disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, and if I did, well, several things would have been different in the Force Awakens. Given that, I'm still processing the movie.

I've also decided that Wookieepedia has made a slight mistake, and mislabeled canon and legends. EU is canon and Force Awakens is a legend.

That being said, this is sequalverse/my-definition-of-legends/what-some-people-think-is-officially-canon.

Also, Spoiler Alert

The Sith had a rule. Not a rule that was always followed, but a rule nonetheless.

The Rule of Two.

The Force had a rule as well, even if the Jedi and the Sith didn't know it.

They had the Rule of Three.

The Rule of Three went like this:

In a time of Great Confusion, or Change, or Disruption, or The Galaxy going to Hell in a Hand basket, there would be Three.

One, one would be chosen as the Avatar of the Force. This one would be responsible for much of the change. This being would come from humble beginnings, and become Great. The First One would be the Focus, the Focus that the Force would use to act out their wishes, their plans.

The Force was not allowed to directly interfere, and so needed a Focus when the Galaxy was hanging in the balance, perched precariously on the top of a hill, waiting for a single push one way or another to determine the Fate of the Galaxy. Unstable Equilibrium, if the Force wanted to use a physics term. This is what made the First One needed.

Two, two would be chosen as the Friend. Friend isn't the right word though. Two's job was to stand by the First One, to help when Two could. Two was meant to offset the First One somehow. They were a good pair, balanced. Two was the Balance. Two had what One lacked, and Three didn't need. Two was there for the First when Three couldn't be. Two would understand the First.

The Force was not about to let their Focus be left alone. The Force wasn't even entirely sure what alone was, but knew it was a thing many beings feared. And the Focus could not shift too fast one way or the other, which would happen when left alone. That would just spell disaster.

(It happened the first time, in the very beginning. The Force was young, like the Galaxy, and did not yet realize many things. One of which, is that without another, the minute the Force started to use the Focus, the Focus was bounced from side to side, and would very quickly grab on to one side and go with it. This lead to...destruction, even if the Focus clung to what was labeled the light side by beings. The second time, the Focus clung to darkness, and that lead to destruction as well. It took awhile for the Force to learn that the Focus was not able to actually accept the Force as they were, but needed time to discover them. The Force had learned patience from this, and the third time, well, the third time didn't destroy the current planets in the galaxy. Or all the species that had gained sentience. The Force didn't have to start all over again. The Force may have learned patience, but that didn't mean they had to like it.)

Three, three was the Opposite. The Opposite to One. Not necessarily a complete opposite, but at least from the beginnings. Where One was from humbled beginnings, Three was advantaged. Three had many options, opportunities. Three was able to chose, and chose before meeting One and Two. Three knew what they wanted, and went after what they needed to get that result.

Granted, sometimes Three didn't get their result, or One may have destroyed that result, but Three still knew.

One was Confusion, and needed to discover and learn. Two went with the flow of the Force, even if they were not aware. Two was Acceptance. Three was Determination.

Confusion, Acceptance, and Determination. They were the Three who would change the galaxy.

Anakin Skywalker was called the Chosen One, a prophesy the Jedi had heard and handed down and almost thought a myth.

It was an unfortunate bastardization of a specific occurrence of the Rule of Three, but the Force felt there was enough truth in it that it was fine to leave alone. (The Force has since learned that Titles like Chosen One are also something that should be avoided. They are always learning). After all, the Force didn't really understand prophesy the way the beings of the galaxy understood it. To them, prophesy was the fact that there would be a time where the galaxy would sit at a crossroads. It happened a lot, sometimes quite often, sometimes not. Prophesy was just the fact. Prophesy wasn't a promise like the Jedi seemed to think.

As the Focus, Anakin was born a slave. There could be little humbler beginnings than that. And he was found when he was nine, and brought into contact with Two and Three, Balance and Opposite. Or, in this case, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme Naberrie.

Obi-Wan was a Jedi, and had learned, or was learning, how to accept things. He allowed the Force to guide him. Padme Naberrie was a Queen. Granted, it was an elected position, but she was fourteen and young and had decided that Democracy was what she wanted. She had many options presented to her on Naboo, and had chosen.

Anakin was a pilot, a mechanic, a good shot, a determined fighter. Obi-Wan was a Jedi, a good negotiator, peace bringer, a better wordsmith. Padme was a politician, a fighter with words who knew what to say, how to say it, and who to say it to to get what she wanted.

They were Three.

There was an addendum to the Rule of Three, one that the Force hadn't intended.

That two of the Three would love each other, and every other relationship would be as a sibling. This time, it was One and Three, Anakin and Padme, who were destined for love, and Obi-Wan who looked at Anakin as a brother. Even though he Accepted the Force, he still sometimes misheard it. He saw Padme as a dear friend who chose the wrong career. He didn't realize he felt she was like his sister. But that could be resolved by the fact he had never known siblings, and he didn't like her career.

