Solo Longer, Faster, Stronger

[Septimus]

Fall, 57th 512AV Septimus had headed down back to the shore this morning for some more conditioning and ways to build her body like Xuphim had instructed. She needed to be able to train harder to go on longer, to go faster, and to be stronger. The Kelvic needed to represent her Patron just like he had described and she wouldn't let him down. The Kelvic had taken advantage of the breezy morning and decided to walk down in her horse form. Since she would be battling as her true self, she felt as though she needed to work with that side a bit more to prepare more. Needless to say, her disguise was still important to her as well. The path was narrow and there were many people. The plan was simple "Do some running exercises and go on as long as possible after every break. Do some swimming to work on cardio and strength. Both will help for getting stronger and faster. The stronger you get, the faster you'll get. And do not forget the breathing exercises you have went over with Xuphim. Do not forget anything for that matter. Do not shift as today is strictly your true self day and plus, you brought none of your clothes. Septimus snorted, ignoring the strange looks she got from the strangers. After all a riderless horse? A ownerless horse? A bare Tiaden War Horse? It was completely understandable for Septimus. A small girl walking up the tiers stopped in front of her. She looked to be the age of five and had dark brown hair with hazel sparkling eyes that caused the large yet gentle horse to stop in front of the girl that was reaching up to her large neck for she could barely reach her stomach. Little did this girl know that her intentions were to kill other creatures. The small girl laughed and her mother put her hands on her hips with a half smile looking at the two. She was waiting to see what Septimus would do. To represent the Syliran Knights on a good note, she snorted, then lowered her head towards the girl gently. Septimus nudged her slightly then snickered as the girl hugged her snout and laughed. The girl stroked her forehead and cheeks then touched her black mane. The girl then squeezed her snout once more and Septimus slowly raised her head about 6 inches off the ground then sat her back down gently. The sanguine girl squealed with excitement then smiled brightly, looking at her mother. The mother approached Septimus in which the Kelvic raised her head to eye level with the mother then nodded. The woman stroked her cheek then smiled, motioning her small child to come on. The woman waved her a farewell then Septimus was on her way. She weaved her way through and around the others, but for the most part her large body provided a bubble for her to move freely. The climb wasn't as bad as Septimus thought in her horse form. Heck, it wasn't bad at all, as a matter of fact.

[Septimus]

Septimus approached the water's edge then sighed. Perhaps she could do some swimming first? The Tiaden War Horse did as she had the other day and cantered to the spot where the ships would not be then began wading where she could not touch. Septimus could feel the current pick up. She could feel her body trying to be swept out to sea but her body would not allow it, she would not allow it. The horse needed to be able to withstand it longer. She needed to fight it. To swim the direction where it opposed a force against her to get any workout out of it. When the Kelvic found a good and strong spot she instantly began swimming against it with a great force of determination and willpower. The Tiaden War Horse's muscles flexed and pulsed as she pulled her massive self through the body of water that she was fighting. The only difference was, was that the current was a ever living presence that had unlimited amounts of energy and her body could only run so long to the point she could get back to shore. However, that point would be a while from where she was now. Now her muscles were at their strong point. They were at their new and improved point. Septimus began thinking back at what she should've done before getting in the water but decided that the walk was a good enough warm up and stretch exercise. The Kelvic was glad that she had loaded up on quite a few gallons of water before she came. Sweat was beginning to show on the horse's neck but the cool waters helped somewhat. However, her churning muscles not only provided energy, but also used it. It was like a lamp in some ways. You had to pay for it to even be able to turn on which would be the energy Septimus was putting out. The excess heat that was unneeded and emitted from the lamp was the sweat she was putting off. The light was what was really only needed and would be the movements that made her go through the water's large waves. Septimus found herself slowing down after some time of swimming and she needed to pick up the pace. This would be the judgement time of where she would decide if she had enough in her to go on longer or to go back now. The Kelvic decided to go on longer and to push herself. She was tired and using excess energy. When she found herself doing this she transferred over to where the current wasn't as strong and continued to swim longer than she would've been able to in the current. However, the water still put up a churning resistance that caused her to become tiresome. "Longer Septimus! You'll never get anywhere if you only go to your limit@ Go farther! Go longer! Sweat!" The Kelvic was really pushing her limits and she noticed that her endurance had increased from yesterday. Perhaps it was this new attitude she had claimed? This willingly, strong willed, persistent attitude. The waves were strong against her and the energy to keep herself from drowning was gradually increasing. Septimus decided to call it quits and finally swam parallel to the shore, slowly closing in on the sandy surface. When her hooves could finally grasp the bottom, she jumped on it and rapidly climbed out of the water, her muscles aching somewhat and her lungs burning from breathing so hard. Despite her dying efforts to try and breath calmly, she finally let her body take over and do what it wanted to do. She was standing in a stout recovery position with her legs squared and her head lowered and stuck out. Her hind legs were a bit more put back almost like one trying to show a horse. Septimus snorted, then shook her neck, throwing her wet black mane around. "You still have more training to do. Do a cool down walk like Xuphim had showed you and then recover for a bit. You are doing this running bit, and don't try to tire yourself out of it! Understand!" The Kelvic was glad she had this Sargeant like human conscience that kept her on track, otherwise, she'd be a pretty unorganized Tiaden War Horse. The beast soon followed the advice and began her cool down walk which helped a bit then crashed for the soft and warm sand.

