Star Wars has finally explained with the Sith couldn't steal Nightsister magicks. The Sith have always had a voracious appetite for secrets of the dark side. As powerful as they may be in their own right, they have also added to their knowledge by scouring the galaxy for other Force cults, seeking to learn their secrets - and then wiping them out. They have had a particularly antagonistic relationship with a cult known as the Nightsisters from the planet Dathomir, whose formidable magick seems to tap into an aspect of the Force so very different to the light and dark sides the Jedi and Sith typically operate with. Darth Sidious was especially interested in Nightsister magick, although once he had learned everything he could from them, he then dedicated all the resources of the Empire to rendering them extinct.
Sam Maggs' novel Jedi: Battle Scars hints at the true nature of Nightsister magick. A prequel to the Jedi: Survivor game, it focuses in on the relationship between former Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis and his Nightsister ally Merrin, believed to be the last of her kind. The book reveals Nightsister magick is unusually complicated, and it is bound to the Force vergence that is the Nightsister homeworld of Dathomir. Even more intriguingly, though, it appears to be charged by a Nightsister's relationships. Nightsister magick may be rooted in the dark side, but it is not quite so self-driven as the ways of the Sith, instead boosted by community.
The Sith Could Never Duplicate The Power Of The Nightsisters
Star Wars canon has recently revealed an ancient Sith faction known as the Darkseekers, whose primary mission was to seek out other factions of dark side s and steal their secrets. The Nightsisters of Dathomir are known to have jealously guarded these, and the Sith often used subtle manipulation to force their hands. George Mann's Dark Legends even contains a short story suggesting Sith Lord even held Nightsisters hostage. But the revelations in Jedi: Battle Scars explain why even the greatest Sith, such as Palpatine, could not perfectly duplicate the powers of the Nightsisters. They did not want to be based solely on Dathomir, and they lacked the sense of community. Every Sith naturally seeks dominance over others, even over other Sith, meaning every partnership between Sith can only ever be a temporary affair and there can be no bonds of love between them.
Star Wars Finally Explains Why Nightsister Powers Are So Unique
This further explains why the Nightsisters' dark side Force powers are unlike anything seen elsewhere in Star Wars lore. Given the Nightsisters interact with the spirits of the dead, it is likely Dathomir is a vergence akin to the planet Exegol, where the veil between life and death is unnaturally thin. What is more, the ions that drive Nightsister magick - the loves and desires - are attachments rejected by the Jedi, and ions dismissed by the Sith because they are not in their own selfish interests. The combination of these two variables presumably unlocks a very different range of Force powers, abilities distinct from those practiced by other Force-sensitives.
The true nature of Nightsister magick has long been something of a mystery, and Sam Maggs' Jedi: Battle Scars is a crucial step towards resolving that enigma. There has been speculation Merrin will become a Nightsister Jedi, binding together these two different traditions. If she does, then Star Wars will have introduced a character whose powers are unlike any seen before in the franchise's history.