Luke Skywalker was not called the Chosen One, and no Jedi master was allowed to call him the last hope. At least, not until Luke had already started to be used as a Focus. (The Force had learned, after all.)

Luke was raised a farmer. There were a few other humbler beginnings than a farmer, but it was still pretty humble. And he was found when he was eighteen by Two and Three, Balance and Opposite. Han Solo and Leia Organa.

Han was a smuggler, who had had a hard life and learned to accept the curveballs thrown his way. He didn't have to like them, but he knew he couldn't exactly stop them. Leia Organa was a Princess, and a Senator. She had been able to choose what to do with her life and had dedicated it to fighting the Empire.

She may have said to bring democracy back, but Leia didn't always say what she meant.

Luke was a pilot, a good shot, a fighter whose natural inclination was to bring or keep peace. Han was a smuggler, a pilot, a fighter who didn't know when to give up or when to keep going but kept trying anyway. Leia was a politician, a fighter with words and a blaster, she knew how to use words to cut people to pieces.

They were Three.

This time, One and Three were actual siblings, and there had been a slight confusion about that since the Force hadn't realized that One and Three didn't recognize their actual bond as a bond between Force sensitive siblings. Oops. It got straightened out eventually. One and Two considered themselves friends, brothers in arms. But that was because Two was wary of familial relationships and wouldn't actually admit how he felt. Two and Three were the ones who fell in love.

Rey had just been awakened. No one knew to call her anything but Rey, which was exactly how the Force wanted it.

She had been raised a scavenger, without her family. That was a humble beginning. (The Force was getting tired of coming up with new humble beginnings. Sooner or later, they knew, they would have to repeat something.) She was found by Two and Three's droid, when she was a young adult. The Force had to admit that it had made a tiny little mistake with Three this time. He was a bit too Dedicated. He had all the Dedication. So she really only met Balance. Finn.

Finn met Three, Opposite, Poe Dameron. It would have to work for now. At least One had met Two. One and Two had to know each other longer, better, than One knew Three.

Finn was an ex-stormtrooper of the First Order. He had accepted his life as a soldier because he had known nothing else, but when push came to shove accepted that no, the First Order was wrong. And that Finn was an awesome name. He also accepted that he felt connected to Rey, a connection he accepted more readily than he was ready to look at.

Poe Dameron was raised in the Rebellion, then the Republic and had chosen the Resistance. He had chosen to fight for what his parents believed in. He had known his parents and what they had done for the galaxy.

Rey was a mechanic, a pilot, a fighter who liked to protect people. Finn was a good shot, a fighter who wasn't sure what exactly he was fighting for. Poe was a pilot, a fighter pilot, but one who knew the power of words and names, but also that actions spoke loud.

They will be Three.

They still have a little time to get there.

It's still early yet to look at the relationship between Rey and Finn and Poe. After all, Rey doesn't know Poe, and Finn has just discovered himself and is hungry for acceptance, and Poe hasn't yet realized he is Three. But the Force is thinking that for this go round, One and Two might be the lovers.

But the Force will give it time.

There's another name for the Rule of Three. And it has to do with the fact that everything repeats.

There will always be a pilot and a mechanic, and fighters with words and no words. But they are not always the same. Sometimes, One is more like Two than Three. Sometimes, Two is more like Three. Or, One and Three can share some of the same characteristics. The only thing that will always be true is that there will be the one who values peace, one who values protection, one who values their own self.

The one who values peace has been Two, or One, or Three.

(Obi-Wan, Luke, Poe)

The one who values protection has been Three, or Three, or One.

(Padme, Leia, Rey)

The one who values their own self has been One, or Two, or Two again.

(Anakin, Han, Finn)

There will always be two males and a female.

(Anakin and Obi-Wan, Padme)

(Luke and Han, Leia)

(Finn and Poe, Rey)

There will be those who fight with anger.

(Anakin, Leia, Finn)

Those who fight because they feel they must.

(Obi-Wan, Luke, Poe)

Those who fight for survival.

(Padme, Han, Rey)

Everything repeats.

One Two Three.

The other name for the Rule of Three is the Rule of Three from One.

All three of the beings chosen by the Force for the Rule of Three comes from a single place. There is a set collection of characteristics, and from these characteristics the Force creates the Three. So the Three were made from One.

Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme. Luke, Han, Leia. Rey, Finn, Poe.

All are One split into Three.

The Old Three and the New Three cannot help but feel connected to each other.

Leia to Darth Vader (Anakin) although she never did like to admit it. Luke to Obi-Wan.

Rey to Han, Poe to Leia. Finn, well, he may not realize it yet, but Leia does. His naivety is all Luke.

(And the Force would really like the next Galaxy changing event to happen a few centuries from now. After all, the One is currently split into Luke, Leia, Rey, Finn, and Poe. And that's about two beings too many. At least last time, there was Four instead of Three for most of the event.)