Three Pillar's of the Sith

A Pillar of the Sith was a term used to describe a Sith who had become an apprentice under one of the Dark Lord of the Sith within the insert Sith faction here.

Overview
The number of "pillars" always remained at three like the name suggest, one for each of the Dark Lords to train at the time. If one Dark Lord had an apprentice, the others were encouraged to do the same. If an apprentice were ever to kill their Master, then the had a few choices where to go from there. The first and most popular path, was to try and earn their place as one of the three Dark Lords by facing a series of trials assigned by the other Dark Lords. If the trials were passed, the pillar would be allowed to move up and take a seat next to the other Lords and claim an apprentice of his own. Failure of the first path would only result in death, and the remaining Dark Lords would then select another member to complete their triumvirate. The second path followed close behind the first, though it was sometimes looked upon as a sign of weakness. Instead of immediately trying to become a Dark Lord themselves, the pillar would take position as the apprentice of the defeated Lord's immediate superior. Finally the last path was the one looked down upon the most, because it was to refuse all the other paths and return to the order as a regular apprentice. Though the third path has never been taken over the insert Sith faction here's history, it still remains open. In another case that has yet to be seen, if the pillar of the strongest Dark Lord were to ever defeat his master, he could immediately become leader of the entire triumvirate.