*Sabine frowned a little as Aineki tackled the riddle, speaking aloud her thoughts on the matter. Her eyes flit across in brief respite towards Atia, who merely exhibited a blank expression, though was trying to hide it behind a smile and nod. Sabine was not so easily fooled. Aineki's words, though met with somewhat scornful expression, were in fact most pleasing to hear, and as the girl finished her offer of explanation, Sabine's demeanour brightened, and she nodded slowly, acceptingly, and apparently impressed.*

Your insights serve you well Aineki, for though the spell you mention is not the name I sought, the detail surrounding it is almost identical, merely known to you by a different name. The spell in question in the riddle is indeed the Seeker Spell.

*Pushing herself from the stage she leant against, she paced back and forth in the aisle between them, explaining passionately and exuberantly with wild hand gestures and an eager tone to her voice.*

The Seeker Spell, as you say, can be used through a medium such as glass, water, even fire. In concentrating upon it, and focussing on a particular person, you will seek to make a sort of telepathic connection to the target, to see what they see, hear what they hear, feel what they feel, as my riddle suggests. A witch with much experience and training in the art does not necessarily need the medium through which to gain vantage, but can picture it all within their own minds. Of course, however, this does take much practice and dedication, and is one of those powers that requires intense dedication to upkeep. Something few really care to devote to.

*Reaching behind the podium, to a shelf contained within, she pulls out a few small mirror-tiles and hands one each to the Nightsister students as she continues her explanation.*

This spell requires a great deal of concentration, and should only be used in times of safety. During the connection, your awareness to your immediate surroundings will become distorted and unfathomable, and therefore leave you pretty much defenceless. Also, one thing to note, is that you should not use this power too long on one target, for repeated or prolonged exposure between host and client, can lead to a melding of minds. It has been noted in Gethzerion's journals that some Nightsisters experienced mental instability as a result, and often confused themselves with actually being their target victim. The mind is a fragile thing, and should not be abused.

*Her face was stern, stressing the point, for truly some of the accounts in the Book of Shadows are truly horrifying to read. Abuse of this spell rendering witches into a comatose state, both themselves and their targets destroyed utterly by the continued twinning of their minds. She shuddered to think of such an outcome, and wondered what, if anything, the affected parties might be left thinking and feeling in that imprisonment of their very souls.*

To begin, you must clear your mind completely, and replace it with only the name, the appearance, the sound of the person you wish to target. Now as the riddle concluded, those strong enough may resist, or even force a separation of the meld, so it might not always be a success. Concentrate on the medium, in this case your mirror, and look into it as though you yourself are your target. Envision them, feel them, sense them taking over your own position. With hard work and clear mind, you should feel it becoming a reality, and be able to see through their very own eyes, hear through their ears, and feel their own feelings within yourself as though you were them. A very useful, more practical, and much safer way to spy on your enemy, or to locate a lost friend perhaps.

Now please, if you will, one at a time, practice this technique on me. If successful, you will see me looking at you. *She smiled wryly.* I must apologise if you delve to deep and uncover some unsavoury thought that might be lingering....I am only human after all!

*Listening raptly to all that Sabine says, I commit the ways and means of the spell to memory and, accepting the mirror which is to be our medium, prepare to enact it. The cautions my Matriarch has noted firmly in mind, I first acknowledge the trepidation that they engender in me, the idea of my mind becoming enmeshed with that of another or breaking and succumbing to madness one that will only, I know, hinder my ability to perform the spell.*

*Settling myself more comfortably, I cross my legs beneath me and hold the mirror in my hands, resting atop my knees, as I close my eyes and softly hum the song I have been taught to foster my kinship with the winds of power, feeling them swirl around and within me and narrowing my focus, for now, to them alone so that the silt of mind settles, leaving only the clear surface on which spells can be worked.* *Sabine has explained that the spell requires I call her appearance, the sound of her voice, the sense of her, to mind and hold it there to forge the bond the spell requires, and so, on the still surface of my mind, I picture her face and form, recalling all I have seen of her, her expressions, the graceful, sure and collected way she carries herself, how she gestures when speaking, how she moves. Her image graven in my mind, I call the sound of her voice to mind, the calm, cultivated tones she employs when speaking, the delighted cackle of her laughter when she is amused. Finally, I call to mind the sense of her, felt when she reached her mind out to mine - cool and remote and powerful.

