Solo The Immovable Great Grandson

[Felavik Dysodamus]

Timestamp: 15h Day of Spring, 513 AV Not many people saw Riverfall in such slumber. Even the laziest of men here rose early and slept late. The streets were empty and dark. Their beauty dimmed as if it too were sleeping. Utter silence and the chill of the last vestiges of night were Felavik's only companions. He was glad that he had decided to don his shoes today. Despite how chained his feet felt they were, at the very least, not a victim of the cold. He wore more clothing than he usually did but, then again, he wasn't usually out this early. He wore a tan shirt, tan trousers (held up with black belt), tan-coloured shoes and to top it off a large cloak that covered almost his entire body and kept him nice and toasty. This cloak was not tan. In fact this cloak was black and had once belonged to his Grandfather. This was of special significance today. Today was the day of his Grandfather's birthday and Felavik had something special planned in his honour. Of course his Grandfather would not be there to see it. His funeral had been over two weeks ago. The special spot he had in mind was hard to come across. He had only been there twice before in his lifetime and they were both over a decade ago. He was in a rush too. He had to get there before sunset. Finally, after much going in circles, Felavik recognised the large mound of stone at the side of an alleyway. It jutted out of the ground like a giant molar (as in the tooth). Worn grooves in the rock provided a climbing frame. The rock itself however was not overly large. It was barely a climbing frame. In two firm upwards steps he was pulling himself over the lip of the rock. He was greeted by an immense sight. An almost unprecedented view of the lower tier of Riverfall stretched out before him; stone structures like the playhouses of Gods. The sea too could be seen stretching infinitely into the horizon. It was more beautiful than he had even remembered...

[Felavik Dysodamus]

Felavik did not rise from the awkward half-sitting stance he had been sprawled out in when he crawled over the lip for several minutes. Felavik was here to honour his Grandfather by showing that he too could be like the Great Dysodamus that his Grandfather had always idolised. He was the patriarch of their bloodline and said to have possessed a master skill in the art of Unarmed Combat. Felavik was going to hold the Rock Form dawn until duck just like his Great Grandfather had once done upon every eighth day. Of course Felavik was only going to do it once a year. In fact he was wholly unsure if he would even be able to do it. Twenty-some years ago he had held the stance for three bells and had collapsed from exhaustion. Yesterday he clocked in the day at sixteen and a half bells. He hoped those twenty years had been kind to him. Felavik did rise with the first ray of light. An orange beam of light that shimmered across the sea and bay covering more and more in that golden glow with each passing second. He took a deep, steadying breath. He squared his shoulders with his hips. He thrust his hands out, wrists-up, and back in locking them in place. Finally he bent his knees until he felt his body go rigid. Felavik took another deep steadying breath and looked out over the golden bay. All he had to do now was wait...

[Felavik Dysodamus]

One tick, this was kinda boring, two tick, was he allowed to blink, three tick, he really wanted to blink, four tick, no-one would even know, five tick. No, he shouted inside himself, it has been five ticks and you're already contemplating movement. Felavik looked out to the sea hoping to discern any interesting features to which he could take note. The sea was pretty calm this morning. The golden glow of sunrise ran over the top of it like a golden coating. He wanted to think something poetic, like it seemed as if the Gods divine presence was stretched out over the waves hoping for just one brief touch of mortality, but he wasn't coming up with anything. It sort of just looked like a sunrise over water. He'd seen enough of those to be able to identify one too. Felavik looked a little bit more inland. The docks. He could see a few ships. It looked mostly like fishing boats but there was the occasional larger ship. Felavik was not one for boating so he knew precious little about them. He wasn't even particularly sure how they got boats to float. He didn't float. Wood floated sometimes. Maybe that was it. Was it that simple? Could you make a boat out of anything that floated. What about metal? Did it float? Could you make a boat out of it? He didn't think he'd ever seen a boat made out of metal. They'd all looked wooden to him. Felavik's eyes traced the sun as it split from the earth. It was a new day. It was his Grandfather's day. He had been born on this day over two hundred and sixty years ago. That was almost ten of his lives. All of the things Grandfather must have seen, Felavik thought, and yet nothing had saved him from the grasps of death. Felavik wondered if his Grandfather would be any better alive. He had lived a long and full life. He had once had a wife, children, grandsons... His wife died, his children left him one after the other, his Grandsons too all except Felavik. He had to wonder if his Grandfather was happy with that. Had his Grandfather taken him on simply because his father had left? Had he been a burden on an ageing Akalak? Did his Grandfather die happy to be free of his burden or sad to have left it? He felt terrible thinking that. He felt sick to his stomach to hope his Grandfather had died in sorrow. What sort of a Grandson could he have been wishing something like that? A sorrowful sigh left Felavik's lips and he instantly stiffened. Had he faltered already? Faltered within a couple of moments of thought. How weak willed he must be? How pitiful? No, this could only be Vikor speaking. This could only be the intrusions of the self-loathing coward within. It was a new day indeed and not one suffered lightly...

