Star Wars
‘Star Wars’: this is why Palpatine chose Darth Maul and why the Sith Rule of Two was broken
The story behind Maul changed a lot between Star Wars Legends and the official canon, so there are a few origins that have become muddled with time.
On the planet Dathomir, the Night Sisters conjure their witchcraft. Every son is subjected to a magical ritual, from which they emerge with tattoo-like markings. The same happened with Maul, a Zabrak who was destined to walk the paths of the dark side of the Force. His encounter with Darth Sidious may not have been as fortuitous as once thought. One of these witches approached Sheev Palpatine with the baby in her arms. According to the novel ‘Star Wars: Darth Plagueis’ - now part of the Legends continuity - the witch detected the power of darkness in Sidious, so he offered Maul to him as a gift, because he believed that this way he would have a better life. Furthermore, she wanted to hide him from Mother Talzin, the leader of the coven, who had no good in store for him.
Darth Maul’s story has changed several times in Legends and in canon. For example, in the Expanded Universe this version of his origins was revealed in the ‘Darth Plagueis’ novel, but later, in ‘Son of Dathomir’, it is said that Talzin was Maul’s biological mother. There are also inconsistencies with his brother, because sometimes they talk about a younger brother and other times about a twin. In canon the name of this sibling is Savage Opress, who also becomes a Sith. On the other hand, Maul’s origin story differs in canon, as he was not delivered by a Nightsister, but rather kidnapped from the hands of Talzin by Darth Sidious himself.
The Rule of Two?
In ‘Darth Plagueis’, Sidious took the baby and left him in the hands of droids for initial training. His master knew of Maul’s existence, but asked his apprentice to instruct him in the dark arts to transform him into an expendable killer, a mere tool. Over time, Sidious himself decided to train him and eventually named him Darth Maul. At that time the Rule of Two, which established the presence of only two Sith Lords, was still being enforced thoroughly by the Sith. Therefore, the existence of a third member of the order violated this precept established by Darth Bane in order to safeguard the Sith from their total destruction and to forge the revenge that Sidious would perpetrate more than a millennium later.
‘Star Wars: Darth Plagueis’ is a novel written by James Luceno in which the story of Palpatine’s master and his role in Revenge of the Sith is narrated. Although both characters are canon, this story is part of the old Expanded Universe.