All these things held firmly in my mind - Sabine's form and voice, movements and aura - I prepare for enacting the final requirement of the Seeker spell; looking into the mirror as though I am not me, but she so that I can, if successful, see through her eyes, hear what she hears, feel what she feels, even possibly think her thoughts.* *The soft humming in my throat ceases, for I am not Aineki, nor Wikolia, but Sabine, who has no need of the song, and, opening my eyes I gaze into the liquid silver of the mirror's surface and see . . .*

*The faint crackling of energy begins to make itself known in the pit of her stomach, slowly working its way upwards, spreading, encompassing her completely. A warmth ebbing throughout her body. Her awareness, her expectation of what was due to come of course pre-alerting her to the feelings. The sense within an unknowing target would be far more murky and easily dismissed as a wave of unease.

Like a shroud, the sensation engulfs the Matriarch, a smile penetrating the stony features of her sombre face as she welcomes the visitor into her inner-domain. Her mind fragments, splits in two, though unknown to her conscious self. Opening her eyes as the dizziness passes, and dominion is achieved by her student, she looks to Aineki as though nothing was untoward, though in herself she knew herself to be connected, and succumbs to the sensation, a proud smile on her lips showing that she approves of the attempt, though Aineki herself by now would know it for sure.

Looking around the room, walking, quite literally, the student Nightsister around the podium, focussing on specific things in turn, she speaks aloud to show Aineki the next sense following vision, she was yet to experience.*

"Once twinned with your subject, they will most likely be unaware at first that anything transpires within them. Over time however, the niggling of doubt will creep into their mind and take hold, and force them to consider other reasoning behind it. Initially, they may feel a little nauseous, which will grow in time. If one is fortunate, the sensation might be dismissed as sickness, but the chances are strong that any familiar with such technique, whether they can perform it or not, will suspect otherwise."

*Circling back down to the floor level, she perches herself again on the edge of the stage, and looks to Aineki. The last stage of the process was yet to be shown, and as her eyes narrowed and mind sharpened, she spoke her words in her head, in the same lulling and lyrical styling she fashioned her audible words, within her mind.*

{{ There is one last thing to remember however, in that when connected to your target, not only do you share in their mind, but they can tap into yours.........Wikolia........ }}

*As though shocked or in suffering, she inhaled sharply through clenched teeth, swiftly wiping a hand through the air before her as if to swat away an insect, her words barked sharply as her mind focussed on the dismissal of the intrusion.*

"ENOUGH!!"

*Her hand reached for her chest, clutching at the material of her dress at her heart, and leant forwards as if suffering stomach cramp. Her breath was short and laboured, though it eased with every passing second. Once she had centered herself, she inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly, and blinked in rapid successions. Finally she looked at Aineki and smiled with an approving nod.*

"Well done, well done! A very good effort on your first attempt. Now you are more familiar with how it feels, you can practice on less-willing, less-open targets to refine your technique."