[Felavik Dysodamus]

Felavik had lost count some time ago and had only the rising of the sun to tell the time. Soon that would be less true however as the sun was nearing it's noon apex and would disappear behind him. Then he would simply have to survive until dark. The good news was that he was still standing. Vikor, or worse yet, his own thoughts had yet to cripple him. The bad news being that although he had fasted before he had never abstained from hydration and the warm sun had long dried out his mouth and throat. Grandfather had always taught him that the body was a tool of the mind. To be a slave to the body was a failure to Wysar. Keeping the body in check was the first act of discipline. Due to his Grandfather's teachings and his whole life of practice this task seemed fairly easy in principal. He had fasted for days before but, as a rule, he had never allowed himself to go without water. Of course the very nature of this exercise (the not moving part) required he not move to get a drink of water. Felavik's active mind began to search for a way of drinking water without moving. A feat impossible currently but perhaps, should he ever do this again, he could rig up some way of drinking without moving. Of course that would very much depend on what definition of moving was being used. Drinking would require tongue and neck movement not to mention much muscle movement. Then again, at this very moment, he was moving all over the place despite his appearance of stillness. His chest heaved, his heart beat... What was true stillness anyhow and what was the damn point in this entire exercise? Felavik was getting himself riled once again. He was letting his mind get to him. Felavik had always had a problem with over-thinking things. The second act of discipline his Grandfather had always tried to teach him. His Grandfather had nurtured a healthy, inquisitive mind but that was not always a blessing. Sometimes Felavik found it hard to take things as they were. Only the teachings of his Grandfather had Felavik ever taken on faith. His head was beginning to ache like some mad God had their thumb and forefinger around his head squeezing mischievously. He could recognise the effects of dehydration easily. The Summers of Riverfall were deadly hot and he had forgotten to properly hydrate more than once. He was less than halfway, most probably, toward dusk and he already felt worse for wear. How long until the dizziness came and he wouldn't be able to hold this stance even if he wanted to?

[Felavik Dysodamus]

The world spinning. Swaying. Moving. Falling. Darkness. Children crying for help. “Hello? Hello?” Felavik could hear a woman's voice. He could feel an arm on his shoulder. He blinked open hiseyes. Everything was wrong. He was lying down and he was inside. Where was he? “Where am I?” Felavik croaked through his raw throat. “You're at the Gilla Medical Centre. You feinted from dehydration. I'm Clarrisa.” The woman replied and as she spoke Felavik got his first good look at her. He did recognise her. This was perhaps not his first time here. He didn't expect her to remember him. She must see dozens of patients a day. “Felavik, right?” The woman asked with a soft smile. Felavik nodded embarrassed to have caused trouble with his failure. “Right... Well it was just dehydration. A couple of kids found you on their 'secret ledge'.” She replied with a chuckle. “What were you doing out there anyway?” She asked with a light-hearted curiosity. “Uh,” Felavik paused uncertain. She deserved the truth however so he persevered to tell her. “Today is the day of my Grandfather's birthday; my late Grandfather.” “Oh... I'm sorry.” Clarrisa looked away ashamed to have asked. “No, no,” His arm came up to graze her cheek causing her to look back at him. “You didn't know. He's in a better place now anyway.” He brought his arm down not wishing to elongate the contact into awkwardness. “When I was young he told me about my Great Grandfather. Every eighth day he would go to the spot that I was in today and stand; just stand; all day. From dusk 'till dawn he would just stand there and look out over the sea. My Grandfather admired that, I think. His iron will. It was the trait my Grandfather tried to instil in me above all else. Never back down when it comes to something you believe in.” Felavik sighed heavily causing him to cough and splutter some. “Well, that's what I was trying today and I guess I failed.” Felavik was no longer looking at the healer. In fact he had totally forgotten her presence as he mused aloud. That was until he felt a soft kiss upon his cheek. When he looked back she had already fled the room. Felavik smiled, what odd creatures woman were...

[Magpie]

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Felavik :

XP:
Observation +5
Endurance +2

Lores:
Honoring the Dead
The Rock Form
The Mind Will Occupy Itself
Difficulties of Fasting Versus Dehydration
Finding True Stillness
Clarissa: Of the Gilia Medical Centre

Notes :

Not much to award points-wise, but the mental narration made this a very interesting thread to read. Bravo, and better luck next year!

If you have any questions or concerns about what was awarded, please don't hesitate to PM me.
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