The Voices in the Desert

[Muad Dib]

The sands whipped around his form. The desert always seemed to call to him. No matter what planet he found himself he always felt drawn to the desert. The open, emptiness spoke to him in it's desolation. Most viewed the desert as a place of death, a place where there was no hope. Just since.

Yet if you listened the desert was filled with a symphony. The breeze skipped along the sands scattering the grains. Cascading waves washed from the dunes. And there was life all around. All you had to do was open your eyes. Trails left in the sand gave testament to the accuracy of the reality. The desert was neither silent nor dead.

The man waited. Patience was a virtue that was unnatural for him. Yet learn it he did. Life was the ultimate teacher and the lessons taught were often the ones that were remembered the best. Life had taught him that sometimes you needed to stop in order to move forward. And the lessons learned had left their mark upon him.

Smirking lightly he waited. Ryloth was filled with life and those strong in the force. However he knew that his was a unique presence and that the one who was to come would find him soon enough. A long trek in the scorching sun would bring her. Discomfort and pain was but a part of life and her lessons. So it would be in progressing. There were always growing pains. But these were necessary for development.

So the man stood, waiting.

[member="Maple Harte"] [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Maple Harte]

The sun blazed overhead.

The lithe bounty hunter traveled, her piercing green eyes heading to the location she had been told to travel. She knew not what awaited but as she approached the meeting area in the whipping desert, she spotted a man, felt great darkness. Intense, but familiar.

She came to a stop in front of the Mandragora Shaman, stood straight, beads of sweat from brutal heat dancing on her skin. Her biker leathers were roomy, but it was still hot, even though she wasn't sweltering.

It was a new experience, working with known dark side users. Would not have flown with Ursula. But Ursula was not here. And the Mind-Binder waited to be found. [member="Muad Dib"], now that he was in front of her, she could tell this was a man she would not have dared to try and kill at close range in the old days. Too powerful. Too skilled. At least if you missed with a rifle, you at least had a chance to run. Not at close range. She looked at the face more than anything else. Screw up at close range with this one and whatever happened next you weren't walking away whole.

It was irrelevant however. He wasn't her enemy. And whatever he had done before they had met, she was in no position to judge. Her hands were drenched in blood also. Its all business. That was just the way it worked.

Two killers now stood eye to eye, Maple's piercing green eyes staring at him, and she chose to be formal. Best not to waste his time. A Shaman was a busy person.

"Hello, Elder. I am here." She said softly, cane slung on her back. She waited for his response.

 

[Muad Dib]

He had watched the young woman cross the sands toward him. Unmoving he observed. There was something different about her, not quite right, that seemed to leak from the woman. And he would know. Yet her eyes spoke volumes to the man. A hint of cold calculating laid within their depths. She had done things that most sentients never had to do, or could do. And that intrigued the man even more. The Patron watched silently yet hungrily from within causing a slight grimace cross the Mad Master's face. He disliked sharing, even with a spirit that was a sort of benefactor.

At her simple statement he grinned. Short and to the point. He liked that. While he could speak in the flowery mannerisms of the court filled with double meanings and innuendo he much preferred real talk of genuine people. Regardless who or what they were, he enjoyed a certain bit of honesty with a little sprinkling of subterfuge.

"And why are you here?"

The question was an honest one yet was filled with a deeper meaning. Most who sought him looked for power, recognition, indoctrination, or other reasons following the same path of thought. Yet [member="Maple Harte"] was different. Perhaps she did not know what she was truly looking for. Or mayhaps she did and would share her wishes with the Doashim Shaman. Either way the man found her interesting, and for him that was always a good and bad thing.

 

[Maple Harte]

The question was not an easy one to answer.

"I want the Mind-Binder to die, Anakin-on-Mustafar Beach style. I want to have a sexy lingerie party with Veronika afterward, and fly off into the sunset on the Silent Erika. I wanted one of those delicious nerf sausages dipped in batter and jammed on a stick that I caught another Mandragora eating in the market the other day."

She was half considering challenging [member="Muad Dib"] to an arm wrestling match, but she didn't voice that bit.

But if she really forced herself to focus, wincing visibly from the strain of doing so, she realized there was one thing...one thing she wanted above all.

