Nightbrothers / Legends The Nightbrothers were a tribal group of Dathomirian Zabrak men subservient to the Nightsisters . They lived in a village on the far side of the planet Dathomir . The infamous Darth Maul , apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious , was born a Nightbrother . They were all Force - sensitive . Description . The Nightbrothers spent most of their lives training in their village , learning to fight with axe s , daggers , and spears , or even their bare hands . They were divided into several tribes , all of which were overseen by the same leading Brother — around 21 BBY , Brother Viscus held this position . The full - body tattoos covering many Dathomirian men were considered to be the traditional markings of a warrior . The facial markings were considered the equivalent of the blemishes left by the bursting of blood vessels on the faces of the Sister s . Those who had proved their worth in the arena of the Crucible were allowed to wield powerful weapons infused with Nightsister magic , and were granted cuffs and shoulder armor . Sometimes , the Shaman of the Nightsisters would select a gifted Nightbrother and empower him with dark energies . With the help of a full coven of crafters , the shaman injected the energies of the Spirits into the Brother ' s bone and muscle , turning him into a warrior behemoth . Transformed Dathomirian Zabrak were a head taller , with a broad chest , strong arms and a full crown of sharp horns . In her instructional treatise known as " Wild Power " , Clan Mother Talzin wrote the Nightbrothers were powerful warriors but lacked the ability to balance the conflicting energies of the Twin Gods . According to her , males were simpler and more beastlike than females . History . Decades prior to the start of the Clone Wars , a small group of male Zabrak were brought from Rattatak during a pirate raid . The Human Nightsisters discovered they could interbreed with those Zabraks , leading to the creation of the hybrid species known as the Dathomirians . The witches isolated their new slaves to a small area of the planet where they could draw from them at whim . While the Nightsisters had always kept " maleling s " as labor units or mating partners , the Shaman of the Nightsisters Talzin restricted the use of males to the Zabrak Nightbrothers after becoming the leader of all Nightsister covens . She also thought it was best to keep them separated from the Sisters . The Sith Lord Darth Maul was a member of the Nightbrothers before being taken by Darth Sidious to be trained as his apprentice . During the Clone Wars , the Nightsisters trained Savage Opress , who was Darth Maul ' s blood brother , to be Asajj Ventress ' replacement as Count Dooku ' s apprentice . Ventress saw the Nightbrothers as " adequate fighters " but felt that they were " ill - served in isolation " ; it was her opinion , contrary to Mother Talzin ' s view , that they could learn and achieve much more " under the direct tutelage of a Nightsister . " Behind the scenes . Darth Maul ' s full - body markings were originally Sith tattoos personally applied by Darth Sidious , but were later retcon ned into being a tradition of his tribe , the Nightbrothers , applied shortly after birth .