Deskyl nods again.

    "Yes sir."

Anything else?

He glances between the two of them, his eyes lingering on her arm around Ilek's shoulders.

After a moment, he shakes his head, "I think that's about everything - we'll have to decide on the exact moment during the trip to Fort Helen. We've still a little under three weeks before we leave. If anything else comes to mind, I will let you know." 

He pauses, "I will need to inform my lieutenant of the full plan," he tells them. "If I have missed anything, they most certainly will not." 

She nods, and gives Ilek a little squeeze.

    "She'll look after him, sir."

He nods. (She had better-)

(Up to this point his emotions have been remarkably controlled - with this thought comes a surge, however, composed of a jumble of protective-possessive-helpless-self-hatred.

Before it settles back to the way it was again.)

He stands, motioning to the door, "I had best go find Istaim, then." He says.

"You are welcome to come along," he adds, "To hear their thoughts on the matter directly." 

...He'll want to talk to Ilek alone sometime later this afternoon, but it can wait, for now. 

    "Yes sir."

So they leave to find Istaim, Jaim slinging the Bow over his shoulder as they go. 

Istaim is in one of the fields at the west end of the fort, radiating irritation at the idiot they're healing. The fort is in the middle of a fucking siege, even if it seems unlikely it will escalate to battle. He shouldn't have been sparring hard enough to break something.

"-and you'd better not do it a-fucking-gain, do you hear me-" they're snarling out while the group approaches. 

They look up, spotting Jaim (specifically, the non-look on his face) and then immediately turning their eyes to Ilek - who looks guilty, to their eyes, though likely not to many others. 

Their irritation rises, along with concern. What have these two dumbasses done this time? 

"What?" They demand when they get in speaking range. The elite they were healing scrambles out of the field to get out of the line of fire. 

(Istaim feels... incredibly bright, to Deskyl's force senses. Like a star contained in human form, their mana (their soul) concealed only by a veil of shadowy illusion no human mage could see through.)

"Change of plans," Jaim states blandly - also vaguely. "I expected you would like to know." 

"So talk - there's no one here." 

So he explains the situation, letting the fact that he's already made his decision to enable this go unsaid. 

"Thoughts?" 

The boy's got issues, but at least his heart's in the right place. 

Both of them. 

They turn to Deskyl, "You're going to the rebellion, and then to see if you can do anything about the Emperor. I don't know how powerful your magic is, but If I were you I'd learn everything I could about the local magic in the next three weeks," they advise, "The Emperor's guard are all capable of sustained second-tier magic use - they're famous for their time spells, among some circles." 

They glance at Ilek, "And you should be learning Life magic," they tell him. "I'll teach you, if that works for you." 

You know better than I do what gaps we might have, she sends to Stormsinger as she signs back to DZ.

    "Yes sir."

They must be bound to Artefacts with Time affinities, He offers, Time spells include haste, slowing spells, some amount of precognition... Mages proficient with second tier spells in the Time category are extremely difficult to combat.

I bet. Have I explained my danger sense yet? My precog might be better than theirs.

You have not! He tells her, full of bright curiosity, It would be very convenient if it is, he adds. 

(Istaim starts Ilek on some simple Life magic exercises, making cuts for him to heal on their own skin, and explaining the safest parts of the body to do this. They also recommend he practise growing plants - it's the same colour.)

She keeps half an eye on Istaim, when the knife comes out; they seem to know what they're doing, but she'd rather know than assume.

The danger sense is a universal skill that Sith learn - it's an always-on precognition effect that senses when I'll be injured and what I should do about it, up to a second or so ahead of time. I can do precognition farther out, too, but it takes effort, and it gets unreliable pretty quickly. But I'm used to fighting precogs, and trained for it, and I can probably just outlast them if I don't overpower them directly.

likely, he agrees, Your power isn't limited in the way our mana is. With an elite guard like this I would still be wary of any last resort spells they have, however. Good reconnaissance is a must. 

(Istaim definitely knows what they are doing. They also make a point to tell Ilek where he should not cut, with some examples to show him why, including in the briefing the kind of knowledge usually only seen in medics and torture specialists. They're clearly a medic, based on the scene the group had walked in on, and yet.)

She recognizes some of that advice, and catches Ilek's eye: I have a pain blocking effect, if learning nerves is a problem. Shareable.

Yeah, and I'd worry about them calling backup if I do have to outlast them - I only have so much focus, several on one means I can't do much battlefield control. We should see if you can learn to use the Force through me; an extra hand on telekinesis will help even if you're not up to actual combat yet.

We were going to test that, he agrees, with much interest, And if I am able, the more practise I get, the more use I will be, he suggests. They are standing out in a training field, and could move to another if she prefers privacy - though she is stil recovering, he knows, and he does not know how straining this may or may not be. 

As well, she did mention that she wished to speak to the Rod, and his wielder, when she was fresh. It may be better to wait. 

After a moment of consideration, he also adds, I believe that person is a half-elf. I was unsure, but it is the most likely case.

Ilek nods at her offer and turns to tell Istaim of it. 

"Some pain can be useful," says the possible half-elf, "But not that level," they admit. "And being able to practise more complex applications and spells on yourself without passing out will be useful, given the circumstances." 

We should start with meditation, I think; not right now, we shouldn't be interrupted at it. We should have some time later. What does it mean for us, if they're a half-elf, anything?

     (Useful, relays DZ, and Deskyl nods.)

He sends agreement, in reply to her statement, and then goes thoughtful. 

I suspect half-elf rather than elf due to their appearance - they lack the ears, and their eyes are rather duller than I would expect. I am not certain I am interpreting your senses correctly, but if I am I would say they are capable of only Life and Illusion magic - which means they must have inherited their elven parent's magic. 

This is strange - all those with elven magic in the human realm should have been killed by what the Mana Seal did to them. Which means either this one is somehow an exception, or there is a portal active, somewhere.