(Flashback) A Day's Worth of Training

[Blythe]

60 Spring, 509 AV

Blythe woke up fairly early this morning. The sun had just risen, and was shining through her open window, and directly into her face. Normally, Blythe would have been irritated by it, but today, she felt like getting out and doing something productive.

So she grabbed her full waterskin, and ran out the door and through the down, breathing in the fresh air of the morning, which faintly carried the scent of the sea.

Which each step she took, Blythe swung her arms forward, the right hand moved with the right foot, the left foot with the right hand, this she hoped, would help to propel her forward, and improve her overall speed.

All Blythe wanted to do was reach her destination. The waterskin was strapped to her back, and swinging wildly against her body with each pounding step.

Blythe's heart was pounding along with her footsteps, and her breathing becoming increasingly rapid, but Blythe didn't allow herself to stop, didn't allow herself to drink, until she had reached the beach a few minutes later, tired, and out of breath, Blythe crumpled onto the sand, it splashing around her knees with the impact.

My, she was out of shape, Blythe thought, as she lifted her waterskin's strap over her shoulders, opened it, and took a large sip. The water was cool and refreshing. Her lungs still felt like they were about to burst, and her breathing was still fast and shallow. Her face felt hot, and must be a pale red. The water didn't do much to change this, but it did help to wet her now dry throat. The throat that she had made this way as her mouth had hung open on the short run to the beach, trying to take in as much fresh air as possible.

Blythe rested on her knees. She was going to have to take better care of herself, work out more, ensure that she remained in shape, she thought, as she took another sip from her waterskin, before closing it back up, and placing it down in the sand beside her.

[Blythe]

Blythe decided she would cool down a bit, and ease herself into the next portion of her training.

Blythe then maneuvered herself so that she was sitting in the lotus position. She was sitting up as straight as she possibly could, and her hands were resting on her knees. Her palms were face-up, towards the sky.

Blythe took a in a deep breath. She could feel the air filling up her lungs. It made her chest feel tight; and even though she knew she wasn't supposed to, she let it out immediately, before trying it again, and again, until she had reached a point where she could hold her inhalation in for approximately five seconds, before exhaling with a loud sigh. Gradually, this task became easier and easier, and began to quiet her pounding, and highly exhausted heart. Gradually, the inhalations, holding her breath deeply in her pale pink lung's embrace became easier and easier. Eventually, she reached a point where she could hold her breath in for seven seconds before letting it out, with an even greater sigh than before, and then nine seconds, with an even louder sigh than that.

Blythe was beginning to feel a great sense of inner peace. She listened as the waves crashed along the shore. She listened to the seagulls that called to each other as they circled the beach, presumably in search of their next meal. And eventually, as she slowly moved into the next stage of her meditation, Blythe closed her eyes. The world around her being lost behind a large swirly wall, cast by her closed eyelids.

Blythe started to notice her breathing, how slowly it was coming in through her nose, and out of her mouth. How her breathing was louder than usual, but she found her heart calmer, and felt far more relaxed.

Slowly, Blythe began to fill her chest with air. Her stomach was sinking and falling with each breath, and the sounds of the world around her continued to flood her: crashing waves, bubbling sea foam, bird calls, flapping wings, whistling wind.

Blythe continued to breath through her belly, and began to imagine a bright red light seeping out of the earth, and up through her body. She imagined it traveling up the length of her spine, and towards the top of her head when she inhaled. And when she exhaled, she imagined the light traveling back through her body, and into the earth. It left her with a tingly feeling. She repeated this five times, taking notice of how it made her feel warm, like she was sitting by the side of a fire, and well-loved, as if one of her favorite people in all of Mizahar were giving her a great big hug.

Blythe exhaled every bit of tension that had built up inside her, just letting it all go. She allowed the bright red light to heal her, five times over, before she repeated the process with the color orange, which, for whatever reason, didn't make her feel any different than when she had used red.

Blythe repeated this cleansing ritual with the color orange five times, before moving on to yellow, imagining that she were a tree, the part of her body that rested on the ground were her roots. She imagined absorbing a bright yellow light through them during her inhalations. She let them reach the top of her head, before imagining the light running back through her body and into the ground during her exhalations.