*She/ I looks/ look into the mirror and sees/ watch what I/ Sabine see/ sees - the lanquid circle of the podium and lingering glances at some of the objects to be seen surrounding it.* *I/ Sabine speak/ speaks, telling her/ me of what the subject of the Seeker spell might or might not feel depending on their familiarity with the spell, and then I/ she perch/ perches on the edge of the stage and look/ looks at her/ me so that now she/ I will be/ am looking into her/ my mirror and seeing an endless, dizzying repetition of me/ Sabine looking at her/ me.*

*I lift a hand, as though to swat an insect, after Sabine's telepathic message continues to resound within my mind, only dimly aware that she mirrors me (or is it I that mirror her?) on the stage and we lean forward as one, hands clutched over our hearts as I (or is it we?) struggle to knock the last clinging, fragile tendrils of the connection that had been bound us briefly free so that I am only me and she is only she. I inhale deeply, the voice of my twin laughing in my head and chiding me for not having known to cordon off my mind so that the connection would not permit Sabine from delving so deeply into my thoughts, and then exhale, looking up to my Matriarch and wondering what her reaction to what she has learned will be.* *Was she able to glean the reasons behind my decision to take my twin's name rather than my own? Or only the bare, unadorned fact that I have given a name that is not, so far as others would be concerned, my true name, which, to me, is an old name that no longer suits me?*

*Sabine smiles and says I have done well, making no mention of what she has learned as she says I am ready to practice on those that will not be prepared for the spell, and I bow my head, saying,* "Thank you, my Matriarch," *trusting she knows my gratitude is for more than her praise.*

*Lifting a hand and rubbing my left temple as I recover from the disorientation the spell and it's unforseen consequences have left me with as I look over at Atia, smiling encouragingly as I know that she is soon to make her own attempt.*

*Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, she centres herself and prepares for the next display. Her look lingers on Aineki, one of interest, and mild confusion. She had touched on the secrets the girl held in her mind, ones she had chosen not to reveal, for whatever her reasons might be. Sabine knew better than to press on the matter, trusting that time and familiarity might offer more answers to the questions now burning in the back of her mind. There was no suspicion, nor distrust, but intrigue. Clearly Aineki was more deep a character than initial observations and revelations had offered. It mattered not however, for the girl's mind was true to her course, to her direction, and to her intent. Though she had not presumably given the most accurate of accounts when asked, she similarly was not withholding anything that could lead Sabine to think ill of her for doing so.

Looking to Atia, a smile graced her lips, stretching thinly across her face as she felt her strength slowly ebbing into her being, coursing through her veins and soul alike. Watching her, it was possibly the first time she could recall ever seeing a degree of trepidation on the Twi'lek's face. Was Atia scared of what the test might reveal about herself? Or was she fearful of failure? Either way, the choice was hers, and given what was at stake, she would not scold anyone for shying away from attempting such a potentially powerful spell.*

Atia, are you wishing to try as Aineki has? Prepared to open yourself in order to see sights another beholds? Feel sensations, and observe thoughts as though they were pictures on a holocam? The choice is yours to make, for I am merely a teacher, not one to make demand. You learn by your own devices, and in your own time. Should you feel more comfortable, you may practice on another, though of course the stronger the bond between you and your target, the more clear the experience will be for you.

*Her head tilted ever so slightly to one side, quizzical and awaiting response, wondering what it might be that raced through the yellow woman's mind that seemed to have her so perturbed.*

*The thoughts going from Lekkupoint to Lekkupoint, were far from simple. See Atia allready had an inkling that she was ALLREADY seeing and feeling what someone else did. Atias body might be closer to 30, but Atia herself was just a couple years old, with memmories from someone who lost her name, her will, her personality. And sometimes, sometimes someone else was she, and she was doing things she didnt want to do but felt a need to, watching as she did those things. May it be hurting people or licking their boots.

She thought about what she might reveal to either wiko or the matriarch. Things she wanted to EXPLAIN before they would feel it. She WANTED to explain things to the Matriarch. If Atia was to serve her, she needed to know that atia could be a risk at times. She needed to know what those risks were and how one could minimalise them. Atia was a tool of the Coven, not because she was forced to, but because she wanted to be one. Being a tool is simple. Of course, she guessed she would not become a full Nightsister untill she gave her beliefs a goodbye, and that will never happen. She didnt give it a lot of chances at least.