"I want to know if my madness has a purpose." she whispered quietly. "I want to protect what is left of my soul from the endless lies of my brain. I want the Mind-Binder, who, if she exists, to die and stop haunting my sleep at random. I'll be happy if I only get number three, but...if...if...it really meant letting the Mind-Binder go...I would really rather take the first two.

As she gazed calmly at Muad-Dib, wondering why she had said so much. Then she realized what else it was she sensed in him. Madness, deep and through. Bloody, bloody madness.

She didn't bother to state the obvious about themselves. It was enough they both knew. Besides at the level of madness they were experiencing, it just made more sense to keep on point.

"But before all that can be truly focused on, I want to learn why this planet stills me so. And I want to explore how magic might help me get answers...to learn about myself in the process if nothing else. How does magic work?" she asked in genuine curiosity. She hadn't even gotten to the issue of a tome yet. How would magic differ from the Force?

[member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

[member="Maple Harte"] (I apologize if my post is a little wonky. Work kicked my butt and I'm tired lol)

He tossed his head back and laughed. And laughed. After several moments he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes as he regained his composure. Looking at the young woman once more he nodded in understanding. She was haunted. She was afflicted by a type of madness. And she wanted answers. He well understood this. Questioning your own sanity, unsure of your place in the Galaxy, trying to find answers .... These were things that drove someone to break .... Or drove someone to greatness.

"I cannot tell you if your madness had a purpose. But I can tell you that you can give it purpose. I can tell you that your soul is yours. The tatters you feel upon it is not real. It is something you project upon the core of who you are. Uncertainty, guilt, a sense of loss .... These make you feel broken, unwhole, as if something is missing. As for this mind binder .... Again, I do ndot know if it truly exists or is merely a part of what makes you, you."

Kneeling before her he sat back on his heels and looked at the sand. Slowly he drew a circle with his finger. In the center he made a depression.

"Some who have found me have questions that are easily answered. These , while important to them, do not truly have meaning. Because I can answer them it lessens the wisdom or importance of their journey. All I can do is be a guide for you. The answers you seek must come from within you, and those are the answers that truly matter."

Placing his palms on his thighs he breathed slowly and evenly.

"My name is Muad Dib. Ever I have heard a voice within. Some say it is a family curse, that an ancestor cursed our lineage with their presence that haunts us. Some say I am haunted by spirits. Some say I'm possessed. And some merely believe I'm mad. Maybe it's one of them. Perhaps it's all of them. I cannot tell you with certainty. What I can tell you is that once, I followed this voice's guidance. I was a vile creature that felt compelled to be what others had told me I was. Evil. A monster. But then I learned something."

Placing his finger in the center of the circle he touched the impression.

"I had a choice. I am Muad Dib. I am a Mad Man. I hear voices. I am drawn to violence. But that which is within me is not who I am. It is a part of me. Some fight the madness they feel. Others embrace it. Know thyself. And by knowing who you are and acknowledging these things you can learn to control it. You are Maple and I am Muad. We are the center and we have an identity. Though we are afflicted we are still ourselves, we are still in possession of our souls. You may learn to ignore the madness. Or you may learn to embrace it. This is a curse, yes. But it is also a gift. And in time you will see that what makes you weak can also make you strong."

Reaching across his shoulders he pulled the tunic free of his torso and set it next to him. From his left elbow to the knuckles of his left hand ran blue sith runes.

"Some places speak to you. For me it's always been the desert. It radiates within me. A place of precarious life and death. I know many who feel the call on Ryloth. Just as I knew many who felt a similar call on Dathomir. Sometimes a place can feel right. Sometimes a chord is struck within your soul. A place of belonging. Now you asked about magic."

Clenching his left hand for a moment he turned his fist over and opened his palm. Blue flame flickered to life therein.

"What is magic? It is a part of the force and yet, it is also from a different plane. The witches call in the spirit plane, the mandalorians call it the manda, and others call it many different names. But the truth is there are many realities and many sources of power. But it's so much more then that. It's the manifestation of the force. Jedi and Sith have seen it many times and could not accurately define or replicate what they had seen. It's simple, to me at least."

Closing his hand he extinguished the flame.

Force powers are like instincts and predisposition of abilities. It's limited by what you have an aptitude for. Magic is only limited by your imagination. Magic is a way for you to focus your power into specifis ways. To open new avenues you weren't even aware was possible. "

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple saw the Sith runes, felt the power from his act with the flame echo outward, but his words about embracing that madness...

