THE RULE OF TWO

[ALMIGHTY ALICE]

The Sith 'Rule of Two' was a rule instated by Darth Bane shortly after the Great Sith Wars. He viewed the system that the Sith once had, with much equality and shared ranks similar to the system the Jedi have, as a system bound to collapse inwards, with Sith inevitably craving more power. Apprentices may be driven to plot against their Masters, and destroy them with the aid of others when their training was incomplete. This made them the new Master, but profoundly weaker than the last, and as such, the strength of Sith tutelege would wane. Thus, he developed a system to harness this desire, rather than succumb to it and be destroyed. This was the Rule of Two.

The Rule of Two was a rather simple system, which allowed for only two Sith to ever exist together. A Master, and an Apprentice. One to be the beacon of what a Sith should be in both power and knowledge, and the other to crave it, and inevitably usurp it. A Master would take up their Apprentice knowing, and instructing them that, their final test was to overthrow their Master when they felt their own training was complete. In doing so, a successful ascension would ensure that a once Apprentice was more powerful than their Master, for only if they were could they slay them. And at this time, a newly risen Master was able to acquire a new Apprentice to keep the cycle going. And in doing so, it was ensured that the Sith would only ever get stronger, so long as the system endured.

This is not to say that a Master could not teach others; number Sith Lord were known for supplying training and tutelage to others, but never anything near as much as they would to an Apprentice. Moreover, they would never accept such individuals as their Apprentices. Such individuals were often pawns or servants to the Sith Lords, acquiring titles such as, 'Acolyte', 'Assassin', or 'Inquisitor'. While the training of such individuals may have been frowned upon by the original founders of the Rule of Two, it is generally accepted in the current years to allow for more strength and diversity among the Sith.