But what of the pro-s to this technique? Her mind at once sneaked away to the animal side... What if she could bond the twins, the banshees while... well, while spending quality time? To feel what is done to both of them while hitting the peak off... She realised she was blushing. She looked down and tried to look like as if she just got a comm message on her datapad... or something. Think thoughts of something else.

She could feel what others feel when they were strapped to a chair and she was braking them.

The thought was both disgusting and... attractive. Feeling what they felt, it would be an incredible tool!

She was blushing again. She did not only think of the breaking part of torture, but of the games... Oh gods. No.... she cant. Not yet at least. That is why she was surprised when she nodded.
Because she wanted to shake her head.

There was no turning back now. For some reason she had nodded, and she needed to do it now... oh gods... ok.*

"I will try mother, I will try but only for a short time. Aineki, please, the mirror..."

*She took the mirror, and sighed. here we go...

She looked into the mirror, stared into it. She wasnt looking, her eyes were just oppen, as she was focussing in her mind, seeing the Matriarch with her minds eye, Seeing her face, her body, her cloths, immagining her just as she stood there in front of her. She foccused on her smell, smelled with her minds nose. This was harder, she had never smelled the Matriarch. You dont just walk up to one of the wisest of the Nightsisters and start sniffing... but she immagined a smell that she would devote to her. She immagined her heat, her touch... not that she had ever felt them, she just immagined her skin on the tips of atias fingertips. She quickly added Sabbines voice, a lot easyer, since she just heard the woman. She immagined her voice when she was prazing atia for her deeds in the name of the Coven, the best voice in the galaxy. There was no sweeter voice then that, and atia had remembred every nyance of it. Every little octave was right in this. After all, this was one of the things Atia lived for. The prase of the matriarch.

And she felt the Force, like when she was telepathically talking to someone. She tried to use that technique, but not sending the immige in her head to someone. No, she was telepathically messaging the immige, the personality of the Matriarch summoned in her own mind into the mirror before her... and two things could happen.

She could fail.

or

She could Succeed. If she did, she would feel and see what the matriarch did in her mind and in the mirror, maybe even hear or feel her thoughts/emotions (as surely described by Sabby herself if atia succeeded). But Some of Atia would go through of course... all three of her. Flashing.

The constant feeling would be yellow. The thought of yellow would be there, even if the colour was not in front of Sabbines eyes. It would just be a feeling of yellow. A feeling of balance between emotions, a feeling of something loyal, something determined and something a bit scared, concerned. Something ordered still, in comparison to the other two.

The Pink one would flash in. Something chaotic, too unordered to make sense, just a fueled force of revenge, something that wanted to hurt, or play, play all day long, just hafe fun in any way possible. And fun was somehow linked to revenge... revenge on everyone, revenge on the world. Childish, rash and aggressive/violent.

The white, earning to please, scared to do anything else then what is allowed and mostly immagining what is allowed and what is not. What is not allowed was in far majority then what was, immagined or true. Filled with rules and protocolls, filled with a sense of honor that only the lowest serving vermin would feel towards their masters or mistresses. And yes, the great urge and need for a mistress or a master, a figure of great dominating power.

And Atia, the yellow one, the strongest of the three, would be a bridge between these two...

Sabbine would feel these Depending on how well Atia had immagined her matriarch, how strong the connection was.*

*Sabine smiled as Atia took the mirror, though seemingly reluctantly agreed to the task set for her. She herself took deep and steady breaths, preparing herself mentally for the incursion she was due to receive. In truth, she did not feel all that comfortable being invaded. It was a trick she preferred to use for her own benefit on others, and not something she could easily resign herself to expect in kind. However, this was for a reason, for the teaching of her Coven's witches, and she would endure all manner of discomforts for them. They were her Sisters, her treasures, her beloveds.