It had tried to tell her the same thing. She felt a small amount of horror at the idea that the Mind-Binder was a part of her. For it meant the only way out was right through it.

She knealt down at the circle, letting the force into herself. She breathed in and out as she outstretched a hand, dropping a seed into the indentation into the circle. She forced the lies away from her brain, straining against her own madness. His words about embracing it, after all the fighting to still be rational about most things turned in her brain.

The seed sprouted green stems after a minute of concentration. Weak roots took ground in the soil. One of her few bits of Force knowledge that was still strong.

"I was no angel," she said simply, gazing at the plant, for a moment wishing the reality where she was a gardener was real. But alas, only a surge specialist.

"So...how can magic help me track people?" She asked [member="Muad Dib"]. "Or affect this plant?"

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

The only true guide Katrine had now were the spirits. They whispered and pointed in the right direction, they advised and question. Whereas the first spirit in her life had sought to corrupt and use her for her own benefit, the three spirits of the Mandragora were fatherly figures who wanted to teach her and lead her to where she was meant to be.

Katrine though still didn't know where that was.

Spirits had now sent her into the desert, in which she was now walking with her shoes in her hands as she felt power and promise conversing together. Doashim nudged her forward, it was where she needed to be right now.

Just as the Witch had approached, Maple had been wondering how magic could help her guide people or affect a plant. "Blood magic helps you trail. By marking your target with your own blood," she'd responded to the posed question, her tone serious and focused, "As for affecting a plant, we communicate with the ground to understand what it can do for you and then we affect its growth with a more advanced application. Though other Force Users use Plant Surge, which isn't too different." There other ways to affect plants, like bringing forth rain to help them grow but that was a different spell. When it came with meddling with the planet's ecosystem which that spell could lead to, Witches threaded with care, respecting nature that surrounded them.

When the seriousness had passed, Katrine offered the biggest smile to Maple. "Hi!" It was always fun to run into people, especially someone who had so much on their mind that it made it an adventure to communicate with them. There weren't that many in the galaxy like that, not truly. Sapphire gaze shifted over to the shaman, smile still in place. "Hi, Pretty Boy. Doashim insisted I come. You weren't causing trouble, were you?" Sure, it was a dessert but hey, Katrine was the secondborn firstborn of the Madman of Nar Shaddaa. If one wanted and had plenty of imagination, one could cause trouble in the middle of a desert. Though, she was joking. Even if it would be entertaining.

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Maple Harte"]

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple looked up and watched Katrine explain how it could affect the plant. She had sensed her coming before she actually showed, her presence casting a wide blip in the Force that actually caused Maple to tense up involuntarily.

"Hi, Katrine. Nice, hot day for a stroll. Gets a girls blood flowing. No I wasn't causing trouble. That requires candy and perfume, of which I have neither. Which is sad." she muttered. "Because I've always enjoyed a nice little hellraiser in the desert..."

Skip.

She was standing up in an open-air luxury speeder, dressed in a flamboyant maroon suit with extremely puffy sleeves and a frilled shirt, holding a popped open bottle of champagne while a bevy of beautiful Twi'lek women in dancer outfits gyrating around her while she laughed, pouring some as the speeder made its way through the desert--

Skip. Back on Ryloth.

Maple paused, wondering what she would ask to learn. What was important?

"I did come to learn about magic. How about one of you show me a spell? Something basic."

 

[Muad Dib]

Watching and listening to the young woman he felt the greeting within before he sensed her. The little Nightmother that Doashim spoke of neared. He felt her finally, a beacon of per as he focused on Maple. Her words struck a chord within the Mad Master.

"All angels fall. But some take flight once more."

A cryptic statement that held many truths within. At her inquisitiveness he smirked slightly. But before he answered Katrine arrived and gave the seated woman an answer. Nodding slightly in agreement his eyes flashed a bright blue as Kat called him Pretty Boy . A wolfish grin crossed his face as he looked up at the standing blonde.

"Trouble is my speciality, little buir."