Thinking about this light made Blythe strangely blissful, it reminded her of the day Fawn was born, of the sun shining down upon her. Blythe clung to this feeling as she repeated her actions ten times, before moving onto green, which brought the subtle scent of pine to her nostrils, and the notion that she were walking through a field of green grass, and sweet-smelling seer's lilies, a symbol of her goddess. After that, Blythe moved onto using a deep blue shade, like the sea, which immediately accentuated the smell of the sea that surrounded her, the taste of salt that covered her lips, the sound of the crashing waves.

When that was done, Blythe imagined a royal purple light coming out of the ground and coursing through her body, running to the tip of her head, and then back out through the ground during her exhalations. The effect that it had on Blythe wasn't grand, it simply made her feel even more relaxed. She did this five times before moving onto the final color: white.

Blythe allowed a bright white light to move through her, weave its way in and out of her body. She allowed it to clear away all the dirt and debris that filled her soul. She allowed it to carry away her pain and her negativity. She imagined herself having had a large gaping wound before the meditation, and now, it had been cleaned, and bandaged during the meditation. It was as though Blythe were as good as new. She kept envisioning this white light for ten breaths before she slowly opened her eyes, and looked out at the sea. She felt much better, lighter, purer.

And now the real work begins, Blythe thought as she got to her feet, looking out at the vast sea. The sun was shimmering down upon it, and the water appeared to be a fairly tranquil blue-green color.

[Blythe]

Blythe decided to stretch, just to get her body loosened up a bit before she started really working out. She started by jogging in place, kicking her knees up as far as she could, and kicking up small bits of sand with the movement. She did that for a good ten minutes before moving on to other stretches.

Blythe extended her right arm out in front of her, keeping her palm up, and elbow straight. She pointed her fingers, down and out the ground by bending her hand at the wrist. She reached out her left arm, and grabbed her right hand, gently pulling it toward her. She held this position for 15 seconds, before switching arms, and repeating over and over again four separate times.

Then, she started make smooth circles with her shoulders. Blythe would raise her shoulders as high as she could, before pulling them together behind her, and then bringing them back to her typical position. She did this over and over again for about five minutes, first rolling her shoulders forward, and then back.

Blythe then put her right hand in the middle of her back, right under her neck, her palm flat on her back. With her free hand, she grabbed her right elbow, and began to pull downward. She started to feel a stretch in the back of her right arm. She held this position for thirty seconds, counting silently in her head, before she switched arms, and repeated another two times.

Then Blythe stood with her arms lying limp by her side. She turned her head as far left as it could go, peering down the empty beach, and then right, as a seagull walked across the sand, a small fish dangling in its beak. Each time she turned her head as far as it would go, Blythe held the position for seven seconds before turning her head to face the other direction. She repeated this five times.

Still with her arms at her side, Blythe tilted her head to the side, putting her right ear on her right shoulder four five seconds, then tilting her head in the other direction, resting her left ear on her left shoulder. She held the position for five seconds, before repeating the exercise another three times.

Standing with her knees slightly bent, Blythe reached her hands over her head, grabbing her right elbow in her left hand, and left elbow in her right hand. She gently pulled her right elbow behind her head and leaned to the side until she felt a stretch. She held the position for ten seconds until switching to the other side of her body, and repeating the stretch three more times.

When that was done, Blythe put her hands on her hips. Gently, she twisted her torso at the waist, so that she was looking over her right shoulder, and began to feel a stretch. She held the position for 11 seconds, counting silently in her head, before repeating the stretch on the other side of her body. The last thing Blythe did, were a few lunges to stretch out her legs. When that was done, she stood up straight again, and wiggled her body, getting all the kinks out as she rolled her head around and around, before assuming mountain pose.

In this position, Blythe faced the sea, the crashing waves. She bowed at the waist, as if showing the sea her respect, before standing back up. She decided she would practice blocks, or how she imagined one would block someone if they were trying to attack her. Blythe balled up her hands into fists, she stood with her right foot stretched out about 8 inches in front of her left. Her right arm was resting by her side, her left arm tucked under her shoulder.

Blythe led with her elbow, moving her left arm across her chest, and rotating her hip slightly to the right. This left her middle area blocked, although it left her upper body and lower area wide open for attack.

There must be a way to correct that, Blythe thought as she tried using her left elbow as a pivot point, moving it down and to the left, which effectively blocked her lower half.