She felt the familiar prickle of activity flooding into her mind. Their connection had been made more swiftly that the one with Aineki, owing to her greater familiarity with the Twi'lek. The sensation grew gradually as Atia's confidence began to swell, their minds mingling, Sabine trying hard to block any surge of her own perceptions into Atia's mind, so as to prevent any unwanted distraction.

Sabine twitched as the impressions on her mind became too strong to block out. Her own thoughts crept into Atia's as the Twi'lek garnered her hold on the Matriarch's. A wash of feelings struck her like a fierce wave, blasting her with a heady concoction of emotions, beliefs, desires..... A calm underlying tone hummed in the background, peaked on occasion by the overwhelming desire to serve, which was swiftly replaced by something more demonic and sinister. Colours flashed in her mind's eye, yellow, pink, white, pink, yellow...... She was unsure as to its meaning, but there was no doubting the conflict of personality that resided in Atia.

Finally she blinked, severing the connection a little, forcing her own consciousness to peek through the cloud that masked her mind in this process. Atia could well maintain the spell, Sabine merely punched a hole into its fabric to allow herself a moment to speak, though through a slurred and distracted voice.*

My dear, you PINK! too have grasped this task WHITE! with great skill. I sense your YELLOW! conflicts within however, and PINK! you should try harder to PINK! mask this identifying YELLOW! marker...

*She saw herself in the eyes of her Matriarch. She looked miserable. Pitifull.

It wasnt because she was looking at herself from the eyes of a person she worshipped as a higher being (or rather, her position in the coven made her one). What made her miserable and pitifull was the fact that she felt Sabby feeling her, feeling her mind, and her laggage, the others inside her now not taking attacks at herself, at Ati, but instead feeling a bridge oppening over at Sabby...

And they were ready to explore never before known grounds.

In the entire 5 seconds that Atia had the spell oppened towards Sabby, that 5 seconds was worth the time of an entire duel. She was holding them back, inside her head, forcing them onto herself with thoughts of cruelty and submitting to that cruelty, she was trying to make herself more intresting then the new one... she was trying to conceal them from the Mother, fruitlessly. She thought off all the things she had done in the past in one fluid thought to try and force her other selfs back. She thought of all the torture she had done on people, and all the torture she endured for the pleasures of others, and she had acually succeeded in holding back most of herself. It was a reflex thing... it just happened the moment the two minds met, but the cascade of what DID make through would feel like a tidal wave for those not used to it, like Sabby now felt.

Sabby would also feel, not now but maybe later, thinking back on the experience, that atia WAS trying to be in controll... that there was more to it.

Ati seveared the connection the moment Sabby was trying to get a pause in to speak. She simple stopped the spell, and shut her jaw against her chest, lookig down, her lekku-s hanging like dead seals from the hook of a sealclubber and her eyes shut. Only thing one could hear was her breathing... she was battling still inside.

The white one was easy, she was always easy to deal with. She just shot a lot of determined thoughts towards those queries and wishes the white one had set forth, mostly concerning if she could get controll once or twice maybe, hopefully, if Atia deems her worthy for a moment to be in controll while she did the spell from her subconcious, where she usually stored her stowaways. NO. NOT NOW, NOT EVER.

there... that was the easy part.

Pink however, was never easy. She was a stubborn sadistical psichopat, with the maturity of a 6 year old. She WANTED, DEMANDED, she thretened to hurt people when Ati couldnt stop it, theretened to spit into the face of the Matriarch, thretened to force a kiss onto Wiko, thretened to kill sisters in the coven, slowly, painfully while Ati watched from those same eyes that radieted cold... She was grabbing for controll and atia was using her share to not bang on the bench she sat on. Her entire body was tense...*

"I... I would rather... not do it... again mother."