Turning back to Maple and the plant his right hand reached to his hip and pulled the curved kal from it's sheath. Stretching out in the force he began weaving his consciousness and presence with the seedling before him. Carefully he cut one of the leaves which caused the rent to weep moisture from the slice. Taking the blade he used the edge and opened a small cut in his thumb. Weaving the force around him into the plant he spoke words.

""Drashaar, ad'ika. Pirur gar hailir. Ani kot teh shereshoy."
(Translation)

Spoiler

"Grow, little one. Drink your fill. Total strength from my lust for life."

As his glowing eyes viewed the plant it seemed as though the seedling lapped the leaking, crimson stain from his finger before the slice in the lead closed. The roots depended and the seeding grew before their eyes as he used his blood as a conduit, the spell as the needle point and the force as the fabric to fuse the plant with some of his energy.

Sighing he leaned back and wiped the blade clean on his trousers before sheathing the blade. Where once a small, fragile plant clawed fervently for life, a sudden growth spurred the plant taller and more lush while roots traveled deep, burrowing for moisture in the depths to sustain it.

"Blood Magik is a useful skill. As Ms Kat stated, you can mark something with your blood and an incantation. The ability to sense what is yours and track it is an undeniably useful skill to have. Learning to weave the force, strengthen it with a spell that invokes specifically what you wish ... It tis an important aspect of Magik. But care must be taken with wild things. You must learn the inherent danger of going too far."

Eyes looked from Maple to Kat as he arched a brow. The blonde woman had certain knowledge he was not privy to himself, a certain way of using Magik. While his was more primeval and, some would say, barbaric. Kat had an elegance of wisdom in her demanor that spoke of hidden truths. Looking to Maple he shrugged lightly. There were multiple paths one had before them. And the Mandragora would teach if she so wished. And the Patron purred powerfully as he looked on with anticipation.

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"][member="Maple Harte"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

First, the brunette spoke, talking about a nice hot day for a stroll to get a girl's blood flowing, making her smirk. That was definitely what it was. Maple though went on to say she wasn't causing trouble since that required candy and perfume. Her head tilted. "Why do you need candy and perfume to cause trouble? " She asked, and even her face told of her confusion right now.

Trouble was his specialty, the Shaman had said, before calling her something unfamiliar, a buir. What? She thought first, "Buir what?" Definitely didn't sound familiar.

Her head turned again, Maple had spoke. She'd come here to learn magic, something basic. Katrine didn't get a chance though as Muad spoke words unfamiliar to her but she could still feel the Force at work as he said the words, her eyes focusing the plant, his blade already in his hand and his finger had been cut, making her blink. "What are you do...?" The Witch muttered at the sight of it. Blood magic is dangerous, use it rarely, use it only for important things, a memory flashed in her mind of her Nona. "No," she mutted before she reached out with the Force to his mind to speak directly to him: 'Blood magic is dangerous. You should only rarely use it," she told him without Maple needing to hear.

It was done though. The words had been said, the magic had been done and the blood had been used. The plant had come to life, using the energy it had been given. While Katrine didn't doubt it would work, it was still not a good idea to be done so. He spoke up, talking about it being useful before he'd referred to her as Miss Kat, making her wonder who Miss was since that wasn't her name. Though she waited until she finished, talking about marking something with blood and incantation, ability to sense what belonged and track it. She waited still before she spoke. "Blood magic is dangerous. You take a piece of yourself and gift it. Use it wisely," she advised, then looked back to Muad. "Who's Miss? I'm not Miss. It's Katrine or Kat," she explained since clearly, he didn't know though she didn't know why he'd assumed that wasn't so.

Then she moved from them, giving herself a clear space with the sand in front of her as she concentrated and began to use her telekinesis to move the sand to form the symbols in Galactic basic.

Mother Nature, all that is good, share with
me your breath and bring forth the gentle breeze.​

As she wrote the letters, she reached out her hand, calling Maple to join her. "This is will be your first spell, Tempest. It will help you call a light breeze, light drizzle or faint snow, but be sure what you want to do. In the very basic sense, the Force and magic work the say way. You have to focus and you have to visuliaze what you want to acchieve but the words channel your intent," she told the brunette, "we'll give you some time. If it first you don't suceed, you can try again. Witches start their Trial by Fire by attempting to cast their first spell up to five times," Katrine had finally said, moving away from the words written in the sand, letting Maple do what she'd been told. All Witches began the same way, a test to bring them into the fold and make them get a grasp how it was done before they would get on their way. The trainer couldn't interfere with this process and so Katrine wouldn't, moving back to sit next to the Shaman until Maple finished.

