Darth Plagueis is a novel by James Luceno that tells the backstory of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Plagueis. It was originally scheduled for release in October of 2008, but its release was canceled. However, Sue Rostoni later stated that the book had been reinstated, and the novel was to be released on January 10, 2012. Narration for the audio version was performed by Daniel Davis.
"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life… He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself." —Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Darth Plagueis: one of the most brilliant Sith Lords who ever lived. Possessing power is all he desires. Losing it is the only thing he fears. As an apprentice, he embraces the ruthless ways of the Sith. And when the time is right, he destroys his Master—but vows never to suffer the same fate. For like no other disciple of the dark side, Darth Plagueis learns to command the ultimate power . . . over life and death.
Darth Sidious: Plagueis's chosen apprentice. Under the guidance of his Master, he secretly studies the ways of the Sith, while publicly rising to power in the galactic government, first as Senator, then as Chancellor, and eventually as Emperor.
Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious, Master and acolyte, target the galaxy for domination—and the Jedi Order for annihilation. But can they defy the merciless Sith tradition? Or will the desire of one to rule supreme, and the dream of the other to live forever, sow the seeds of their destruction?
Darth Plagueis: Like all Sith Lords before him, he craves absolute power. But like no Sith Lord ever, he possesses the ultimate power—over life and death.
Darth Sidious: In secret he masters the power of the dark side, while publicly climbing to the highest government office.
One desires to rule supreme; the other dreams of living forever. Together, they will destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy. Unless merciless Sith tradition becomes their undoing. . . .
Plagueis has just murdered his master in cold blood and has become the dominant Sith so he begins to look for an apprentice of his own to advance his goals of becoming an immortal Sith Lord. Soon enough he encounters his Master's secret apprentice who he swiftly defeats and uses to locate someone powerful in the force but any person he finds are not good enough for his plans. One day Plagueis finds himself on Naboo and takes an interest in a young Palpatine who he eventually finds out controls the powers of the dark side on such a level that he was able to hide his abilities until Plagueis was able to draw them out. Soon after, Plagueis takes his new apprentice now named Sidious to the planet of Mygeeto to begin his training and once he is ready teaches him how to become even more powerful than he currently is. Plagueis helps Sidious rise to the rank of senator of Naboo while Sidious trains a secret apprentice behind Plagueis' back and begins to create the perfect Sith as a young boy from Tatooine is brought before the Jedi council to be trained in their ways. But Plagueis has his own plans for the boy.
The novel begins on Coruscant in the Kaldani Spires Residential Apartment building owned Hego Damask a Muun, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis. The Muun has just been killed by his apprentice Darth Sidious. The now Sith Lord experiences a moment where he feels a dramatic shift in the Force, which promises him that the Dark Side will control him as much as he controls it. Sidious notices that Plagueis looks almost exactly as he did decades ago when he first encountered the Muun on his homeworld of Naboo.
Thirty-five years earlier, Darth Plagueis and his Bith Sith Master, Darth Tenebrous, are in a cave on the Outer Rim planet Bal'demnic to examine its natural cortosis deposits, which are being mined without the knowledge of either the Republic or the Jedi Order. Tenebrous plans to use the cortosis' natural resistance to lightsaber blades in his future attempts to overthrow the Jedi and replace the Republic with a Sith-controlled Empire in accordance with Darth Bane's Grand Plan. During the investigation, the mining EM-Two probe droid, against Tenebrous' orders, begins digging for an explosive lethane pocket next to a cortosis vein, prompting the two Sith to rush back to their ship and escape the resulting explosion. Ultimately, the explosion occurs before they make it back to the ship. Tenebrous is able to use the Force to contain the blast so that it does not kill the two Sith, while Plagueis makes sure that their ship is not destroyed by the impact of the blast.