*As the connection finally severed completely, Sabine was left breathless, her hand snatching to her chest as she battled for air, her lungs burning with the denial of precious oxygen. Panting as she slowly regained herself, she looked up at Atia, confused and simultaneously concerned for the Twi'lek. She had known Atia to be a complicated individual, had touched on it briefly from time to time, but never had she truly experienced the conflicts that rested within her mind, nor did she understand quite how well the Nightsister masked it from others, even her Matriarch. She righted her posture, straightening her robes and returned to the demure and refined posture she always typically adopted as she spoke out of Atia's request to be excused further practice of the spell in question.*

That is completely your decision my dear, and I understand your hesitations. It is my duty to pass on the knowledge to those willing to learn, nothing more. I demand no practice nor use of what I teach, as everyone's tastes differ. My intent is that the spells are learned by others for future generations of our Order, and that they are taught properly, for abuse of such power can lead to terrible outcome, and a bastardisation of the purity of what we believe in. If you prefer not to use it yourself, that is your prerogative, there is no demand on you.

*Sabine looked pointedly at her, knowing precisely why Atia did not want to use it, and not blaming her either. Obviously for too long the Twi'lek had contained her inner demons, controlled them well and hidden them from others, this spell had granted them a lifeline to the outside, which as yet Atia had little control over. Not only did this put her at risk of succumbing mental, and probably physical, control, but it also rendered her vulnerable to identification should her target resist enough to recognise the turmoil of the other presences.

Resorting back to a smile once more, she had to press on with her lessons, and not draw yet more attention to Atia and the chaos that had reared its head. Sabine knew Atia was a somewhat private person, despite her loud voice and acts, there were secrets in that yellow head, and she had only now after so many years gotten a taste of them. She would not appreciate them being aired in public right now, and so she diverted attention to her next spell to grant her Sister time to recover.*

Next riddle for you to decipher...
"Even as the target, I am aware.
My mind is rock to your sea.
Time and strength sees your power wane.
My failure, though, will break me until sun and moon have set."

*This one was less of a riddle and more of an explanation. Those having knowledge of potential Nightsister spells might decipher the meaning with ease, though her ambiguous words could easily confuse, she knew. Smiling and leaning back on the podium, allowing her strength to gradually regain from the previous ordeal, she waited in silence for the first flood of suggestions.*

*Frowning as I try to divine or puzzle out the answer to the riddle we have been posed, I find I cannot match the words to any spell that I know.* *I should not, the memory of my twin whispers to me, be too terribly surprised that those spells I know from my time before joining the Nightsisters do not enable me to answer the riddle; it is a Nightsister spell, after all, and so, after deciding that no amount of time or effort will enable me to know what I cannot know, I tilt my head to the side inquisitively as I admit freely and without shame,* "I know this spell you speak of in riddle not, my Matriarch, *and then, after looking over at Atia to see whether she seems any closer to an answer than I, ask eagerly,* What is it?"

"If the spell fails, we are out of it for a days time. I understood that much. That is the last line. I on the other hand do not understand the rest. The first line indicates that both the user and the target are aware. The second one either means that the target cant get through to the mind of the user, or... as water corodes rock, but that doesnt make sence to me. I...

*Ati was about to say she was sorry for her faliure, but realised that would just anger the matriarch. It was a long time ago anyone actually teached ati, and at those times, faliure meant punnishment. Humility was a must, in every situation. The faliure was never with the teacher/master, but in the pupil, the slave. Atia.

Nameless.*

*Sabine looks on at the faces of confusion before her. She expected as much, such was the innocuous meanings of her riddles. Were these little riddles necessary? No, of course not, but they allowed her Nightsister student to use their minds to try and deduce what meaning was held behind them. It was easy to tell someone something, but to truly teach them, she needed them to understand the spell in full, and as such, she hoped to tease their minds with a brain exercise, and to give them the chance to figure it out for themselves.