[member="Maple Harte"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple smiled as [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] asked how candy and perfume could cause trouble.

"Oh there are ways. It just requires imagination and maaaybe some lingerie, with sexy music playing," she said slyly. "Usually I don't have to resort to the latter two..."

She watched as [member="Muad Dib"] used his own blood to strengthen the plant. And Katrine's reaction told her much.

Already she had learned something. Blood magic was an 'emergency' case. She nodded, not really planning on screwing with it unless she had to. Then Katrine wrote a spell into the ground, giving her instructions that were all too familiar.

She closed her eyes, visualizing. She wanted wind.

"Mother Nature, all that is good, share with me your breath and bring forth the gentle breeze."

She called to the magic in her but it felt hesitant, strained. She repeated the words. The magic stirred but it still felt trapped. She tensed, focusing on the words, and the deeper meeting. It tingled in her whole body, but she was missing something.

 

[Muad Dib]

Nodding he leaned back to watch Maple do the spell that Katrine had laid out for her. Laid back he rested on his elbows observing her attempt. But as Kat had stated, it would take trial and error through multiple attempts most likely. Then again she could prove a natural. Time would tell.

Turning back to the blonde he felt the warning growl of Doashim and smirked lightly. The Patron had grown to understand the man and his habits over time. Perhaps rethinking their arrangement. But Doashim knew Muad would do what was needed at the time it was needed.

"Pretty boy? Buir means mother or father in mando'a, the language of the taung and eventually the mando'ade. As for the 'Miss', it's the polite thing to call an unattached woman. I was being polite."

Muad being polite almost made him chuckle. He had the capacity and ability, but rarely the desire to be polite. Smirking again he turned back to Maple as she finished her first attempt. Restraining the desire to comment he chose to follow Kat and her words to allow her to try, try again. Perseverance paid off eventually. Either that or you died. Still grinning he turned back to the blonde.

"You ever get tired of listening to the inner monologue of voices?"

Most would assume he was speaking of the patrons, but perhaps he was speaking about the demons that haunted a man's soul. You never could tell with him, if he was being serious or had turned it into a giant joke.

[member="Maple Harte"] I [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Apparently, there were ways, which required imagination, to get in trouble with candy and perfume though they also might have required some lingerie and music. Katrine nodded slowly before shrugging. "Seems to me you're describing something fun. Trouble is more explosives, fire and oops, we just murdered everyone in this club on Coruscant." Definitely sounded more like trouble than what Maple was suggesting but she supposed each their town.

Seated to the side, Katrine kept an eye on what Maple was doing like she remembered Elders of her clan doing it when she was little since magic could easily become dangerous if the caster was either distracted, not too familiar with what they're doing or it could have been a number of other reasons why something went wrong. The Tempest spell was pretty mild in comparison to some other ways so she didn't quite worry the way she might have if she'd given her something way more advanced or let her play with fire.

She could feel the Force at work as Maple began, besides her Muad Dib questioning what she'd called him before he'd explained to her what Buir meant. Mother or father in Mando, making her look at the man oddly for a moment. Miss on the other hand was apparently a polite way to call an unattached woman. It all just made her keep watching him, confused. "It's a special category of handsome, has a lot to do with having great genes," she explained her view of the term. Well, it was her term so her explanation was the one that counted. "You're weird. I'm not a buir. I mean, I have a Ward but she's more like a friend," she moved on to the next bit before finally reaching the word that made the least sense. "Another excess word, then. A Witch that hasn't claimed a mate is still a Witch and she stayed a Witch even after she claims." It did make her wonder just how many excess words were there in the Galactic Basic. "Just how many excess words are there in Galactic Basic? So far, I've heard girlfriend, boyfriend, dating, miss," she counted out loud, most of those words taught to her by Karna, adding the very last one she'd only just heard.

