Coffeeccubus
Worldbuilder
Speech? As a weapon? That's maddening!
To use Speech as a weapon? Hah, by the force, you have to be force sensitive to do such a thing!
Stop the pathetic babbling about that! No one can do your "shouts". That's fictional stuff from your little computer games!
These were the words she heard all her life from many people. Even fellow witches. Oh boy, they really thought they could try to prove her wrong that Speech was not even visible enough to be a weapon, hell, some think she's gone completely mad. Well, Pubilus Andromeda Tananerth would prove them all wrong....
Recently becoming a Master Witch, Andromeda would take on a young initiate by the name of Charlotte Miraak after she had lead herself to Virgilia, seeking out important ingredients. Her interests in the girl had set out for them to do many adventures together, other than training on Sump. Each day, she had watch her young apprentice grow into a stronger and more capable person. Though, during this time, at the age of 18, was the time she finally allowed her Initiate to become a full on Apprentice. It was as if she transitioned her from a young child, into an adult. Even still, Charlotte was getting impatient... and when impatient, she indeed gets full on angry. She would indeed remember the younger days when her young, angrier self would snap at certain intervals, some better for the worse.
One day, after finishing more training on Sump, Charlotte was tired, and very exhausted from the initial training. If anything, she figured that she would go and take a drink of fresh water, considering the planet's water is toxic. She really couldn't handle the head of Sump... so humid, murky and just, the air was terrible. It was as if smog just hit the planet. Coughing a bit, she took a soft sip of her water from her flask and groaned. She sat down next to her master, whom seems to have handle the planet's weather pretty well. It was weird, considering the fact that the planet had toxic swamps and other forms of murky things around. The sky was boggy and green, with the sun gleeming through and such. Sweating a bit, she wiped off the sweat and glanced out. "Master, why here? Why do we have to train on this planet?" she asked her master. Andromeda softly laughed. "The Dark Side is more stronger when you are in the presence on planets that contain all sorts of toxins and dangers around you. It feeds off of fear, which builds up within the air. The fear turns into darkness, and the darkness, you can learn from it. Hence why, I've chose Sump as a perfect training ground for you.".
Charlotte then growled and got up. "I feel like you're just trying to kill me, and force me to do all of this!" she protested. "I've been on this damned planet for nine years, and all you've been doing is teaching me the SAME thing OVER and OVER again! I'm getting absolutely sick and TIRED of it! What... what is even the USE of any of this crap that you are teaching me? Running across dangerous marshes every single time, picking up rocks with the force, trying to BEND reeds with your mind?! What does ANY of this have to do with the force?! This is the same crap that the MILITARY goes through!"
Panting of her rant towards her master, Andromeda closed her eyes and took in everything she said. Not flinching one bit. Charlotte then came close to her master after pacing a bit slapping her hand like shes trying to say "not enough time". "Master, teach me something MORE than just the normal crap you teach me! Seriously, this is NOT what I've expected at all! I thought being a Witch means we get to learn more about ourselves, not learning about lifting rocks, running through fields like a stupid Jedi or something. You don't GET IT!!! You call yourself a MASTER?! Hmph! I should of stayed on Virgilia!"
Now Charlotte was getting even more angrier as her master ignored her. "Are you ignoring me master??!!" she shouted. Charlotte was now indeed at the limit of her impatientness. "I swear by the force if you are-"
"Do you really think, that I'm not teaching you enough?" her master replied. Charlotte nodded. "Yes! Exactly! You finally woke up from your-"
An eye opened from her master. "If so, you've already failed right at the beginning of your training." she said sternly. "To think that you can survive on your own, is a death wish waiting to come true."
Charlotte hissed glaring away. "If that's so, then why don't the force work the way I want it to work?! I thought the Dark Side was all about power! If that's so, SHOW ME IT'S POWER-"
"You wouldn't be able to utilize it."
Charlotte then heard her masters words and gasped. Andromeda then got up from her seat and walked towards her. "And even if you did, you know what would happen to you?" she said sternly to her. "You would end up killing yourself. You would get no where. If you think you can go without me, then you are weak. Useless. Just like the rest of the others that I dare would call an "apprentice". You are pathetic, even to think that you dare to think, that you are smarter than I. You don't want me? Go ahead, stay here, and suffer without me. After all, you claim to think you've completed your trials." she glanced at her apprentice beginning to mumble and glanced closer to her eyes. "Oh? Do I sense conflict inside of you? So pathetic. I expected you to be a better student than this. You seem so patient and calm when I first met you. Why do you think I took you on as an apprentice? To make you into my personal slave? Ohoho... aren't you wrong. I took you for a reason, Charlotte. This is not what I intended you to turn out."
Charlotte growled and lashed back at her master. "What?! Conflict?! I don't have any conflict!!! YOU'RE the one who is the one who is working me off like a dog, thinking that I should be trained like a damned trooper! I'm not soldier, I'm a Witch! I deserve BETTER treatment like this!"
Her master gave a soft smile and looked away. "So you believe that I should treat you as if you're a small child and give you candy every time you do one pathetic lap? Run a small distance around the area and if you give up, give you a candy for every time you give up? Where's the confident girl I used to remember? Oh, I think I killed her! My goodness, I'm looking at someone who is a little child! Ohohoho~ I never imagined someone so grown would have her hormones reveal like this so late! Maybe I should of trained you when you were younger! Was twelve a later age for you? You shouldn't of believed in luck for being taken in so late in your life! I could of took that other girl you didn't liked... what was her name? Terra?~"
Charlotte growled.
