Log:Jedi Order: Mind Trick Training

Syrus tries his hand at teaching

OOC Date: April 23, 2019
Location: Jedi Classroom
Participants: Syrus, Rey, Zandra naMuriel

It's an all-around pleasant day on Arisnar, as is often the case when you're living on a coastal compound with beautiful views of the ocean on one side and the gorgeous mesas on the other.

Taking advantage of this lovely day, Syrus has put out the call to the rest of the Academy that he's going to be offering lessons in one of the classrooms, so that where he is, meditating quietly on a mat, waiting for everyone to arrive.

Zan comes and goes from Arisnar, as everyone does, but there seems to be a little more confidence to her these days. She comes in, curious. Seeing the meditation, she settles and tries a simple meditation action herself, working to center herself quietly.

Things on Naboo had settled down after the Queen's stepping down from her rule, the Gungans had returned to Otoh Gunga and the Jedi? Well, they've been set free to only go there should they desire now.

Rey is only a few steps behind Zandra to enter the room and she's got a few items with her. She looks over to Syrus and smiles to him and then to Zandra. She'd just been on a holo-call with Elrych in fact, having heard that he was going to be spending some prolonged time with relatives on Corellia after an accident that had injured a member of his family.

"Everyone doing well?" Rey asks as she steps inside the classroom.

"Hello, friends," Syrus says with a wave to the two of them as he moves to stand. Straightening his robes methodically, he smiles and says, "I'm not sure how well this will go, but I'm willing to try my hand at teaching." He chuckles a bit nervously and says, "I'm not sure how familiar the two of you are with the oft-nicknamed 'Jedi mind trick', but I thought I'd speak on the theory of the ability, if that's alright."

"All i know about that, other than some reading," Zan says, after inclining her head to the teacher, politely, "is watching Elrych try something and get called a fool," she admits. There's a pause and then she says, "I admit that has not been high on my list to learn, so far. But - I feel I am making progress that maybe I can start to learn some new things."

Once inside the room, Rey sets the classroom items she'd brought with her down onto a table and then moves to take a seat near to where Syrus is. She spares a sidelong glance over to Zandra and shows her a soft smile. "Elrych is going to be away for awhile." She tells her, though Syrus needs to know about it also so she looks to him as well. "Family troubles on Corellia. Which isn't too surprising for those of you who may know how things are there..."

She then sits up a little straighter and nods once to Syrus. "I'm more than eager to hear what you have to say on it. Its one of the very first uses of the Force that I ever personally experienced, in fact. And believe you me, it was... quite an experience to have without any true understanding of it, only an inclination of how to conduct it at the time..."

"It's a skill that's nearly as old as our order. Before it was understood, Force sensitives would unwillingly imprint commands into the minds of others, like Rey said."

"But we've come to understand it a little bit more in the eons since," he says with a chuckle. "It is, at its essence, very simple; an active manipulation of the Force to affect the mind of your opponent and bend them to your will. Because of the potential for misuse, you must think long and hard on your training before you put it in action, lest you fall victim to impure or unkind thoughts."

"Any questions, so far?"

Zan frowns a bit, and then she nods. Her gaze goes to Rey as she speaks, and Zan takes a breath. "He is planning to return then?" she asks. "Once all is settled?" Or rather if all settles, but she doesn't ask that. Her attention then goes to Syrus, and she smiles. "So far, that is relatively straightforward. I can certainly see how such a skill might be misused."

Rey offers a light nod of her head to Zandra's question of Elrych but when Syrus starts she regards him fully and nods twice to what he says. "The ethics of its use can have serious rammifications on what we're doing, or trying to do. Especially if a power like that is used with ill-intent or emotion." She says further on the subject, but then falls quiet as she adjusts her robes around her where she's seated. "These... are things we have to be very careful with."

"Now, for the purpose of the practical, Miss Volrisa Rolosin, one of our guards here has volunteered to help us." At the call of her name, a large, blue-hued Houk woman lumbers into the room, lifting a hand to wave to the trio of Jedi. "Volrisa understand importance of Jedi training. Volrisa very happy to help," she says, her giant maw twisting into a smile.

"Are you ready?" Syrus asks of the Houk, who offers a determined nod in response.

Syrus and the Houk turn to face each other and Syrus offers her a kind smile before he straightens up and begins, quietly, but suggestive, speaking softly enough that Volrisa almost has to lean in to hear him. "You will stand on one leg," he says, lifting a hand and waving it toward the woman. She looks confused, then looks out to the others. "I will not," she utters in reply before looking back to him.

Syrus chuckles nervously and tries again. "You /will/ stand on one leg." Another wave of his hand. The Houk woman's eyes focus on the Kiffar, but then they don't. Instead, they focus on something far beyond the man. Something thousands and thousands of miles away. Then, holding her arms out to her side, she lifts one of her tree-trunk legs and begins to balance.

Zan watches very quietly, eyes widening. "That's - that's what Elrych was - well, if that had worked I wouldn't have gotten shot," she says. Practical bits first, obviously. She takes a breath, reaching for the force to try to see what Syrus is doing with it, her curiosity obvious.

Rey's brown eyed stare goes to the doorway as Volrisa makes her entrance and she offers the guard a smile, quite thankful to have volunteers like her around to help keep this place as safe as possible. The few that they've managed to recruit have been a real treat to have here, solidly good people, trustworthy and kind.

