Faction Thought Shield Training | The Jedi Order and NFU's too!

[Phillip Slate]

Tags: Isla Reingard

"I'm always right."

He let out, rather matter of factly with a smirk on his face. Hearing her laugh brought a grin to his face, up until there was that little dry moment. Phillip fought the urge to roll his eyes when Isla said she was always listening to him.

"Sure. And that's why you apologised, right? 'La. Don't think I missed you avoiding my question as well. I'm following up on it after the lesson."

The fact that Isla had said that Phillip wasn't allowed to call her that only emphasised the fact that Phillip was going to do it as much as he could now. Playful teasing at the end of the day. Though for some reason even if Isla calling him weird was part of that teasing...It hurt for a reason that Phillip couldn't quite explain. Instead he turned his gaze over towards Kas, listening to Isla at the same time.

"Not everyone has been through the training Master Reingard does. Can't always expect them to be on time."

Why did he have to be the reasonable one? For all intents and purposes, he should have been annoyed that someone who had a master was late. Phillip always did his best to be on time. To be presentable. To do the best job he could, yet he still didn't have a master of his own...It was frustrating, but he didn't want to let that slip.

Instead he turned his gaze back over towards Isla's, letting out a small exasperated sigh as Phillip tried to centre himself. It was time to start putting up the mental barriers. Though he wasn't sure if that would be easier said than done.

"What's the worst thing you could find in my head?"

And with that, Phillip focused his mind on what he liked to call shadowpainting. Similar to shadowboxing, except instead of fighting an imaginary someone, he was painting an imaginary piece of art. Instead of using a variety of sounds or words to build the shield within his mind, it was instead more of a visual wall. A wall that was slowly being covered in paint as the imaginary brush moved along the canvas that was Phillip's mind. That should be good enough...right?

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

The Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: x | Companion: Domxite

Open to all Jedi, THR NFU characters, and allies interested in the training!
Fallon Draellix-Kobitana Adelle Bastiel Veyla Krinn Phillip Slate Runar Ulfsson Isla Reingard Itzhal Volkihar Elian Abrantes Cassian Abrantes Kas Larsen Aileni Ifor Xeraic

Zaiya continued to smile at all the students as they practiced. She hummed a lovely little melody, its purpose twofold: not only to enjoy the little diddy of Zac and Dyane, but also to try to break the students' concentration as they tried to build their mental walls.

Although both brows arched high at the rather rambunctious arrival of one Elian Abrantes , followed in turn by his older brother Cassian Abrantes .

Opal blue eyes peered at both of them with avid amusement, a shimmer of colors dancing over rosy golden skin as her grin widened.

"Well, welcome, Elian! Glad to have you here and that you were very strongly told to come." A little melodic laugh, and she gestured to a spot for him to take near the approaching Aileni Ifor Xeraic , who was also coming in late.

"How about you both sit together?" she recommended with another flurry of bioluminescence.

Another soon joined in, and Zaiya beamed at Kas Larsen . "Oh you are fine! Still plenty of time. Why don't you join Runar Ulfsson ?" she recommended to the teenager.

"As I mentioned before, the first step is just concentrating on creating a mental shield using the two mechanics of the power. A strong mental willpower and the ability to maintain concentration. I recommended using a song, or some sort of mantra or image you can use to concentrate and focus your attention on it to keep your mind shielded."

As she walked, the Lovalla Padawan continued to explain more details on Thought Shield, and its methodology.

"If you are having trouble creating this mental wall, you can also imagine that you are creating a physical mental wall around you in your mind. Lay down each one brick by brick, reinforcing that mental shield with mortar and a new brick in turn." she advised.

She smiled at the Mandalorians again, seeing how they were doing.

"As you get better at concentrating, it will start to become second nature to simply maintain this mental shield, allowing you to do normal tasks without actively trying to concentrate your entire focus on it."

Another swish of her gauzy robes and she beamed.

"Once you get to that point, you will be able to raise and lower the shield as you wish. Most people keep it raised for everyday life, just to protect themselves from stray intrusions or emotional influences, and only lower it when they need to open themselves up to deep communication or meditation."

The Lovalla Padawan's expression shone full of earnest encouragement.

"It will take time. It will take consistency. But the more you practice, especially when distracted or busy, the sooner your mind will adapt and make this a passive skill."

A quick sweep, and she looked around to see if anyone was having any trouble.

"Does anyone require additional assistance on what to use to build your shield? If not, I will try to test your mental shields shortly."

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla hadn't expected the class to be crowded, and certainly not with this wide a range of personalities—over-eager empaths, stoic mystics, jittery latecomers, and the unmistakable tension of a few Mandalorian vod trying very hard to pretend they weren't out of place. The Sanctuary felt too bright, too open, too quiet, its polished floors and gentle light a stark contrast to the cold metal corridors and training pits she'd grown up in. She stood out sharply among the sea of robes—red hair braided back, armored plates matte and well-used, her presence all tempered edges and restless alertness.

But she was here to learn, and Mandalorians did not turn away from knowledge just because it came wrapped in softness.

She let her gaze drift over the room until it caught on the robed man standing near the threshold—dark-haired, weather-worn, hesitating like the doorway itself held him at gunpoint. There was a heaviness to him, a coiled stillness she recognized instinctively—someone who didn't belong here any more than she did.

He didn't move to join a group.
He didn't try to hide that he was keeping to the edges.

Veyla understood the language of edges well.

She drifted toward him with the quiet, deliberate steps of a huntress choosing her ground. Not intrusive—just present.

When she reached him, she gave a single nod, sharp and respectful.

"You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here," she murmured, voice low enough not to draw attention, "which makes two of us. So unless you've already got a partner…"

She gestured to the empty cushion beside her boots.

"Mind if I sit?"

Once settled, Veyla listened to Zaiya's instructions with the quiet attentiveness of someone trained to absorb information quickly. Thought Shield—a technique she'd never formally learned but had desperately needed her entire life. For Mandalorians, emotions were weapons, not weaknesses, but only a fool let them run wild.

She exhaled slowly, grounding herself, then closed her eyes.

Instead of music or a mantra, her mind returned—instinctively, unbidden—to the forge.

Heat.
Spark.
Hammer striking Beskar in a steady, deliberate rhythm.

She pictured the process as clearly as any memory: selecting the metal, heating it until it glowed, folding it, reforging it. Each strike layered another plate over her mind. Each cooling dunk hardened it. Every motion is controlled and intentional. She built her shield the way her ancestors built their armor—piece by piece, tempered, shaped by will.

A breastplate—smooth, unmarred.
A visor—opaque and impenetrable.
Gauntlets—locking tight around every thought.
A helm—sealed shut with a final hiss of steam.

Her mental landscape darkened, condensed, and refined into a fortress of Mandalorian craft.

Not cold.
Not hostile.
Just strong.
Balanced.
Hers.

She breathed out, the edge of a smirk tugging at her mouth.

"Alright," she murmured, a hint of challenge in her tone as her eyes opened and settled on Itzhal, "let's see if that was good enough for a Jedi classroom."

And beneath the steel of her voice, something warmer flickered—a curiosity about the man sitting beside her, about his hesitation, about the shared sense of being outsiders in a room full of open minds.

"You building your shield too, vod?"

Itzhal Volkihar