"Mmm? That's it? A growl? Charlotte dear, you can't just allow yourself to get all angry like that! Here, let me get you some candy. Mmm? Oh? You don't want that mmm? Well maybe if you would understand what you've gotten yourself into earlier in your life, you would understand!"
Andromeda cleared up her sarcasm and now begun to speak realistically.
"No my dear, the force does not just come at you from the sky. No no, you must EARN it. Power coming to you when you turn to the dark side? HAHAHA!~ That is hilarious to hear! The Dark Side does not come from above. The force around you? Sweetie, the force is NOT a toy, it's a tool. If anything, you lack the understanding and knowledge of it. You haven't lived long to experience the force yet. You have no right to complain about the force. Infact, without training, you wouldn't even use the force to your advantage!"
Charlotte glared at her master and came close to her face. "Then why? Why must I go through your stupid training? Why must I listen to you? You're holding me back, and it's all your fault!"
"Your whining, youngling. Your anger. Your arrogance. These three factors, will not get you anywhere in life. My "stupid training" helps allot. A famous Sith once said, "Through great power, comes great responsibility."."
"That's a stupid Jedi quote! What will a dark side user even learn from that? Power through the force should be an ability every Witch should have! Especially if they're on the dark side!" Charlotte protested.
"Mmhmmmhmm... Every FOOLISH dark side user." she said as she glanced at her eyes and softly breathed. "Have you ever heard of the tale of Sidious the Foolish? It's a Sith Legend. Darth Sidious was a powerful lord of the Sith. He was so powerful, he could easily manipulate the Jedi into masking himself away easily. Unfortunately, his apprentice threw him down so easily due to his overconfidence and was destroyed in the energy station of his own throne room. Shame, he could manipulate others... but his overconfidence got him killed." she glanced at her apprentice. "Sounds familiar? Yes yes... I see you. The similarities are great right now... You have much power, young Miraak, but you have much overconfidence."
"Stop... stop it! I do not!" Charlotte sounded a bit more frightened. "You... you are harsh and cruel!"
"Your overconfidence is your majour malfunction. Me being harsh and cruel is saving your own life from certain death. Think of it like this. For every time you have an outburst about me not training you enough, you start to die. Slowly. Think of your heart... yes.... I feel it... it's beating fast. That anger within you. Use too much of it, and you will die."
"Anger... anger is my strength and power! I thought you told me that!"
"Too MUCH Anger, will kill you. Too MUCH overconfidence will kill you." Andromeda then crossed her arms and stood back. "Do you really think I'm a bad master? Do you think, my training will kill you right now if I didn't looked? Do you think being disobedient to my training is going to help you in the long run at all? You ignore meditation more often now. You seem to THINK you've mastered everything. No. You are only a mere child. It's sad... I once knew a girl like you, someone who was... mature, and brave, willing to learn my teachings. But now... she seems to the point where she will die... Right now."
Feeling her heart clutch, Charlotte groaned in pain. "PLEASE! H-HAVE MERCY!!" she screamed in submission. The pain in her chest did not felt supernatural, nor as if the force was killing her. It felt so horrible... she closed her eyes and shivered. "S-Stop!! I-I'll listen to you!" Her master begun to slowly walk away from her as she started to screech in pain. "I yield! You are right, and I am w-wrong! You-Your TEACHINGS HAVE BEEN HELPING ME!!! I'M JUST YOUNG AND FOOLISH!!! J-JUST STOP CLUTCHING MY HEART! I DON'T WANT TO DIE I--" It was then Andromeda stopped in her steps and smirked.
Her apprentice winced in pain as she felt her heart beating more slowly when she saw her master hold out her hand and closed her eyes. Feeling tingly, Charlotte felt herself beginning to breath normally but panted for air. She grasped the ground and closed her eyes looking down.
"That there. Is why you should never attempt to challenge me." she said softly to her.
"B-by choking my heart away of it's blood using the force?! W-why would you do that to me???"
Andromeda laughed softly looking at her apprentice. "I did not used the force at all. That was your first ever experience of debating with someone using the full extent and power of Speechcraft." she said to her. "The power of debating with someone deeply, and taunting them to submission, can indeed be intoxicating to the heart. What was happening to you was completely natural. Your heart was going to give you a heart attack, where you would begin to spit out blood, and die. It's a very effective weapon. You don't even need to use the force."
Surprised by this, Charlotte gasped and looked at her. "Y-you mean... you..."
"Yes."
"And then you..."
"Yes."
Charlotte got on her knees and got up slowly approaching her master looking at her as her eyes were closed. She looked at her eyelids and saw her master's open up.
"Could you... teach me it?..."
"You already are learning it, my young friend." she said placing her hand on her shoulder. "Speechcraft is the way of not only pummeling your enemies to submission, but the sheer power of negotiation and debating. You must be keen to yourself and your own confidence. Only then, you'll master the art completely. Speechcraft is deadly too, and can be used against you. Just be more aware of that, and you'll be able to conquer anything that stands in your path with words alone. You wouldn't have to pull out your lightsaber or anything. You will only have to use your words."
Charlotte looked down and away. "Then... how do I master it? How will you teach me?"
Andromeda then thought for a moment and smiled. "We'll debate about something else." she said.
"Debate what, exactly?"
"Anything off your mind."
"But wouldn't you just..."
"No. You'll be fine, my friend. I'll heal you if you ever feel like you are getting to a near-death state."
Knowing her master is trustworthy, she nodded. "Alright... I'll think of something."
Her master smiled. "Good. You may get as loud as you like, by the way. Heated debates are usually the best choice for those who get up in your face, and confrontational. In my opinion, my favourite types. Just watching them pathetically submit is beyond adorable and amusing to watch."