[Septimus]

After a few good minutes of resting, the Kelvic jumped up, heaving her weight on all fours. Septimus shook her coat which shook off all the excess sand then braced herself for a hard run around the large shore. At least several laps at the minute minimum. Today was cool so she should be able to do quite a lot of workouts and gain some muscle tone without overheating. Septimus stepped back at a good starting point, then began a slow paced trot which eventually escalated into a decent canter. The sound of her hooves beating at the sand created a thunder like effect. Septimus felt good finally being able to hang loose and just run as herself. She hadn't done this in so long, it was like a keeping a child indoors all winter then when spring came they bursted out the door with joy to play. After a few good laps with the decent canter, Septimus entered into a full on trot, using her breathing exercises to regulate the appropriate pace her lungs should be working. Feeling the wind and short breezes whip through her mane and tail felt phenomenal on the Kelvic. At the point and time, she felt like a real horse, even managing to throw a few joyful bucks and leaps in there. However, this was still training and she needed to cut back on the amount of play. Septimus was going on for her sixth lap around the beach, and by now she had slung up so much sand on her body, her complete underside was covered in a pale tan color. On the contrary, Septimus was enjoying this training. After working to go a seventh lap in the marked area, she stopped halfway, tired and breathing hard. After all, it was a very large area she was covering and surprisingly she had more endurance than she was pushing for. Celebrating her victory, Septimus reared with a delightful neigh and thought "Thank you, Zulrav! Thank you!" After all, she felt as though it was the God that had gotten her through with this. After every accomplishment, after every little thing that made her feel better, a slight breeze had always sometime or another accompanied it. If it was by sheer coincidence, it was very odd. Septimus' mind caused her to believe that it had to be Zulrav there the entire time.

[Septimus]

The Kelvic sighed then shook her mane, the exercise's effects beginning to take a toll on her. She was thirsty and needed to get back to her stall and take a few good swigs of the water there. The tongue of the horse was almost like an auctioneer's after a long hard bidding war; somewhat related to the texture of sandpaper. The sand was comfortable on her feet but the Kelvic instantly noticed a difference as she began escalating to return to the top tier. The crowd was easy on the way up and she had little interruptions besides the occasional person that bumped into her on accident. FIN

[Gossamer]

. Character: Septimus Experience: +1 Swimming, +1 Bodybuilding, +1 Running, +1 Endurance, Lore: Ways To Exercise On A Beach Additional Note: Nice little training thread. Good job! .