Monster

With Count Dooku seeking a replacement for Ventress, he turns to the Nightsisters, inadvertently giving Ventress and her sisters an opportunity for vengeance. Ventress journeys to the remote side of Dathomir, seeking the most powerful and savage warrior among the males of the planet. Talzin secretly directs Asajj to select Savage Opress from the distant Nightbrother village. Through dark magic, Talzin transforms Savage into a massive warrior, completely loyal to Asajj. Opress is then delivered to Dooku, intended to serve as his secret Sith apprentice in a scheme to usurp Darth Sidious.

Count Dooku journeys to Dathomir to confer with Mother Talzin, seeking her assistance in finding a new personal assassin to take the place of Asajj Ventress. He also attempts to establish an alliance with the Nightsisters, an offer that Talzin declines for reasons not explicitly stated. Talzin inquires if he remembers the Sith warrior Darth Maul, to which Dooku confirms his memory, recalling Maul's death on Naboo a decade prior at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Talzin proposes recruiting a male from a village from the other side of the planet, a warrior possessing Darth Maul's capabilities, while cautioning that male Zabraks can be challenging to control. Dooku, believing that the Jedi were responsible for a past assault against him and presuming Ventress to be deceased, accepts the proposition, viewing the acquisition of a new Sith assassin as vital. Following Dooku's departure, Talzin dispatches Ventress to the village to choose a warrior to further their plans for revenge against the Count.

After a preliminary elimination of the less promising candidates, Ventress establishes three trials to aid in the selection process: a test of combat prowess, where the candidates attack Ventress; a test of darkness, requiring them to confront Ventress hidden in the shadows and their own fears; and a test of skill, in which they must evade Ventress while navigating a labyrinth of rising stone blocks. As the third contest begins, only two contenders are still alive: Savage Opress and his younger sibling, Feral. When Ventress has Feral cornered and is about to kill him, Savage intervenes, offering to fight her in exchange for his brother's survival. Despite being defeated, Ventress is sufficiently impressed and accepts him into her service.

Upon returning to their abbey, the Nightsisters employ their mystical abilities to enhance Savage's strength and aggression, transforming him into a massive brute and placing him under Ventress's complete control. As a final test of his loyalty, Ventress orders Savage to kill Feral, who has been brought there as a prisoner, which he does without hesitation. Deemed ready for his mission, Savage is equipped with blastproof armor and a mystically enhanced vibro-ax, then presented to Dooku. Impressed, yet wary, Dooku sends Savage to the jungle planet of Devaron to eliminate a small Jedi Temple situated there. Savage arrives at the Temple and swiftly ends the ongoing conflict between the temple's defenders and the invading droid forces, eliminating Jedi Master Halsey and his apprentice Knox, along with their clone troopers, in mere moments. Completely satisfied, Dooku accepts Opress as his new apprentice, promising to instruct him in the ways of the Dark Side with the ultimate goal of overthrowing Darth Sidious and ruling the galaxy...