by Imass on August 11th, 2012, 2:41 am
Imass sat alone in the antechamber. He needed to prepare for the trials which were about to ensue. Prior to sentencing, Imass was reprimanded and punished by his father. This alone was enough for the young Akalak to realize his fault and repent, but that did not change the consequences of his actions. The boy would have to fight the human in a trial of combat in order to clear his name. Imass' father was sitting in the crowd and expected that his son clear all the charges in the most honorable way possible. The boy would fight not only for his own honor, but for the honor of his household. It was imperative that he win the contest.
Fear and uncertainty filled his mind and soul as he sat cross-legged on the floor. Hearing the wizened elder read off the charges was not easy for the boy. He cringed at every word. Deep down inside Imass did not want to be in this situation; he even felt like just breaking down and crying, however that was not a choice. Imass was not old enough to understand fully what was going on. All he knew was that now he was destined to fight in front of the audience, including his father and Naeya.
Before he appeared in front of the Counsel, his father had told him to meditate before the fight and nothing else. Imass needed to be in the best state of mental consciousness before the duel began. The boy sat cross-legged on the floor with a straight posture. He closed his eyes and rested his shoulders, arms, and hands on his lap.
Imass began to take deep breathes. He breathed in through his nose in a long drawn out sequence. He imagined in his head the air rushing into his body and spreading through his chest and stomach. His mind painted a picture of rolling and curling air filling up every corner of his body.
Once his chest was filled to the brink, he breathed out from his mouth letting his whole body empty of oxygen. He envisioned in his mind all the air rushing out of his body and with it all the evil from his dark side. He pictured black stained air escaping his body with every breath.
The boy took another deep drawn out breath. He felt his heart beating now. He listened to the rhythm as his heart as it pumped oxygen throughout his body. His heart was naturally going extremely fast, but with each full breath it slowed down. Each breath calmed his mind and body down until eventually his heart rate was as slow as it would ever get.
Imass continued to breathe deeply, still envisioning the air fill his lungs and darkness leaving his body always. As he learned from his father, the key in meditation was patience and cyclicalness. The Akalak boy needed to get in tune in order to be in the best condition to fight. It was simple, his mind's vibrations needed to coincide with body's own vibration. He continued to breathe in the same rate over and over. He forced himself to image visual with great colors exactly what was going on as he took each breath. When another thought entered his mind, he tried his hardest to just ignore it and continue with his exercise in meditation.
After a good amount of time, he began to feel a numbness sensation throughout his body. This meant that he was getting very close to the state of mind he needed to be in before the duel. He continued to breath, but he no longer needed to imagine himself breathing. His mind was beyond that, for now all he needed to do was simply breath.
Imass continued breathing deeply, but now he opened his eyes and stood to his feet. Still focusing at the task at hand, he began to warm up. He bent over and touched his toes for about ten seconds, stretching his long leg muscles. He then spread his legs wide and stretched both to the right, left, and center. He felt his groin and hamstrings get loose and warm for the upcoming duel. The boy stretched his triceps, biceps, torso, hips, and back too, but nothing was as important as his legs.
Curling his hands in to tight fists, Imass jogged around the antechamber to get the blood flowing in his body once again. He continued his breathing though; deep, slow meditation breaths. The hour was just about over, but Imass was done in preparation.
The Akalak was calm, focused, and above all ready to prove to his father and to the people of Riverfall his innocence.