[Tower's Respite] - A Personal Review

by **Arysana** on January 2nd, 2014, 12:34 pm

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | Winter 28, 513 AV

Even Arysana herself thought that she was taking on far too much when she signed up for further classes at The Academy, when so many aspects of her prior life was in shambles.

She couldn't have been more right.

"Breathe in," A deep intake of air followed her self-command. 'And out.' Her eyes were kept shut and hands still, but her form was forever shifting and faltering on the soft bedding. “Gods. Damn. This,” it was more of an aggravated grumble than an outright proclamation, peering through one eye as she surveyed the room, as though she sought something to blame for her inability to focus.

Time ticked by slowly, and her lack of progress soon ate away at her, pressing her to seek some form of action before she pushed herself off her bed and strode to her rather bare wardrobe.

She didn't know what she was looking for, and stared blankly at the cupboard's contents until she noted a page's ear sicking from one of the drawers, opening it to find it was the one she’d drunkenly cleared of clothing and stored her books in (Safe, and out of harm’s way whenever she was struck with the sudden urge to play with a glyph or reimancy), shooting an annoyed look to the brightening sky as she took out her ‘inner peace’ textbook and stormed back to her bed.

Chores were done and dusted, and she had neither academy nor Dawn Tower class to attend. It was just herself, her thoughts, and all the class-work she’d thus far shirked. Brilliant. She poured herself over the very first chapter of the thin tome, surprised that the teacher had even allowed her to take it home. Or not. Even more so since they seemed on good terms with Arrmitican, and the blighted man was likely to have warned the lovely woman about Arysana’s temper, so it was more likely than not that Armitican had suggested self control resources to be thrown at her.

“The mind must be clear and lucid,” She began, reading bits and pieces from here and there as she tried to refresh her memory on the so called ‘techniques’ required. For a calm subject to begin with, and help her focus her mind for further study, meditation was doing quite the little number on her. “Peaceful environment, free of distractions… blah blah blah,” her gaze shortly scoured the room for anything that could fall into such a category, ‘oh, look, the colour of that wall over there is interesting.’

She rolled her eyes and returned to her readings. When she came across the small section that told her to stretch and loosen her body, she shot little more than short look to the floor, leaning forward as she gauged how much she really wanted to get up, her own movements knocking the book to the floor and deciding for her. “Right, stretching it is,” she mused, before more of less falling to the ground, rather than take a voluntary movement downwards.

‘That actually really hurt.’ She laid face down for a moment, the chill of the stone floor a nice feel against her hot skin. Half a chime more and she pulled herself up, arching her back and stretching her arms, attempting to touch her toes. She let her muscles stretch, and heard her joints pop and crack, a satisfied little sigh leaving her at their sounds, already feeling the stiffness of her form dissolve.

She pressed herself only the slightest amount further before she felt a certain pain begin to tear and take place, immediately easing as she sent a frown to her book, not sure whether it would be wise to continue or merely get in and follow the next few steps that were detailed.

by **Arysana** on February 12th, 2014, 4:31 am

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | Winter 28, 513 AV

Along with the more general of practises, Arysana found the little tome to hold in it quite the array of tips and hints, perhaps no more than a few of which she felt that she’d be able to incorporate until she got the gist of meditation in the first place.

With no further delays in her work making all that much sense, she returned the book to its draw with slow, careful movements, worried that she might over excite herself and spend her time trying to slow a racing heart, than actually focusing her mind any at all.

One of her closest friends made mention as to meditating on the hard floor, something about sitting alone and letting the world dissolve and melt away with as little contact to the physical world as could be managed. The thought was one to mediate on, at least, with the reimancer taking it into considerable thought, weighing the pros and cons as she worked her shoulders further loose with rolls and stretched, her expression by then having taken a look of permanent bewilderment and deep thought.

‘Petch it, I’m wasting time.’