In the process, Tenebrous is severely weakened and Plagueis has the opportunity to end his Master's life and take over the role of Sith Master. He uses the Force to hurl falling debris on top of his Master; then, attempting to make it look as it was a natural event, he rushes to his Master's side. The Bith informs his apprentice that the mining droids were supplied to him by Subtext Mining. Plagueis, however, cannot resist revealing to Tenebrous what his true plans are and what they mean for the future of the Sith. The Muun tells his Bith Master that he will put an end to the old order of the Rule of Two before breaking Tenebrous' neck and observing his dying body through the Force in an attempt to manipulate midi-chlorians. However, Tenebrous dies before Plagueis is even able to at least prolong his Master's life for the sake of his experimentation. The ship designed by Tenebrous has been destroyed by the debris, and the wounded Muun sets off for the nearest city on the planet.
Hiding aboard the LS-447-3 ship Woebegone, the Muun make it off the planet. The ship's crew, all non-humans, discover Plagueis in a cooling container and confront him. They do not trust him and want to return to Bal'demnic to give him to the local authorities. After Ellin Lah, the Togruta captain of the Woebegone, tells him this, he goes on a killing spree, killing every member of the crew except the four-armed medical droid 11-4D, who tends to the Muun's wounded back. The two travel to the Deep Space Demolition and Removal Space Station, where the Woebegone is slagged and 11-4D's memory core is erased without erasing the droid's medical protocols. The Muun and his new droid then return to his homeworld of Muunilinst, where Plagueis appears in his public persona as Hego Damask, CEO of Damask Holdings.
The two are greeted by Larsh Hill, Chief Operating Officer of Damask Holdings. After a brief confrontation between Damask and the Chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, Tonith, the two travel to Aborah, where the Muun instructs the droid to study Sith history and shows him his laboratory. On Sojourn, also known as the Hunter's Moon in the Carrion sector, Damask Holdings holds an annual secret meeting with several leaders of various corporations and cartels. One of these guests is Gardulla the Hutt, who seeks Damask's financial support to take control of Tatooine and escape the influence of her enemies, particularly Jabba Desilijic Tiure and the Desilijic clan. Gardulla offers to develop a new Podrace track on Tatooine and take Damask on as a silent partner. In return, Damask demands that Gardulla allow Boss Cabra, a Black Sun Vigo and partner of the Muun, to operate freely on Nar Shaddaa. After some hesitation, Gardulla agrees to the terms, promising Damask that he will not be disappointed. Senator Pax Teem, representing the Gran Protectorate, expresses anger and concern at the rumors of Gardulla's plans. Teem is upset about the potential competition for Malastare's own Podracing events, which could negatively affect his interests. Damask and Hill assure Teem that their dealings with the Hutt will remain confidential. They suggest offsetting any losses from Podracing by raising the cost of Malastare's fuel exports, which Teem reluctantly accepts as a starting point for discussion. The Gran also accuses Damask of favoring the Trade Federation, complaining that the Federation's full representation in the Senate benefits Damask Holdings more than Malastare, and leaves in anger. After the Gran leaves, Plagueis confronts representatives of the Subtext Mining Corporation, who have been invited by Hill on Damask's instructions. Damask threatens their lives, and in response they tell the Muuns of a plasma vein on the Mid Rim planet Naboo. Plagueis spares their lives and has them relocated to the most remote world on the Tingel Arm so they would be in reserve in case he needs them again—he has them killed later on when it becomes clear that he cannot have anymore dealings with Pax Teem, who is a supporter of Subtext.
After the meeting ends and the guests leave, a member of the Sunguards informs Plagueis that the intrusion alarm has been activated. The Muun heads into the forest surrounding the castle, knowing that only Tenebrous had the access codes, indicating that something is not right. He is confronted by Darth Venamis, a Bith Sith whom Tenebrous had secretly trained as a contingency plan in case Plagueis failed to live up to Tenebrous's expectations. Plagueis defeats Venamis in battle, forcing him to swear allegiance before poisoning the lesser Sith. Plagueis then uses Venamis in his experiments manipulating midi-chlorians in an attempt to achieve immortality and conquer death.