Attention turned back to Maple as she felt her still trying. "Everything okay?" She called out to the other woman before she heard the question from the Shaman again. Did she get tired of the voices? "No, they're usually quite educational. And they're more dialogues than just plain monologues." At least the three spirits were like that, it was always pretty fun talking to them even if they didn't always make too much sense. "Not everyone is though, some of them were quite tiresome and liked the sound of their own voice." Avarisa, her ancestor, was quite a pain sometimes, speaking in riddles and not always expecting an answer from her. The latest spirit though seemed less of a talker and more of a guide who didn't like wasting words which were a whole new territory for Katrine. "You hear voices?" It wasn't wasn't so much of a question of surprise, more of a wonder. Father heard voices, as did mother and Nono Seth. Most people claimed they didn't but Katrine had assumed this was a lie when she was little. Now, she wasn't too sure about that anymore, maybe some were just different.

[member="Maple Harte"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Maple Harte]

"Oh, you have no idea how much I would like the voices to stop. From the snakes in my brain to the really nasty uncultured ones living in my bone marrow and intestines. They are ALL a bunch of annoying karks." she explained, thinking [member="Muad Dib"] had asked her the question. Only for her to go red faced when she realized he had actually been asking [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] the question.

"Uh...just...you know that part I mentioned, about the snakes howling in my brain? Forget that part. You didn't hear that!" she exclaimed in a hushed manner, before refocusing.

As she prepared to try the spell again, listening to them argue terminology, she stilled herself, searching withing for what is missing. She needed to connect...and that meant to connect with the magic, she might have to disengage from reality a little.

Maple refocused on the words, scratched past the surface. Scratched at the unreality of the wind she wanted, looking for...inspiration. Her mind, after a few moments gave it to her.

She tapped a strange thing in her as the words came out.

Mother Nature, who caresses my spirit in the outer distances, smothering the bloody fields in her breath and insects, share with me some more of the rushing gusts into the world."

The wind violently blew her backward to the ground, actually making her roll. And the wind continued blowing at her for a few moments before she got back up.

"The words weren't focusing in me right. I didn't know that would happen." she said to Katrine.

 

[Muad Dib]

Listening to Katrine question his usage of the word "buir" he grinned and opened his mouth to speak, yet the Patron growled within and he reluctantly kept his tongue. Soon enough the future would be clarified. Until then he would keep quiet as Doashim had asked. The two had come to an understanding. Muad didn't take orders and Doashim didn't take willful disobedience. It was a painful learning experience that was most likely to be repeated again.

The comments about the voices made him smile slightly. Voices from within was something that very few had authentically. But with each, the experiences were unique. Speaking to both he laid back and enjoyed the heat radiating into his form.

"Yes, I hear voices. Some are whispers in the force, guiding me. Others are spectres of those who have fallen. Some are entities that I've encountered, fragments that exist within. One is a madness. He's chaos. He's destruction. Sometimes I question if it's not just an aspect of my own psyche. Other times I know it's a being that is separate from me."

A sudden gust of wind blew across him, ruffling his hair, and sending grains of sand across the dunes. Sitting up he lightly applauded Maple at her success. Every step, whether forward or backward, was a learning experience.

[member="Maple Harte"] I [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple dusted herself off. Something had happened, but she had not understood what. She focused again, trying to think. Skip. Everyone on the planet was in only the underwear, as the Super-Insects from the dawn of time had decreed, along with the consumption of rodent poodoo. Blessed rodent poodoo. Sacred rodent poodoo.

Skip. Back on Ryloth. Home of the Mandragora! Also, scabies. Can't forget scabies. Wait not scabies. That was Corellia. Corellian scabies. You're standing still too much do something so you don't look like a moron oh wait too late for that.

Maple forced the lies away, but clarity was so difficult.

Mother Nature, a thousand cold gusts all quickly blow forward in the bloody edges of my sight.

A fierce, bitingly cold gust of wind spread out from her violently, sweeping aside a few fist sized rocks, some getting what looked like small drops of frozen water on them. The gust died down after a few moments.

Maple turned to [member="Muad Dib"] and [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"].

"Why...why do the words come out so strange in me. I could not do it at all and then my brain did something to the spell and it came out all weird. What's going on? Is something wrong?" Maple asked.

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Maple's voice made her look back at the other female, listening to her talk about how much she wanted the voices to stop. Snakes, nasty uncultured living in her bow marrow. Sounded fun enough that for a second, Katrine hadn't been able to remember she should tell Maple to focus on the spell and nothing else. "But you know, you're never alone that way," she pointed before Maple told them to forget about it, reminding her of that mature adult role she was supposed to be taking, or something like it. "Focus on the spell. It's dangerous to distract yourself," she reminded her now.