Looking to Aineki, she winked, as the question was asked as to its meaning. Casting her eye next to little Te'oma, she smiled, and half nodded, acknowledging the little girl was in part, correct. Atia however, had come the closest to understanding the meaning of the riddle. Although no answer was offered as to the spell it might relate to, when broken down, the Twi'lek's interpretation was not far off.*

"Not bad Atia, not bad. I shall tell you. Let us look, as you have, at the riddle in parts;

"Even as the target, I am aware." As you say, Atia, both the target, and the spellcaster, are aware of the situation, of the spell in use, however more so than your average spell of course. This one is a direct assault, though used in defence, on the mind of your target.

"My mind is rock to your sea." This sheds a little more obvious light on what the riddle relates to. The spellcaster is resilient to the assault being suffered upon her by the target. I say target, but as I said, this spell is particularly and commonly used in defence. As the rock denies passage to the sea, your mind is denying access to the target. It is resisting an attack.

"Time and strength sees your power wane." This is relatively obvious. Over the course of time the spellcaster uses this spell, the target's power suffers as a result.

"My failure, though, will break me until sun and moon have set." And finally, the last piece of the puzzle. If the spellcaster fails at all in the use of this spell, as Atia correctly deduced, it will take a full day to recover.

So, that all said; it is a defensive spell predominantly, and can deny all manner of physical and mental attack, though if not used effectively, it will drain you for a full day. The spell I have cunningly disguised in riddle, is Force of Will."

*Looking at them all now, she smiles satisfied, wondering if the name struck an accord with any of them.*

"By casting Force of Will, the caster uses her own willpower to fight the effects of hostile spells or Force powers. If faced with a telekinetic or mind-based spell, the Sister's willpower can help her fight against it. If this spell fails, then the casters willpower is considered 'battered' and is not up to its usual strength. It takes one full day to recover from such a battering."

"In reality, there is nothing other than practice of focus to really teach you. It requires you to block out external influences in the Force, which means you are solely dedicated to the one person attacking you. In doing so, it allows you the ability to ascertain what is attacking you, and how. It grants something of a precognition to an attack that is coming, and in turn, allows your mind to be prepared to resist it. However, the stronger a power being thrown at you, the more focus it takes, and as such, increases the risk of your wall being battered down. If you fail in this use, it will exhaust you of Force ability for a full day, so usage of this spell should really be restricted to a time when you feel capable of resisting stronger Force powers. A simple Force Push is relatively simple to resist. Something more powerful, Force Lightning, is going to be harder. And extreme powers such as Spear of Midnight Black, would be extremely hazardous even for the most prolific user of Force of Will."

*Her eyes narrowed and she paused, allowing the notion to settle some in the minds of her listeners. Though the spell was extremely useful, she wanted to stress how dangerous it could also be, and how care should be taken in practising its usage in a real event. They would all need to actively practise with it, before they ever considered using it in battle for real.*

"Now, scare stories aside, I should also mention that if you use it successfully, it will drain your target's Force power. The energy they put into attacking you, will be lost to them, however the Force power you used in casting the spell, will be replenished as it absorbs the power your attacker has utilised. The spell can potentially be everlasting if you are consistently attacked in the Force. I would not recommend trying it however!"

*She laughed, hoping that none of them would indeed try such an exploit. Inevitably, in time, they would slip up, and an attack would break through, for even the largest rock was eventually eroded by the sea that crashed against it.*

"Now, who would like to try an example with me?"

*I hesitate briefly after my Matriarch asks for a volunteer, not because I do not understand, now that it has been explained, the spell or what it requires; but because I am almost certain that my will will be no match for that of my Matriarch's. My sister tells . . . my sister's memory, I remind myself upon catching the fact I am becoming more and more inclined to think of my twin as though she were physically present rather than merely a memory that I can all but see and hear, tells me that it may be so that my will may not yet be able to stand against our . . . my Matriarch's, but it will grow no stronger unless it is exercised, as a muscle would be.*

*Standing, I say,* "I will try the example, my Matriarch," *and take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what is to come by humming lowly in my throat to increase my awareness of the winds of power that flow around and within me and opening myself more fully to them.*