That's interesting - freecasting sounds like dark side use, a little, but Force techniques don't have that kind of risk. It might make sense to think of Force-sensitives as having a one-in-a-trillion level knack for it, though, since we're that rare. Will is a component, too, moreso for dark side techniques than neutral ones.

Yes it does sound that way. He pauses, What of your precognition? 

I should mention, he says quickly, That there are spells and techniques which allow one to see farther into the future - but after a certain length of time they become notoriously inaccurate. 

Or maddening, he adds. 

Trying to look too far into the future can be uncomfortable; I've never heard of anyone going mad of it. Maybe better to keep it private, though, if I need to do it. It gets unreliable for us, too; it's possible to tell when it is sometimes but not always - specialists are better at that. The farther in the future we look and the more detail we want the less reliable it is; I wouldn't bother trying past three weeks or so even for something big.

I understand the maddening ones attempt to see many possibilities at once, he comments. A matter of trying to process too much information, I believe.

Yeah, that's the kind of thing the Force helps with. It's very defensively oriented by default; there's a reason my main attack options are tech-based and a dark side effect.

Do you think you might be capable of using such spells, if we discover how to give you mana, he wonders, Perhaps the Force would protect you from the overload.

It'd be pretty surprising if I couldn't. Protecting other people is harder, unfortunately. I can do it with some things, but anything automatic like that I'd have to figure out how to do intentionally to even know if I can share it.

Unfortunate. Still, it has only been a few days, and we haven't searched for a way at all. I somehow doubt it will prove impossible to give you control of mana.

We'll see.

What are the kinds of mana, anyway? I know a few but I don't think I've gotten a list of all of them yet.

Time, Fire, Air, Life, Earth, Water, Illusion, Space, he rattles off. Most often in that order, as well - all cultures I'm familiar with associate the types with colours, and order them thus.

I'm not sure what to expect air and earth and water to do. The Force does at least a few things from all the rest of those, though. Do people - humans, I guess - ever have affinities, more than just preferences? That happens with the Force sometimes.

Air and Earth and Water allow the caster to directly control those mediums. Some of the applications of them could perhaps be done by a skilled Space mage, he admits, But it would be much more difficult. 

Humans do have affinities, yes. They will find freecasting and spellcasting both easier and more controllable within those colours. As young Ilek's affinity to Fire and Water suggests, these are tied to the soul.

Mine'll be Life, then, if it comes up. Assuming it matches the Force, but I'd be pretty shocked if it doesn't.

Life? He muses, I wonder... he pauses, uncertain, and a little uneasy. 

...Life magic is limited in a way much else is not - even Illusion magic is easier to work on an unconsenting person than Life is. Life spells require a great deal more mana to affect an unwilling person's body, and the consequences of attempting to freecast in the same way are... ugly. 

I wonder. If the Force might protect you from the backlash of those techniques, a well. 

Almost certainly. But I also expect it to be - opinionated, if the Force is involved at all. Healing is a light side technique; getting it to leave normal scars is a fight.

What I meant by backlash was - Life techniques can be used to harm, he explains further. Should a person attempt to do so, using a freecasting, they will invite the same damage back on themself. 

Ah. Yeah, I'd be surprised if it worked like that for me - it's not inevitable that a Life technique does that, right, just a risk? And if nothing else the danger sense would guide me. But also that's - not my nature, to harm with it. Just because I'd be good at it doesn't mean I would.

Not inevitable, he agrees, uncomfortable, Enough control over enough power, and it would work. 

He agrees with this assessment, It makes one uneasy even to mention it, he explains. The use of Life magic to cause harm is a great taboo, which was carved into the soul as spells are long before elves walked the realms. I am glad for this, for all that I dislike the idea of being influenced in that way.

Well, I won't, even if the idea doesn't make me as uncomfortable. I object to torturing people.

He offers her affection and appreciation and agreement, One of the many things I appreciate about your character, he sends. The list is long. 

Affinities like that are uncommon among Force users - not just being a little better at one thing or another, everyone has that, but a real natural talent at something, to the point where you can do it without being trained. Healing is mine - healing specifically, not life stuff in general. My biology sense is part of that; other Sith can sense injuries and things, but not at anything like the detail I do. And you've probably noticed how injuries and things feel wrong, not just notable.

Yes, he agrees, his attention turning briefly to the sensation of the few scrapes and small, scabbed over cuts Ilek sports, and the scars all over the general's back.

That does seem like a most useful affinity, he adds, Despite the distraction. And perhaps, preferable to other options? 

It sounds like you like it, too. And I have Time covered already, but I can't heal with the Force on short notice. So, yeah, something like that.

I'm not capable of it, unfortunately. I'm happy enough with Water and Fire. Though he has wished for it at times - Life Artefacts can heal their wielders, so long as they're touching. 

That sounds frustrating. So if we figure out how to get me mana I should try for Fire and Water, so you can use it? How does that work?