The Sunguard discovers a list of Force-users on the ship's computer. Like Plagueis, Tenebrous has ordered Venamis to look out for potential Force-sensitive beings to use in the Sith's schemes. Plagueis sets out to locate these individuals to determine if they pose a threat to his plans. Accompanied by 11-4D, he travels to Lianna City. At a casino, they identify a Shi'ido, a shapeshifter, who is using his Force abilities to cheat. They follow the Shi'ido and discover that he is transferring money to Kerred Santhe the Second. Perplexed, Plagueis confronts the shapeshifter and learns that Santhe is heavily in debt and threatened by Vigos of the Black Sun. According to the shapeshifter, Santhe has lost all his money since the murder of his father, an act committed by Plagueis approximately twenty-five years into his apprenticeship. Plagueis gives the shapeshifter one last chance to make money before reporting him to the Galactic Gaming Commission, allowing him to leave.
On Saleucami, Plagueis observes a gathering led by the next person on Venamis' list, an Iktotchi prophet. He witnesses her predictions of impending galactic turmoil and the rise of a ruthless dictator. Realizing the potential danger her message poses to his plans, Plagueis decides to intervene. Approaching her, he subtly channels Force lightning into her body as he touches her arm. The Prophet dies in front of her followers, and Plagueis leaves in the chaos that ensues.
Plagueis and 11-4D travel to Bedlam to locate Naat Lare, a Nautolan and last on Venamis' list. Upon arrival, they discover that Lare has disappeared from the Bedlam Institution for the Criminally Demented where he was confined, possibly with the help of Venamis, who has been posing as a physician. Learning of Lare's troubled past and potential danger, Plagueis searches for clues to his whereabouts. They discover that Lare may have fled to Felucia, Caluula, or Abraxin. After hearing of recent murders on Abraxin that resemble Lare's work, they head there. Plagueis encounters Jedi Master Ni-Cada and his Padawan Lo Bukk investigating the murders and senses Lare's presence. He urges Lare to prove himself by attacking the Jedi before slipping away as the conflict unfolds. Plagueis briefly considers taking Naat Lare as an apprentice, as Venamis had promised the Nautolan. This thought is abandoned when Naat Lare is killed by the Jedi and his Padawan.
In exchange for the plasma located beneath the surface of Naboo, Damask Holdings and the Trade Federation begin a bid to support Bon Tapalo as king of the planet. They are invited by Ars Veruna, one of Tapalos advisors, to Naboo. During this visit, Damask Holdings presents an economic development plan to Bon Tapalo's faction, proposing to exploit the planet's plasma resources in exchange for support in Tapalo's bid for the throne. Tapalo's faction, initially wary of foreign involvement, ultimately agrees to the partnership. Through Veruna, Plagueis learns of a young man's pivotal role in leaking information that benefited Bon Tapalo's faction. This man's name is Palpatine, whose motivations and actions go against those of his father, Cosinga, who wants Naboo to remain an isolationist world. Seeing potential in Palpatine in terms of ambitions and even actual power in the Force, Plagueis begins using him as a source of information regarding the campaign of Tapalo and his opponents. Palpatine, meanwhile, sees in Hego Damask the father figure he never had, even as he knows that he is being manipulated. Naturally, this attracts Cosinga's attention, who tries to separate his son from Plagueis. After a meeting between the Muun and the young Naboo royal on Chandrila, Palpatine is forced to meet with his father on the family starship. Cosinga wants to send his son to Chommell Minor to live with the Greejatus family. In a burst of rage, Palpatine kills his entire family and their honor guard by using his full, unbridled power in the dark side of the Force. He later informs Plagueis of the deed, who then congratulates Palpatine on "emancipating" himself. Soon, Plagueis takes Palpatine under his wing as his Sith apprentice after revealing to the young man the nature of himself and of the Sith, promptly naming him Darth Sidious.