Her question was answered, head turning away from the young Witch as she listened to the line up of voices. guides, specters of those fallen, entities encountered, fragments, one of them being madness which could be an aspect of the Shaman's own psyche. "Oh, it's possible. Nono Seth had like three of those. One of them was a cute boy, one of them was sorta like him and another one was apparently a full-blown demon. At least, that's what Mother said. Nono Seth didn't make it super obvious who was who, you just sorta have to pay attention." She recalled what Mother told her when she was younger. It had been a long time now since she'd last seen Seth Draclau and he seemed far more stable than what Mother told her but, of course, Mother knew Nono Seth when he was pretty young, which was why her upbringing had been so lenient and fun. Someone else would say crazy and dangerous but neither Kat nor her Mother who told the stories were one of those people to comprehend that.

The Force flaired with action just before the gush of wind spread, taking her attention from the voices discussion. Katrine looked to Maple, only to see affected by the wind as it had caused her own hair to dance back. That wasn't usually what happened when someone used the Tempest spell for the first time but it was what she'd meant about distractions being dangerous to the caster. Maple said the words weren't focusing on her right and she didn't know what would happen as Muad applauded.

Maple dusted herself off before she'd tried again, words unspoken this time as the gust of wind struck again as if she hadn't asked for a simple breeze, making her tilt her head as she watched. The words were coming out strange to her. Her brain had dome something and the spell came out weird. "It's coming off right but it's stronger than it normally is for someone only just starting to use magic," Katrine pointed as she stood up, moving towards the other girl. "You need more concentration though. The magic shouldn't attack you. It shouldn't be affecting you so unless it was exactly what you wanted."

It was hard to explain exactly what she'd wanted to say, so rather than explaining, she chose to show as she began to chant an alternative spell documented by her cousin. No current Book on Dathomir would have it but in her time, it had already been written. "Antenati mi danno la forza insieme con il vivente ad avere il dominio su aria, se stessa. ...Aria da mio commando… Ti ordino di obbedire mia volontà!" She chanted, eyes closing as she concentrated, willing herself to have control over the element of air. Her palm turned downward as envisioned what she wanted to achieve, a small portion of sand rising at her hand, the breeze dictated through the spell guiding it away as her hand moved. There was a time when she couldn't control it so clearly, it was just a breeze but spells themselves were wonderful and dangerous. Her hand remained to the side, the breeze continuing to guide the sand further away before it slowly calmed, the sand slowly falling down to a new location.

[member="Maple Harte"] [member="Muad Dib"]

Spoiler

Ancestors give me the strength together with the living to have dominion over the air itself. ... Air from my unit ... I order you to obey my will!"

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple listened to Katrine, saying it had worked somewhat but that she needed to concentrate harder. And then she performed a spell in a strange language that Maple only recognized because she had heard another Mandragora speak it during a demonstration. Maple watched as she guided the grains of sand with a great dexterity.

Maple then concentrated. She found more focus, went into a sort of mental fugue as she searched for the right words in her brain.

After a moment she found them. Forcing the lies on her skull aside briefly, she flicked her hand at the ground.

"Mother Nature. A simple cold gust in the bloody edges of my sight lifts dead grains of earthen flesh."

The wind picked up to a small patch of ground away from Katrine. A few sand grains twisted upward, but she could not make the gathered, twisting sand grains follow and they collapsed a few moments.

Maple exhaled, concentrated again. When she spoke the words again, they had shortened.

"Mother Nature, a simple gust twisting lifts dead sands.

A slight funnel about the size of her arm full of sand erupted. She strained to try and guide it, but dropped to her knees from the effort. It moved only an inch before disappating.

Maple was heaving air in from the effort. "Magic has a kick to it. Reminds me of the first time my Master asked me to lift a boulder. And in case you are curious...it had something to do with a head lice infestation in a village. You'd never go anywhere without shampoo again if you'd seen it."

Maple grimaced at the memory and shuddered.

"Ugh. So much head lice. ALL the head lice in fact. What a nightmare." Maple said thoughtfully, before turning to [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] and [member="Muad Dib"].

"Was that better?"