boy through the Force, whom he kidnapped from Iridonia as an infant and named Maul. Rather than attempt to care for a toddler, Sidious took the child to an isolated world with a pack animal that has a history of adopting feral children, and left to continue his service to Darth Plagueis.
After a few years, Sidious noted that the five year old Maul had become the best hunter in the pack and was beginning to assert himself as an alpha-male. Judging him ready to begin training, Sidious sent a small army of battle droids to wipe out Maul’s pack, beat Maul into submission and force him to begin training as a soldier. Sidious saw through the Force when Maul would master his skills well enough to rise up and destroy the battle droids, and he waited.
He did not need to wait long. After three years, the eight year old Zabrak boy had sabotaged many of the battle droids, then attacked and destroyed the rest. Another ship landed with a fresh battalion of droids, ready to subdue Maul once more. At that moment, the cloaked figure of Darth Sidious came out of the forest and destroyed all the droids with lightning that flowed from his hands. He emerged as Maul’s savior and took him to a hidden facility he had constructed nearby, where he began training Maul to channel the Dark Side of the Force through his body.
Darth Sidious visited Maul as often as he could for the next four years, and had a number of opportunities while Darth Plagueis worked to create a new life directly through manipulation of the Force. The tutelage of Sidious was harsh, as Maul was taught to experience every pain, fear, hate and rage his master could evoke in him. For example, when Maul flinched from the bite of a Nek Battle Dog, he was kept in a kennel with an entire pack until he no longer flinched from that pain. Finally, Darth Plagueis succeeded, and Shmi Skywalker had become pregnant with a life induced by Sith sorcery. Sidious understood this super-being conceived with the Force would be his replacement, and killed his master in his sleep, even though Plagueis had not yet shared the secrets of preventing death or creating life.
At that point Sidious initiated the twelve year old Maul into the Sith Order, and trained him using the methods the Sith had refined for the past two thousand years. For six years, Maul honed his fighting skills, learning to use the Dark Side to make himself as the greatest killing machine he could become. Then his master, Lord Sidious, decided that Maul was ready to truly ascend as a Sith Lord himself. Maul was taken to an uncharted world with numerous predators and forced to survive off of the land while fighting off both the native wildlife and a series of hunter-killer droids chasing him.
After a month, Sidious returned and challenged his pupil to a lightsaber duel. After soundly defeating the young warrior, Sidious told him that he had actually been training two apprentices, and by not defeating his master in a duel, Maul had proven himself the weaker of the two, and would now be killed. Maul flew into a rage and fought with all his might attempting to strike down his master, who was barely able to defend himself against the fury of the attack.
Finally exhausted, Maul collapsed, expecting death at any moment, but received only laughter. Darth Sidious stood above him, smiling. A Sith Lord has to be capable of anything, if the need arises. By truly attacking to kill his own master, just as he would any deadly opponent, Maul had passed the final test and was given the mantle of Sith Lord, Darth Maul.
Over the next few years, Maul was sent on several missions to secure that all would go according to plan in the blockade of Naboo. He tricked the two main rivals of the Trade Federation into devastating each other, leaving the Federation in control over Outer and Mid Rim trade [Darth Maul: Saboteur e-book]. He tracked down an adept of the Dark Side who could alert the Jedi to the rising power of the Sith [Star Wars Tales #24]. He systematically assassinated the Vigos and Underlord of Black Sun [Darth Maul comic]. He retrieved stolen Trade Federation droid starfighters and used them against the thieves [Episode I Adventures: The Fury of Darth Maul]. He eliminated a Trade Federation traitor attempting to sell both information on the upcoming blockade of Naboo, and a Sith holocron [Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter].
Finally, Darth Maul was sent to capture the escaped Queen of Naboo and kill her Jedi protectors. He was able to track them to Tatooine, and then returned to Naboo to intercept the Jedi during the Battle of Naboo. Maul was able to separate the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn from his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and kill him, but then was defeated when the apprentice surprised Maul with a lucky maneuver [The Phantom Menace].
[Darth Maul’s statistics given in the Dark Side Sourcebook need a major adjustment, in that he should have the class levels of Soldier 1 / Dark Side Marauder 3 / Sith Warrior 7 / Sith Lord 3. The Sourcebook only gives him 6 levels of Sith Warrior, when the 7th level special ability of that class is Uncanny Dodge (cannot be flanked). In The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul gives ample evidence that he cannot be flanked by two Jedi acting in concert. The Sourcebook also only gives him 2 levels of Sith Lord, when the 3rd level special ability of that class is Battle Prowess, distinctly improving the Lord’s ability to defend themselves in combat, an ability Maul also demonstrates.]
Empress Darth Chick
Quote:
Finally, Darth Plagueis succeeded, and Shmi Skywalker had become pregnant with a life induced by Sith sorcery. Sidious understood this super-being conceived with the Force would be his replacement, and killed his master in his sleep, even though Plagueis had not yet shared the secrets of preventing death or creating life.
do you have a sorce? I've always belived this,but never seen it in print, and I'm wondering if it is. very, very good!
Lord Scourge
That's from Vader: The Ultimate Guide. In one part, it says that it is unknown whether Sidious or Plagueis created Anakin's conception, but then in another part (by another author) it says that once Plagueis was successful, Sidious knew this being would be his replacement, and killed his master.
-Scourge
Scion
Lord Scourge I honor Darth Maul and thanks to you I finally have learned the truth of his past. THank You.
Anakin
I see. Then the Sith made their own downfall. It was a foolish move.
Zekk Runner
well now i know how anakin was concived thanks master.
Yargo
Mara Jade
Scourge u forgot about Mara Jade she also was Palpatine's apprentice during Vader's lifetime. Go to Star Wars Databank and check it out.
Lord Scourge
Mara Jade was one of many Emperor's Hands, but never a Sith apprenticed to Darth Sidious.
We can discuss Mara Jade further, if you like, but I would prefer it under the Sith Interregnum section - while she served the Third Sith Empire, all the stories featuring here are following the death of Darths Sidious and Vader... with the exception of the first two issues of Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand, which establish who the character was before she became the character was introduced in the Thrawn trilogy.
Mara Jade will appear several times over the course of my history articles, as her presence is relevant to the Sith, and we can learn more by studying her than we can by studying other, more traditional Jedi.
-Scourge
Yargo
Thank u for your guidance Historian.
Darth Acheron
Will you ever make part 2 of this? This is the part I enjoy reading the most.
Lord Scourge
Yes, I've been working on at least three parts for all the sections of the Holocron (far more in most cases), but a number of them are in half-completed form right now. Currently I need to rewrite the Sith Interregnum, Part I, article as the highest priority...
very, very good!