In the eleven years that follow of Plagueis teaching Sidious the nature of the dark side and the ways of the Sith, Palpatine, as the last of House Palpatine, climbs his way up the political ladder of Naboo to become its ambassador throughout the galaxy. And with the help of new friends like Kinman Doriana and Sate Pestage, Palpatine arranges for the successful assassination of his former mentor and Naboo's representative Senator to the Republic, Vidar Kim. As a result, Palpatine becomes the new Senator of Naboo, taking a seat in the Republic Senate as Plagueis continues his plans of manipulating midi-chlorians to prolong his own life indefinitely. One such plan involves the cloning industry on the backwater world of Kamino, inadvertently setting the stage for the eventual Clone Wars. Meanwhile, amidst his own political machinations, Palpatine, in his urge to know more about the dark side than what Plagueis teaches him, manages to make a visit to the world of Dathomir, where he encounters a Dathomirian woman who gives him a Zabrak infant simply known as Maul. Palpatine later has Maul sent to Mustafar, where he could be nurtured at his young age in the dark side of the Force.
As Sidious and Plagueis promptly proceed to eliminate their political opponents, Plagueis is attacked during an Order of the Canted Circle ceremony for his assistant Larsh Hill by Maladian assassins. Hill and the other members of the Order of the Canted Circle are killed, but Plagueis, albeit severely wounded, is able to fight off and kill several of the assassins before Palpatine and Sate Pestage arrive to assist the superior Sith Lord. Palpatine had previously discerned that a powerful political opponent of his, Pax Teem, had outwitted Plagueis and had sent the assassins to kill him and his partners during the Canted Circle ceremony. In retaliation, Palpatine personally attacks Teem during a celebratory feast, killing him and all of his guests, leaving no survivors or evidence. In the aftermath of the attack at the botched ceremony, as Plagueis is forced to wear a transpirator to survive, he becomes more alert than ever about his surroundings, even going so far as forever renouncing sleep, and is even more obsessed with finding a way to live forever. As Damask, he trains Hill's son, San, to become the new head of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. Meanwhile, Plagueis managed to kill and then resurrect Darth Venamis in one of his experiments, he successfully did this numerous times until the Bith’s organs had given out and Plagueis grants him everlasting death.
More than two decades pass as Palpatine gains more power in the Senate as the reign of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum comes to an end. The rest of the novel tells the events depicted in other, preexisting Star Wars stories, such as Jedi Council: Acts of War, Cloak of Deception, Star Wars: Darth Maul, and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, until the novel takes place during the entirety of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Throughout these events, it is learned that Plagueis had killed former King Ars Veruna of Naboo (thus, allowing Palpatine to have a teenaged Padmé Amidala elected as the planet's Queen) and that Plagueis also suggested to Sifo-Dyas to sanction a human clone army on Kamino. Palpatine, who had also named Maul Darth behind Plagueis's back, also sees a potential ally in the former Jedi Count Dooku. As the novel comes to a close during the events of The Phantom Menace, Sidious and Plagueis learn that a young boy named Anakin Skywalker, a former slave found by Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine, had been born of the Force. They discern that this is most likely due to Plagueis's experiment of creating life through the Force, which he had commenced about a decade earlier.
The novel climaxes where it began— as the Battle of Naboo occurs, Palpatine coerces Plagueis into sleep with the promise of making him co-chancellor of the Republic, just as Plagueis demanded decades earlier, now that Palpatine appears to be winning in the election to replace Finis Valorum as Chancellor. With that, Sidious attacks Plagueis and, as he kills him, he explains that he was the one who had really been manipulating Plagueis the whole time, with such deals as the clone army as an example. In the end, Sidious ends Plagueis's life with the dark side of the Force, although his feeling of triumph is ruined as he feels uneasy for some reason. He later attributes this to the supposed death of Darth Maul, though, as he initially suspected, it may very well have been Plagueis himself reaching out to him from beyond the Force.
