In the Star Wars Rebels finale, Twilight of the Apprentice, we learn that long ago a Sith Temple was attacked by one thousand Jedi. We know that this was after the rule of two, as the whole temple was apparently constructed with the rule of two in mind.
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1They did have a battle station. They may have also had non-Sith Force-users and non-Force-users working for them, comparable to the Inquisitors and Stormtroopers.– Rogue JediCommented Apr 3, 2016 at 17:59
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2"Twilight of the Princess?" I take it you're a Legend of Zelda fan?– Rogue JediCommented Apr 3, 2016 at 18:13
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@RogueJedi - Yes, but not the reason for the typo.– ibidCommented Apr 3, 2016 at 18:31
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There are some force powers that the dark side could use that might level the playing field. See thought bomb.– user45549Commented Apr 3, 2016 at 18:37
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1Why would you need a temple for two guys?– John SensebeCommented Apr 6, 2016 at 20:21
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2 Answers
The battle occurred before the Rule of Two was enacted.
The canon comic series Darth Maul states that there were "many" Sith present on Malachor.
This is consistent with previous media that state the Great Scourge of Malachor occurred several millennium before the Clone Wars, while Darth Bane enacted the Rule of Two approximately a millennium before the Clone Wars.
Additionally, the Sith had a battle-station, which would certainly help level the playing field.
As for why the Temple was built with the Rule of Two in mind? We don't know. Perhaps Maul was lying, or perhaps the Sith worked in multiple pairs before the Rule was enacted, similar to the Master and Padawan teams of the Jedi.
answered Apr 3, 2016 at 18:03
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So then why was the temple built to require exactly "two, no more, no less" for every aspect of it? (e.g. doors, lifts, holocron withdrawal)– ibidCommented Apr 3, 2016 at 18:06
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1There are no clearly canon sources that say the Rule of Two was enacted about 1000 yrs before the Clone Wars, wookieepedia has a weird policy where they've decided the old online "Star Wars Encyclopedia" should be considered canon even though most of the entries were written pre-2014 and no officials have declared them canon. See the discussions I got into on talk pages here and here. Commented Apr 3, 2016 at 18:28
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2I suspect that the best explanation is either (a) the Sith worked in Master-Apprentice pairs even before it was decided there could only be two, or (b) the protections were added to the temple after the Great Scourge of Malachor, once the Rule of Two existed.– AdamantCommented Apr 3, 2016 at 19:28
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No, two Sith didn't fight a thousand Jedi there at all.
At least, it wasn't definitively proven that only two Sith were present at the time. The reason is because you are mistakened about one thing: The Sith Temple was NOT built with the Rule of Two in mind.
The temple was built long before the dawn of the Banite Sith Order. Ahsoka mentioned that it was built "thousands of years ago". The defeat of the old Sith order, the birth of Darth Bane's Sith Order of the Rule of Two, and the establishment of the Galactic Republic was approximately one thousand years before the Clone Wars. Even if you allow yourself to give or take a few centuries, the gap between "thousands" and "one thousand" is too wide.
Additionally, Darth Maul was not referring to the Rule of Two when he mentioned "two, no more, no less". He was referring to two, yes, but to something far more fundamental: A master and an apprentice. At the end of the episode, Kanan and Ezra proved that much.
If the Temple was designed with the Rule of Two in mind:
Only the combined power of two Sith Lords can unlock the Temple's secrets. Maul may have what it takes, but Ezra is still too much of a Jedi to qualify - his refusal to kill the Seventh Sister in cold blood is proof of where his heart still lies. He may or may not have touched the dark side at that moment, but he is still far from being worthy of the title of Darth - a mere Dark Jedi is not worthy of the secrets of the Sith in such a scenario.
Instead, what is more likely is that:
the temple can be unlocked by a master and his apprentice combined. This is similar to what Ezra experienced in unlocking the Jedi Temple on Lothal. This means different things to Jedi and Sith. To the Sith, only together, as master and apprentice, can their combined raw power be strong enough to will the Force to do their bidding. Maul stated his intent clearly enough - he wanted to draw Ezra in to become his apprentice, and he was planting the seeds of the dark side in Ezra's heart. To the Jedi, it is the bond between master and apprentice that will allow one to do what he cannot alone, to overcome all obstacles. Be one with the Force, not master of it.
What Maul wanted of Ezra:
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
What Kanan had been trying to teach Ezra:
There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.
answered Apr 6, 2016 at 14:29
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1Not sure why your answer starts with "No." when the question isn't asking a yes/no question. Commented Apr 6, 2016 at 14:37
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Isn't "Always two there are; no more, no less" the exact wording of the Rule of Two?– ibidCommented Apr 6, 2016 at 17:30
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Yes, but it can be argued to hold a double meaning. The theme surrounding Ezra for the whole episode had been his conflict between light and dark, between the one trying to lure him into apprenticeship and the one who is his true master. A lot of emphasis had been placed on the word "master". Yet Maul no longer considers himself Sith - he merely uses knowledge and words he was taught years ago for his own goals. Lots of what he taught Ezra at the beginning were words from the Sith code I quoted above. Commented Apr 6, 2016 at 19:31
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What I can say definitively is that if the temple was constructed thousands of years ago, then it most definitely pre-dated the invention of the Rule of Two. That said, it's still possible that Bane or a later Sith of his line repurposed the temple - though I would say that's unlikely. Nonetheless, we don't know how many Sith were present at this battle, but there's definitely more than two in the galaxy at that time. Commented Apr 6, 2016 at 19:34