She opted to take seat on the floor, barely moving a single spot before she took a seat position cross legged and tall, pleased beyond measure with her decision to stretch before her attempts, though there was still a degree of awkwardness to her form, shifting and moving every few moments as she sought a pose even the slightest amount more comfortable than what she already was.

It took two chimes of squirming before she’d given in, sitting tall and upright with a grimace, her hands resting awkwardly on her knees, breath by then slow and even, but her thoughts whirling.

‘In, out.’ she began, letting her shoulders slump as her chest rose and fell to a slow, natural rhythm, constantly caught between keeping her internal monologue focused on her even breathes and letting it wonder about the bumps and scuffles and noises that happened along just outside her door.

‘In, out. In, out.’

She couldn’t help but allow her thoughts to drift, playing with difference ways to keep her mind in check, from counting to a dozen forwards and then backwards, to instead pushing herself to think more in images than words, the air filling and leaving her chest having her wonder for the way it gushed and swirled from her mouth, and then slowly moving to thoughts and wonders of air reimancy.

‘In, out. In and out. Steady. Be calm. In, and out.’

Her next movements were almost involuntary, her hands cupping together in front of her as she added the emission of res to the many things her mind seemed to be dwelling on. It was a slow and painful process, though as she turned her mantra to one that kept to a beat of ticks rather than in time with her breaths, she was able to make it into a form of timekeeping, the amount that her re production had increased since she’d first began her endeavours testament enough that her hard work was more than playing off.

‘Slow and steady. Control. Control. Steady. Inhale, exhale.’

Her control was still quite limited, but as the res slowly pooled in her hands, she had a reasonable amount of control with it, pulling it around to make room as more was produced, playing with the consistency to the slightest degree as she tried to make up her mind as to what exactly it was she was doing with it. Would she turn it to some rock she had no hopes to identify, or would she instead opt to fashion a heap of earth? The latter was the one that she knew to take the greatest of ease, and she was more inclined to take the easier route than push herself. She wasn't the kind to go about proving her stupidity.

by **Arysana** on February 18th, 2014, 2:18 pm

"Speech" | 'Thoughts'

Arysana chose to fashion a single clump of earth, pouring all she could manage into the slow and steady transmutation.

Her breathing heavied and form turned shock still, the smell of earth wafting to her nose, the scent invigorating her as she fell into a steady rhythm. Few of her fellow students, she thought, acted in such a way with their work, magic seen by them some as a tool rather than an art. There was always finesse and appreciation, with not a single day spent without someone hearing mention or setting sights on a building or flattened cliff, and having their thoughts shoot to those that gave their constructing the beauty of Lhavit. But it was such thoughts in their essence that sparked the dissonance between Arysana and some, those who dabbled most in air and water being those that she could always find kinship with.

Several of her classmates, it seemed, though of earth reimancy as the foundation, the core of construction and an aspect required. Such a thought was well enough in its own mind, but its neglect to account for the art and beauty of reimancy not just as groundwork, but singular aspect itself,

'Inhale, exhale. Keep it slow. Keep it solid. Inhale, exhale.'

As the way it went with most transmutations, she started from the outskirts and worked her way in, her level of control enough to keep her ball of res largely smooth as she went about her work, finding some of the substance pressed out and unneeded, the density that she'd produced and thus far maintiained a little too much for the mere earth she wished to transmute.

She pressed her lips and focused further, another few layers of dirt and packed earth worked and transmuted before she withdrew a great portion of her res, barely half making it back within her before her lack of skill meant that much was left to decay.

Her body stilled to the point where her breath was almost held, the last wave of transmutation completed with a strong push and sharp mind, and all at once the world came crashing down. The sounds of steps and chatter exploded, the sound of the wind’s howl and the bird’s song, the way her clothes rubbed against her skin and her hair tickled her neck and back.

by **Catastrophe** on April 22nd, 2014, 3:49 pm

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Arysana :

Notes :

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Solo [Tower's Respite] - A Personal Review