He considers this, I am uncertain of how well that would work - I myself might have listened, had you asked while I was bound to my most recent wielder, but would never have agreed while bound with, say, Leskil. Or even with Ki'kan - his lover. My belief in and loyalty to them was too strong. 

He pauses for a moment. 

It is not a possibility I had ever considered. I doubt many others have done so, either. One does not usually bargain with a person's Artefact - even if they are watching, there is usually little point. 

Yeah, you're you, though, she sends affectionately. I bet it would work at least sometimes - if it works more often on Artefacts with weaker bonds that's the opposite of what I'd want, though. Giving people impossible choices hurts them, more than things that they can't do anything about.

Yes, that is so, he agrees, But perhaps some would consider the consequences worth it, if it would save their wielder's life. 

If someone could have credibly proven themself strong enough to kill Leskil... and could swear to leave him alive, in a believable fashion... perhaps he would have agreed. He doubts he could have been convinced, however. Leskil seemed near invincible - or, at least, undauntable - until his death.

It would be a terrible choice to be given, still. 

Yeah.

I think I'll hold off for now - It seems like the kind of thing that will work better once I have more of a reputation here, and at that point it might not even come up. People mostly just surrender immediately to Sith, where we're known.

Your reputation is that frightening? He asks, curious.

Yeah, she sends, amused, but there's weariness behind it. You're really not getting an accurate picture of what most Sith are like, with me. And you haven't seen me fight yet. She sends a memory of sparring with her master, the pull and crash of the live 'saber against his, her other arm wreathed in lightning, both of them moving at two or three times the speed of an unaugmented human.

Amazement. 

I imagine a skilled enough Time mage could manage that speed, for a time, he muses, And perhaps faster. The lightning technique looks like freecasting - one would have to be mad to try it with our magic. He considers, If you fight like this, they will be wary of you indeed. 

Yeah, she grins. I shouldn't do much of the lightning, and actually killing someone with it would be bad for me - it's a dark side effect, using it makes me angrier and there's a major backlash of that if I kill someone. But I can definitely fight that way. And the lightsaber cuts anything, including Artefacts and whatever the wardbreaker was made of.

Amusement, Yes, I recall, he sends. It does not hurt to have my physical form harmed, he adds, Should you have wondered. 

The intimidation of seemingly freecasting lightning does not seem worth it, in that case. 

That's good, I had worried a little. I don't think I'll avoid the lightning entirely, but I'll be using it sparingly, yes - once I'm back to meditating regularly, a few minutes once or twice a week won't bother me, I used it more than that when I was learning to add other techniques to it.

Other techniques? He asks, curious. 

Mmhmm. Kinetic force and extra pain are the common ones, but it's pretty versatile, I could add most things to it. I can do colors, too, which is unique as far as I know, I worked it out myself.

Interest, I'm not sure either of those could be done straightforwardly with mana, he muses. Colours, either. Pain falls under life - or, illusory pain under Illusion. I suppose one could colour something with Illusion as well. Force, however... 

It's related to the telekinesis, which I think you said is like Space?

Yes, I suppose so - but first tier Space is mostly about movement. He pauses, I suspect it could be done, using first tier, but I have never heard of anyone trying it, he adds, his interest in the idea obvious. 

Well, I'm not in a great position to try it. But maybe when we have some downtime and it won't hurt me to get into something complicated I can take a closer look at someone else's mana techniques, see how close to Force ones they are and if anything will transfer.

That would be lovely, he agrees, enthused. 

Good thing I picked up technique development, most of us don't bother.

The idea that one wouldn't seems odd to me, in your system. It is very dangerous to spellcraft, in ours - it involves one or more people using a freecasting technique with the intent to imprint it often enough that it is - which can take weeks of fairly continuous use. Some people have a knack for it. Leskil did, as did Ki'kan, though in different ways. 

Some people have a knack for it with the Force, too, and it's not reliably a power boost - coming up with something useful is harder than coming up with something new, when anybody you'd need to surprise can intuit any simple counter.

Your precognition - yes, that would complicate things, he agrees. Usually we do not have that problem. Elven Time mages are a true pain - but it is difficult for a human one to become very skilled, without an Artefact. 

How does that work, here, anyway?

Which - Time magic, precognition, gaining skill?

Learning mana techniques. And precognition, I guess.

(She gives Ilek's knee a pat and switches to the bed to lie on her back and idly bat her 'saber around with telekinesis while she talks to Stormsinger.)

Freecasting and spells require two different skillsets - and often talents. Will is important to both - you must know what you want to do and have the will to make it happen. 

Freecasting requires either excellent manual control or that knack I mentioned - some people just have an instinctual understanding of how to control and direct free mana, though this is extremely rare. One must manually direct their mana to perform the effect they desire - directly willing the water to cool, the fire to spark, the wound to heal. One must control the casting throughout, and it may go awry at any time.

Spellcasting requires only attention to detail - the correct amount of mana, the correct focus, the correct turn of phrase. One learns these things from books or from teachers, and once a spell is learned all that must be done is spinning a thread from your pool, focusing on what one wants done, and speaking the words - or thinking them. 

Precognition is either a single ongoing third tier spell, or a series of second tier spells, one cast each time one wishes to see the future. All those I have heard of which can be used in battle allow only a few moments of foresight.