As Palpatine is officially made Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, he begins to commence his solo plans of taking over the galaxy with the upcoming Clone Wars, such as seeking Dooku as a placeholder Sith apprentice and ally in the war. But the biggest part in Darth Sidious's plan is young Anakin Skywalker, now a Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who the Sith sees will be easily manipulated into becoming his true apprentice, and a harbinger of Palpatine's own power.
Plagueis gave the Sun Guards the night off, leaving him, Sidious, and 11-4D alone. As the Sith Lords removed their cloaks, OneOne-FourDee served them Sullustan wine into expensive glassware. Plagueis remarked on the age of the wine and proposed a toast in honor of the culmination of decades of planning and execution, and to the new meaning, they would "give" the Rule of Two. Both beings drained their glasses, which were immediately refilled by 11-4D. Sidious complemented Plagueis on his part of the plan and told him he would endeavor to live up to Plagueis' expectations and fulfill his responsibility. Sidious then began the speech he would give tomorrow─following Damask's request─he began by saying that the Republic had been intact for a millennia thanks to largely invisible beings whose accomplishments needed to be brought to the light of day. Plagueis stated that he was pleased and Sidious continued.
He stated that Hego Damask was one of those beings, the being who had overseen the development of the Republic Reserve Administration and who provided financial support for the Resettlement Acts that enabled beings to colonize distant worlds. He continued by saying that Hego Damask was who transformed the Trade Federation, however, Damask interrupted him and told him that it wasn't the right time to mention a controversial organization. Plagueis told him to take a different approach, and so he did.
As the night wore on, Sidious continued to amend and improvise, touching on Damask's childhood on Mygeeto and on the elder Damask's contributions to the InterGalactic Banking Clan during his term as co-chair. As he continued, the droid brought a third, and then the fourth bottle of wine. Plagueis, now pleasantly intoxicated, only wanted to sleep and dream of his march into the Senate Rotunda, the looks of surprise, astonishment on the faces of the gathered senators. Plagueis tried to end the drinking, however, Sidious didn't let him, he turned Plagueis' own words against him. Their glasses were filled again, and Plagueis' eyelids began to flicker and close… Plagueis went asleep, and Sidious was going to leave─but the dark side wouldn't let him─the dark side told Sidious that his victory was assured and that the Sun Guards were absent… Plagueis unsuspecting and asleep. Sidious turned back and threw a web of force lightning into Plagueis' breathing device.
Plagueis woke up, alarmed, his breath going away. The Force began to gather in Plagueis like a storm. Plagueis had survived assassinations, and killed countless opponents didn't fight back, he merely gazed at his apprentice, until he noticed that he was being challenged! Plagueis was confident that he had achieved immortality and stood absolutely still, he denied that he was slowly suffocating, Sidious stopped, and stood absolutely still. Plagueis gazed back at him. The question lingered for only a moment, then Sidious unleashed another tangle of lightning, drawing more deeply on the dark side than he ever had. Palpatine then repeated the "second part of the speech" calling Plagueis a fool. He then described everything Plagueis had done since his arrival at Naboo, drying the planet dry of plasma, set the Trade Federation as overseers, the one who set his sights on a seemingly confused youg man and, with meticulous skill, manipulated the man into committing patricide, matricide and fratricide. Plagueis who took him as apprentice, sharing some of his knowledge but withholding his most powerful secrets, denying the apprentice his wishes. As Tenebrous had once done. Plagueis who made his apprentice hire an inept assassin to murder Senator Vidar Kim─and yet, who had allowed himself to be tricked by a Grand and nearly killed. Plagueis, turned away from the Grand Plan to focus entirely on himself, in a quest for immortality. Plagueis tried to stand up, but fell onto the couch. The lightning resumed, and shortly, Plagueis was gathering his midi-chlorians. Palpatine told him that his midi-chlorians couldn't do anything if he was being denied breathing, that his studies would be useful to safe him, and that he could save him, however, he stated that he would do no such thing. Just as Plagueis fell onto the couch, dead, the Force going away from him, Palpatine sensed a great disturbance in the Force. He asked himself if Plagueis had achieved immortality, or that the disturbance was Plagueis' death. However, he realized it was neither of those, Palpatine realized Maul had died. Although he really didn't.
