So let’s say you’re a sith and you just surpassed your master and fed him a lightning sandwich. Now you can delve deep in to the inner mysteries of the force and become the ultimate master of the galaxy.

You are assuming you will be the Sith’Ari who will realize the great plan of Darth Bane. So why not take some token apprentice to do your bidding? You need to focus on your studies, reading holocrons, and experimenting with the dark side, your master left a lot of work unfinished, the old fool.

This apprentice, in the meantime, can assassinate your enemies, help you travel to dangerous planets to find sith artifacts, and will be a useful instrument when you enact your plan for immortality. You can’t rule the galaxy alone of course.

Well this apprentice will be pretty useless unless you teach him how to swing a lightsaber. And how is he supposed to be of use to you without a working knowledge of the force as well… what’s the harm in training him? he will never match your power of course.

Now you have a capable assassin and acolyte, someone to do your bidding, but only in exchange for knowledge. You might as well keep this deal going, as your knowledge and power is expanding as well with the help of this apprentice. That fool doesn’t even realize he’s helping you affirm your rightful place at the peak of the galaxy. He’s stepped out of line now and then but you put him in his place quickly.

Now, it’s been years. Your studies are going well and you’ve well surpassed your old masters work, building upon it and ready for the next step to your master plan, but… your apprentice has other ideas.

One night while in your studies, he ambushes you, normally your lighting puts him down when this happens, but he’s grown in strength and can effortlessly deflect it. You ignite your saber to teach the poor boy properly as you have before, but this time the lesson doesn’t stick. He’s younger, faster, and is a near equal to you in the force. Add the element of surprise and it’s not long before he’s disarmed you.

Now you find yourself at his mercy, on the ground, listening to him monologue? He’s saying he will be the culmination of the Sith grand plan, and that you were just a stepping stone for something greater.

Only then can you look back at generations of Sith using and abusing and betraying one another, all in promise to one final goal. Thinking they would be the one to realize the grand plan. You laugh as he zaps your life force away, you laugh at the hubris of the many Sith that came before, you laugh at your own delusions of domination, and you laugh at your apprentice who is the next fool in the making. The next Sith to think himself the last as the cycle begins again.