"Be careful..." Rey quietly warns, just a bit of a friendly tease really as she's showing the hints of a grin. When Syrus gets the 'mind trick' to work, Rey sits up a little higher in her chair and nods two quick and small times, impressed by it. "Well done." She says with a bit more oomph in her voice.

Her eyes look to Zandra too. "It can be a powerful tool, but one that can greatly tarnish our reputation if we use it poorly."

"Rey's got it right," Syrus says, nodding to her as he releases whatever invisible hold he has over Volrisa. The Houk shakes her head and lowers her foot back to the ground. Then she smiles again, seemingly confused but happy to be along for the ride.

"Would either of you like to try?"

Zan eyes Zolrissa, and then she looks back over at Rey and also Syrus. "I - don't even think I can try that," she offers softly. "It is not - not - " A pause, and then, "It honestly feels like I shouldn't even - " There's a bit of a laugh, and she shakes her head. "Are you alright, ma'am?" that to the Houk as she cannot help but make sure the other sentient is still doing fine. A glance to Rey to see if she's going to try, while Zan works her way through this one.

Rey's hands go to the tops of her thighs just above her knees and she tilts her head in thought for a second before she softly laughs and shakes her head. "I shouldn't, but Zandra if the offer is there to consent to the act then... its worth a try." She looks to Volrisa then for confirmation of this. "Practice makes perfect after all." She says back to Zandra then.

"The first time I attempted to utilize this ability it was to free myself from captivity within the First Order." She looks to both of them. "I was quite shocked it worked, but... I didn't have time to dwell on that. I had to move to get out of the prisoner cell they'd had me in. A little bit of time to reflect on it might've helped me, at the time... but such is the way of things."

Volrisa smiles broadly at Zandra and lifts a phone-book-sized hand to offer the young lady a thumbs-up. "Volrisa understand. Practice very important to Volrisa. Should be for Jedi, too," she says, nodding sagely.

Syrus turns to look at Zandra and says, "Even if you don't succeed, it might help to try and at least form the thoughts that might one day /lead/ to success."

Zan glances at Rey, and then over at Syrus. She also glances at Volrisa, head tilting. "If you don't mind if I try?" she asks, softly. And she waits for that double confirmation before she tries gathering the force, and then realizes she has no idea what she should even tell Volrisa to do. "Oh, stars - uhm, spin in a circle?" she asks, sounding nearly as startled as anything.

Rey watches this and she has to smile lightly before she sits forward and straight backed in her chair with her hands on her knees now. "You know." She starts, her eyes going from one face tothe next. "There are some skilled Jedi of the past who could do this feat of mind with animals better than they could with... people?" She draws in a light breath between her lips and then shows a little grin. "Its possible that one of us in this very room might have that keen sense of ability. A true, animal whisperer, as it were? I admittedly haven't tried that much... feels odd using it on a random creature."

Volrisa furrows her brows at Zandra for a moment before shaking her head. She reaches a large finger and taps it against her temple, "I...feel something, but..." She shakes her head.

Syrus just watches as Zandra tries out this new ability for the first time. He can feel her reaching out; her tendrils arching through the air in search of a mind to land on. "You're doing well, naMuriel. Practice will serve you, I think."

Zandra has to laugh, and she actually half bows to Volrisa. "You are too kind. I thank you. I am very new to this practice of this skill. I will practice more," she says, glancing to Rey. "I am quite sure that my Stohl will not thank you for that, Rey, but I do." There's a good natured bit of laughing at herself though. She pauses and then says, "Syrus, if you would please - my name is Zandra. Muriel is my mother, and naMuriel - " She stops to see if it makes sense to the man.

Rey takes a second to lightly bite down on her bottom lip while she watches the others and specifically Zandra take an attempt at this. She then regards Volrisa and then Syrus. "Through our meditative abilities we can become better prepared for... abilities such as this. I've written about it in the journals that I've given you. We have to take time to center ourselves within the flow of the Force, to be more proficient at these things." She goes back to her thoughts then and leans back in her chair once more.

She looks over to Zandra and grins lightly to her. "Their minds are quite different than our own, its much more challenging to feel things from creatures than it is from others like us."

Nodding, Syrus says, "It's also possible for many Jedi to combine their efforts and affect the mind of a single target that might otherwise not be as malleable," Syrus explains, looking to the two of them. "Like Hutts. They're notoriously strong-minded."

Zan listens and nods to the additional instruction. "Thank you, Syrus," she says simply. She also smiles to the Houk, "And my thanks to you as well, Volrisa." She takes a breath and then says, "I think if you will all excuse me, I should go do some meditation."

Rey nods in confirmation of Syrus. "I've not come across a Hutt in person yet, but I've seen imagery of them..." She trails her words off there as she reflects upon those thoughts. "They're... quite the sigh to behold. Reminds me of the man I used to work for." Which really makes the young woman grimace. She shakes thoughts thoughts away then and looks to Zandra as she rises. "You did good, Zan, you'll get it and congratulations on the lightsaber too. I heard through others that you completed it... thats a -big- step!" She says, showing quite a lot of pride for Zandra's efforts paying off.

"Be well, Zandra," Syrus says, smiling at the woman. Then he's looking over to Volrisa. "I believe I owe you some yarba for that, hrmm?" he asks, chuckling softly and offering a shallow bow to his mighty compatriot.

Then he's looking to Rey, "Well, I'd offer to take you to Nar Shaddaa to meet one, but...I don't think either of us is very welcome there." He chuckles softly and moves to slip out of the classroom.