Palpatine felt a tremor taking hold of the planet, and he also sensed himself staying in the middle of it, a chorus of voices praised his assassination and the birth of a new order, he quickly dismissed the voices and focused on himself. Palpatine breathed heavily, and looked around the room, witnessing paintings, tapestries, carpets, and a lot of broken furniture, as well as Plagueis' corpse, the dark lord was lying on a couch, dead, however, Sidious thought that perhaps his master had achieved immortality, which he later dismissed. He also thought about Damask's egotism, he asked himself if Plagueis had centered so much on his goal that he had forgotten about his own safety.
Sidious rolled Plagueis' corpse over to showcase the Muun's back, in that angle, Plagueis looked like he did when he met Palpatine for the first time. His fears were dismissed as Sidious witnessed the Muun's featured relaxing and dying. Palpatine decided that the will of the dark side had been done, and therefore, turned to the window of Plagueis' suite. Palpatine thought that the 2 of them had changed the galaxy for trillions of beings, that with the birth of Darth Sidious, it had already changed. Sidious observed the planets and stars, aligned in different configurations long before both of them had been born, however, they had changed. Palpatine sensed something rising from him, confident that the dark side was his, he decided that the something inside him—a monster—would soon be liberated. He later thought about Plagueis' master's death, Plagueis had never talked about his death, Sidious asked himself if the same thing that happened to Plagueis happened to Tenebrous. He then once again looked at the window and left.
A Darth Plagueis novel was scheduled to be written by James Luceno and released in October 2008 by Del Rey about Darth Plagueis and his backstory. In an interview with Star Wars Insider magazine, Luceno said that he would like to write a future novel dealing with the search for immortality that both Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Plagueis embarked upon in their own separate ways. However, in a talk show interview in February 5, 2007, he indicated that the novel was currently on hold due to issues surrounding the revelation of Palpatine's backstory and Expanded Universe continuity concerns.
On March 27, 2007, Sue Rostoni revealed in her blog that the novel had been canceled, in an entry revealing an updated publishing schedule.
The announcements for the novel stated that Plagueis was a Muun. Leland Chee has confirmed that, since Plagueis's species did not originate in the novel, it is still considered his canonical species by Lucas Licensing.
The novel was replaced with Darth Bane: Rule of Two; however, Luceno had said he still hoped he could convince the powers that be at LucasFilm to let him write the novel, and cited sales of Millennium Falcon could help influence that.
On July 27, 2010, Sue Rostoni stated that the book was back on schedule, with a release date of February 28, 2012. This announcement came following a sales database leak, which the fan site New Jedi Order Encyclopedia published. Believing it to be a replacement for the canceled Imperial Commando 2, fans asked for clarification. Rostoni confirmed that the book was going to be published in 2012, but that it is not intended to replace Imperial Commando 2. The release date was later changed to December 27, 2011, and then again to January 10, 2012.
On August 22, 2011, it was announced on the Star Wars Books Facebook page that Matthew Stover would be writing a short story, entitled The Tenebrous Way, that ties into the book. It was published in the Star Wars Insider 130 on December 13, 2011.
Darth Plagueis was first set to be a first-person narrative. Sidious would have found Plagueis's holocron shortly after he murdered his master and it would have retold Plagueis's recorded life story. Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles served as inspiration for the storyline.
On page 407 of the paperback edition of Darth Plagueis, "Xizor" is misspelled as "Xixor."
The novel's back cover was later used in the Canon Emperor Palpatine issue of the Star Wars Encyclopedia by De Agostini.
- ISBN 9780345511287 — January 10, 2012; Del Rey; US hardcover
- ISBN 9780345532558 — January 10, 2012; Del Rey; US eBook
- ISBN 9780345511294
- ISBN 9780593358801 — April 5, 2022; Del Rey; US paperback, The Essential Legends Collection edition