While that was going on, her right arm swung in a circular motion, protecting the lower area of her body while her left arm moved downward to form the intended block. (Even though both arms had effectively blocked a portion of her body). Blythe breathed deeply, in through the nose, and slowly out through the mouth, as she finished the block, her left arm coming to a stop at her side, and her right arm tucked under her right shoulder. She was essentially, back in the position in which she had begun.

Blythe repeated the block over and over again, until it had stuck in her mind. She was still a little shaky, and the movements felt rather out of place and awkward without someone else to try them out on. She wished she had someone to spar with, someone to watch her, teach her, as opposed to simply relying on her instincts, and what she had seen others do in the past. It was difficult to simply imagine blocking an arm that was about to strike you, as opposed to actually doing it.

Blythe sighed, trying not to dwell on the fact, and to simply move on in her training. Blythe decided to try another block, a lower inside forearm block that she had seen once as a small girl. She stood with her right foot about 6 inches in front of the left. Slowly, she extended her right arm out, and down across her body, from the outside to the inside, at approximately, a 45 degree angle, in relation to the ground. The block ended just past the left side of her body.

Blythe's movements were slow, calculated, uncertain. Her hands were shaky, confused, and it took her several tries to so much as begin to feel comfortable with the movements of her body, and the attempt at the second block. By the end of it however, her movements were only mildly more confident than when she had began, and only a little less shaky.

Figuring it was time to move on, Blythe tried another block, Blythe opened her hands, so that they were no longer balled up in fists. She was going to attempt what was called the hooking block, she had seen her mother practice it with her grandmother a few times before, but had never truly tried the move out for herself.

Blythe lifted her left arm so that it covered her face. In her starting position, Blythe's right hand rested under her left elbow. She then made a large arc with her hand that moved both slightly forward, and up. While she was doing this, her left arm returned, to the resting position.

Blythe imagined someone swinging at her, she imagined her right arm passing through the center area, which was directly in front of her body, and making contact with the imaginary arm. She imagined herself hooking onto the imaginary arm with her hand, before sliding the made-up opponent's wrist down and pulling. This movement had brought her right arm to rest close to her body, her right elbow was still pointing down, towards the ground, and her hands were shaking. This would be far far easier with someone else, she thought, before practicing the block a few more times, finally deciding that there was no point in practicing blocks with no one else present to practice with.

Blythe decided to move onto practicing punches. She began with her right hand hovering just below her left elbow. With her left arm, she made a circular open-handed block in front of her face. At the same time, she formed a large crescent-shaped arch in front of her form with her right hand. This was finished with her palm facing upwards, resting near her right hip.

Blythe's left arm completed a small circular hooking motion, coming to a rest under her shoulder. Blythe practiced this move over and over again, until she exhausted herself, her heart pounding in her chest, her breath becoming shallow. Blythe bent over and picked up her water skin. She opened the top and took a long drink from it, before closing it and putting it down on the sand once more.

Blythe wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, before resuming the mountain pose. Blythe stood like that for a long time, breathing deeply in through the nose, and out through the mouth, before she spread her legs again, her right foot firmly planted in the sand approximately a foot in front of her left. She balled her hands into fists, and raised them so they came to a rest, hovering just in front of her chest. Her right hand was slightly more forward than her left, and her body was twisting slightly to the right side.

Blythe took a deep breath before she extended her right hand forward, punching the air. Then she retracted her arm, punched with the left. It was like her arm had snapped into the punch. Her wrist twisting, and almost flinching at the same time. The movement was awkward, and more than likely in rather poor form. But Blythe didn't care, she just kept punching the air, over and over again. Right left right left right left, until beads of sweat appeared on her brow, and she had to wipe them away with the back of her hand before plopping back down on the sand, and taking another little break; another drink from the water skin.

Blythe looked out at the sea. It was still calm, still blue-green, pretty much as it had always seemed to be. Tired of resting, Blythe forced herself to get back up, even though her entire body ached, and she felt exhausted; even though she didn't know how much more her body could honestly take, Blythe forced herself back up, all she needed to do, was practice her kicking a bit, and then she could wrap up her intense work out.

Blythe slowly got to her feet, her hands balled into fists, resting in front of her chest, her left slightly in front of her right, as her body twisted to the side at the waist, and her left foot lay firmly on the sand, approximately ten inches in front of the right.

