Continuing from last week’s Isaiah the Gray #TBTRPG story, Isaiah responds to the Captain: “I wish I knew. I hope we help solve that here. Now, let’s keep going.”
The three men continue onward and enter a sparse room whose only striking component is its elegant minimalism. At its center is a plain, nondescript chair. But only Isaiah can see the man sitting in it.
Jimmy C looks around and says: “It’s empty…”
To Jimmy and Captain Issac’s surprise and concern, to seemingly no one, Isaiah asks: “Who are you?”
A gentle but firm voice elegantly echos off the walls: “I am the first. Tell me, how did you come by this place?”
Isaiah responds: “The Force led me here. But…this place has been stripped of its markings. So what is it that you’re the first of?”
Captain Issac immediately draws his golden light-saber and puts himself in-between Isaiah and the “empty” chair.
The First Sith reveals his presence to the others: a willowy, thin, and somewhat gaunt man of an ancient age and complexion. His eyes convey the stillness of untouched water yet the power of the surface of the sun.
The First speaks: “Do not worry, Captain Issac. I will not harm your companion. I am not altogether here anymore anyway. To your question Isaiah Gray, I am the First Sith. I eschewed my name eons ago. So you may simply call me First. It is interesting the Force led you here of all places on this planet. I have been…monitoring the progress of my people from afar and find it curious the Force led you here. It should not work in that way. Tell me, what is it you felt?”
Jimmy C looks to Isaiah and whispers (as if it helps): “The…father of all Sith? Can that be true?”
The First smiles. Isaiah responds: “I felt only the Truth. That there was only one path and it led me here. You say you are the First of the Sith but…how can that be?”
The First carefully considers Isaiah’s words. “I am bound to this planet for the remainder of its existence. A deal that I made with the souls of my descendants at the formation of our race. They feed off my spirit like a lay-line you see. All Sith may, if they wish, enhance their connection to the Force by channeling through this place.
Isaiah realizes something important. “But no one comes, do they?”
A long pause. The First responds: “No, not for many cycles. This one – pointing at Issac – could tell you more about those times. The Sith today are not as they once were: masters of the Dark Side of the Force. The “Lords” that live today believe themselves to be… but they’re just the Dark Side’s living puppet. The Dark Side is like fire, control it and work within its flow, and you can have a power far greater than yourself to do with what you will. But Sith these days only see its power to burn. They fail to understand how the flow within is supposed to marry to the flow within the Dark Side and achieve a harmony. Darkness is not inherently evil; it’s just other side of Light. But perhaps that’s the bitterness of an old man talking.”
Isaiah considers the First’s words while Jimmy C and Captain Issac are frozen in fear. Isaiah responds: “I sense what you’re saying is true. And I also believe there is some place here only you can show us the way to. Are you willing?”
The First smiles. “I see inside you Isaiah Gray. I know what it is you carry. You may believe yourself worthy someday. For now, seems to me, a warped, frustrated old man, that you are doing the right thing. You may go. May the Darkness be with you.”
