Flying Purple People Eater .. [Nima Tann]

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Although the illusion of Vinterbound was in his mind now, they are real enough and soon to have a major impact on his life. Théo began to gather himself, pulled on his strength to calm his mind while wiping away the tears. "No, I don't need a break. You are right I am to open and exposed. Teach me how to close my mind and locked down so I will not fall to it again".

He knew Jedi could this, trap their minds so tightly nothing or no one could get past the defenses, and although he has a strong ability to enter another's mind, he could the stop others from doing the same to his. It was a dangerous position to be in and he wanted to fix that. "How do you rid yourself of fear? I don't think it possible. nor should it be after all fear is what helps us survive. I understand fear can also lead to more dangerous things, but so can love or any other emotion if you let it. Is that the key? to not let it control you?".

"Is it that.. simple an answer?". He looked up into her purple face, pretty as it is she still looked as thought her mind was elsewhere too. "How do you do it Master, how do you keep the demons at bay?".

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[member="Nima Tann"]​

 

[Nima Tann]

She smiled as he gathered himself so quickly. After all, he wasn't the same little boy like years ago. She didn't say anything but nodded and smiled, with a proud look. Then, Theo asked a question which suddenly stopped the smile and a more serious expression replaced it. She was, and still is, haunted by her fears for all these years. So there was no clear answer to that from her side, but, she tried to explain in the best way she could. "A good question and a wise answer, actually." She said, then continued. "Fear is like fire, you can let it burn you or cook with it. Fear will make you train harder and harder in order not to turn your fears into reality. A lot of people, even in the Sanctum, have many fears. But, that's what makes them stronger. The important thing is, don’t mix fear with low self confidence. They are a deadly mix together. Just believe in yourself, train harder and harder. Whenever you face those demons, take your lightsaber and practice until you are out of breath. And you'll get stronger. If you let yourself down and stop believing you have the power inside that would conquer any fear you face, that's when you lose." And the Jedi Master was done talking her piece, even though she said those, she had a very low self confidence and she had many fears. But there was when the masks came into play, and mentalism. Then, for his last question, she sighed.

"How do I keep the demons at bay..." She thought a second or two, then started to talk with a nod. "I train others and make sure they don't do the same mistakes I did, or I am doing even now. It helps me keep a clear mind, to see that my experiences help somebody else." She simply answered. Training others were helpful for her indeed, which was taking her mind away from her problems. "Or cry myself to sleep, but you don't do that." She laughed softly, even though a bit reality was mixed in that statement. "Anyway, let's start our first lesson about the mind protection." She said, totally not avoiding the subject at all. "Firstly, what is a mind blast. So, everyone has a natural shield protecting their minds, and a mental blast is the most generic weapon that is designed to break that shield and open the doors to someone's mind. Once the attacker is in, then you have no chance to protect yourself from whatever they want to do to your mind. They can change your memories, show you illusions that feels very real, even can hurt you physically, they can take your fears and put them right in front of you, control your emotions... It has several uses. That natural shield can, and will break, if you don't know what you are doing." She stopped and then extended her hand towards the boy's head, then sent a not so strong Mind blast, which would just make him dizzy but not hurt him.

"This is the weakest form of it. Even its effects can make you dizzy in a battle and put you into a disadvantage. Now how do we stop it?" She said and stopped for a second, then continued. "Focus on your own mind, own thoughts. Feel the natural shield protecting your mind and focus on it. Then, use the Force inside you to concentrate it around your mind, feel the shield strengthening as you do that. It sounds complex, but it only takes a second to do." Then she extended her hand again. "Shall we try it?"

[member="Théo Vhalorious"]

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He sat in complete silence listening to her words, her experiences with this, a little revealed by them, something bad had happened to his master, he knew that now or how else would she know? this was not a 'book' lesson she was teaching but one derived from a harsh lesson of her own. "What happened to you Master?", he could not help but ask, knowing he was prying, but he cared for her, and wanted to know .. wanted to help her. However, he did not expect an answer, she seemed to have hidden that deep within her as well.


So, he allowed the lesson to continue and did as she asked. Théo gathered his mind to close once more, the images of his father pushed away and out, that had not been a reality, and there was no use keeping it, the fear of it remained however and probably would for a long time but that is Théo's cross to bare and one day that would be 'burned'.

It was true there was a natural barrier one puts up around ones mind, it is a form of a mask that people wear to shield their inner thoughts, whether attuned to the force or not, but for a Jedi there is more to it then this. He calmed his mind once more, sat relaxed and concentrated on each breath he pulled into his body. One by one he gathered his thoughts and placed them away in the 'back rooms' for safe keeping, and flooded his mind with nothingness. He could sense the presence of his master still, close by him and watchful for his well being. And he waited for her 'intrusion' once again, but he did not sit idol, he strengthened as best he could the walls of his mind to stop her.

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[member="Nima Tann"]​

 

[Nima Tann]

She once again sighed with his question. Why was he so persistent about what happened to her? Well, she knew why, since Theo always cared about the wellbeing of his loved ones. And Nima, even though all her attempts to be seen okay, was a pretty bad liar. As her Master, she knew that Theo was indeed stubborn and she would need to tell him eventually. But, for now, she wanted to concentrate on the training, even give a slight hint for her Padawan to boost his efforts! One would say she liked to turn disadvantages into advantages, and by advantages she meant for him. There were no good sides for Nima anyway, as she was going to be put through the same things again that she wanted to just forget. One could say, 'just forget' part never worked for her in all her experiences. "Well, if you survive through our training, I am going to let you see it for yourself... also as a part of training of course!" She let out a soft laugh, then closed her eyes. "Ready? I am going to start now." Then, she focused on the boy's mind. Still being inexperienced in mind shields, she could read him very good.

His fear for failure, the illusions that she has shown to him, everything was kept in the back of his mind, yet not locked. Her talons slowly surrounding his mind, he would feel it as a little heat surrounding his whole body, and he would feel like puking a bit. As he had only a little protection, going through his memories was easy. "I can see everything in your mind, Theo. Put up your shield." She started to increase the pressure as she surrounded his mind like ivy, now the previous feelings that he felt would intensify. "Focus on not your memories, not my presence, but your mind itself. Don't try to think the pain I am causing to you." As if it was possible not to think about the pain when you intensely had it. But of course, a teacher would always want the impossible, wouldn't she?

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]