Blythe kicked, her form so poor, the movement so awkward, yet forceful, that she fell flat on her butt with a low thud, the sand around her flying in all sorts of directions. Blythe laughed, she supposed she wouldn't be practicing her kicks after all, instead, she'd go right back to stretching.

OOC: Referenced this site: http://www.all-karate.com/129/how-to-learn-karate

[Blythe]

Blythe twisted her body so that she was now lying on her stomach, the sand clinging to her clothes, it felt warm, yet it didn't feel completely solid. It molded to the shape of her body beneath her.

Blythe put her feet together, before resting on her forearms, elbows just below her shoulders. She pushed her abdomen into the sand, and held the position for 45 seconds, before relaxing, and repeating it two more times.

Blythe picked her body up, getting on her hands and knees. She rounded her back, arching it upwards, holding it for five seconds, before letting it out, allowing her stomach to arch down towards the floor as she lifted her chest forward. She held this position for five seconds, before switching back to the other position, counting off the seconds quietly in her head. She repeated this ten times.

Next, she returned to the lotus position, sitting up as straightly as possible, she slowly pushed her knees down with her hands, until she felt a stretch, holding it for 35 seconds. After that, she bent over her crossed legs, head reaching down to the ground, her lower back curving forward. She held that stretch for another 30 seconds. Before getting to her feet and doing twenty jumping jacks, reaching her arms and her legs out as far as possible with each swift jumping jack, her feet kicking up sand wildly about her with each downwards impact.

Blythe started to jog in place a bit, but soon grew tired, and settled for shaking out her limbs- her hands, her feet, her neck, everything, before she sat back down, again. She opened her water skin, taking another long drink, before closing it and putting it back down.

What better way to finish her work out than with another meditation exercise, right? she thought to herself.

OOC: Stretch reference- http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/healthtool-basic-stretches

[Blythe]

Blythe resumed the lotus position. She took several, deep, cleansing breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Blythe closed her eyes as she cleared her mind, ignoring all sights, sounds, sensations. She was letting everything go, everything out.

Blythe allowed herself to fill the back of her lungs with air. She felt them expanding, imagining a soft, baby-blue light overtake her body with each inhalation. Allowing it to course through her veins and fill her with a deep sense of calm. She felt it warming her body, increasing her inner-peace, as she exhaled out a bright, angry-red light into the air that surrounded her. Out through the mouth went all of her anger, resentments, and negativity. Blythe did this for fifteen minutes, before she was certain that she had gotten all of the negative red energy out, or as much of it as she could, instead, filling herself with the blue light. Its calm, its peace, its good feelings.

Slowly, Blythe opened her eyes, they felt sticky, heavy, as if she had worked far too hard, and tired herself out way too much. As if she had sweat out of her eyelids, and neglected to sleep long enough for her body. Blythe continued to breath slowly in through her nose, out through her mouth, before reaching her hand over to grab her now, nearly-empty water skin. Blythe opened it, taking one last sip before slinging it over her shoulder, and slowly getting to her feet.

When she was standing, Blythe bent at the waist, trying to touch her toes, and getting close, maybe two inches away, but never touching them. Then, she reached for the sky, stretching her fingers out towards the sun, before deciding it was about time to head home.

Taking one last look out at the water before she turned on her heels, Blythe began to run back home. Her feet thudding on the cool ground. She was exhausted, and couldn't wait to get home, bathe, and then hop back into bed. What a work out! she thought.

OOCAll of the karate moves I described are rather basic, I figured Blythe should be able to perform them, even though she has no experience, although it wouldn't be very powerful, and her form would be off a bit. Also, the meditations are very basic, and Blythe should be able to do them with a little practice and what not >.<

[Yggdrasil]

Blythe Experience: 1 point Running, 3 points Meditation, 1 points Body building, 2 points Unarmed combat Lores:Basic stretches, Meditation as healing Comments I didn’t give you as much for running as it was a fairly short bit at the beginning. I enjoyed the meditation writing you did, I think you did a wonderful job with descriptions of that! The lore "Meditation as healing" is for the short bit where you talked of a wound which was not a real wound, but was healed with meditation. As well with the stretching and karate bit! Wonderful job! If you have any questions or issues just let me know in a PM!