No Rest for the Wicked

by **Orion Michaels** on September 12th, 2013, 9:09 pm

4th Day of Fall, 513 AV
Corridors of Syliras
6th Bell

He needed a break from the beating Dinah was giving him. Weights and shields. Weights and shields. Gods she was unforgiving. He was going to fall apart if she kept training him at this rate. It took everything he had to convince her for an off day to spend time with Emily, but once that was over, it was back to the grind. By some miracle he’d talked his way out of another harsh day of training..well, maybe that wasn’t the right way to put it. There wasn’t anything but harsh training when it came to Dinah.

”Fine. You’ll go for a nice run today, Orion.” She’d sounded too agreeable; it was extremely unnerving. When she’d starting moving over to the weight area, an almost irritating smile on her lips. When she picked up a chain and carried it over to Orion, he knew he’d been had. ”You can go on a lovely jog around Syliras.” Placing the chain around his shoulders and neck, Dinah tenderly patted Orion on his back. ”And here’s something to keep you company. Make sure you don’t lose it, it doesn’t know it’s way around the city.” She was an evil, evil woman.

Orion didn’t waste any time in getting away from Dinah before she could add any other twists on his training. The chain felt like it weighed a million pounds, dragging him down, down, down to the floor with each step he took. He realized, however, it was one of the lighter ones. That didn’t mean it wasn’t heavy, though. Cold links of steel, just long enough that they fell into his grasp at an almost perfect running height. Did she do this on purpose? Orion couldn’t put something like that past her. It would make the run tougher, but it would help his form as well…

Putting one foot in front of the next Orion started his run, ready for another day mostly free of Dinah’s grasp. She’d gotten more intense since their fall out, and while the training was more effective, it was nightmareish at the same time. Orion started out at a nice and easy pace. The longer he was out, the less time he’d have to spend with the woman today. He’d focus on keeping his form correct so he didn’t accidentally injure himself moving about with the extra weight. First things first, keep your eyes ahead. For some reason he always struggled with this one, his natural tendency being to look down at his feet. This, of course, had negative effects. By looking down at his feet, he caused his body to lean forward too far, an inefficient means of travelling. With wasted efforts, he couldn’t run as far or as fast as he could by maintaining good form.

His feet danced along the corridor, arms pumping back and forth to keep him moving about. By keeping his head up he was able to check for anyone who could be in the way. He could almost hear his father yelling at him to pay attention. They’d taken many trips to the bazaar in his youth, and he’d constantly be told to watch where he was going. Some things would never change, it seemed. With slow, controlled breaths, Orion kept moving, kept pushing onwards, despite the weight slowing him. His calves were burning, but he couldn’t give up this quickly. The squire rounded a corner, ready to push his limits.

by **Orion Michaels** on October 7th, 2013, 2:01 am

Orion rounded the corner of the corridor, pushing forward. It was absurd. If she wanted him to drag a chain around, it was one thing. If she wanted him to go for a run, it was another. But to do both? He would be found passed out in some random hallway, he was sure. The heavy chain would sap him of all his strength, his shoulders unable to bear the burden of the added weight. If there was one thing that he was benefiting from, it was that he was being forced to concentrate on keeping his form.

With the chain around his shoulders, he was slowed considerably, though he did try and push himself as much as possible. It was fairly straightforward. He needed to make sure he didn't injure himself, so he had to run with proper technique. He just needed to think back on the lessons Dinah had taught him.

First was his feet.

Now what was she always harping on me about...

Orion turned his focus onto what he was doing with his feet. His strides were short, not taking advantage of his height and length, but beyond that he was hitting the ground with the heel of his feet. Each impact was with far more force than was needed, and not only that, it acted to slow him down. He could hear Dinah screaming at him in his mind. Was there no escape?

'Orion! Don't land with your heels! You'll injure yourself from the impact! Land mid foot.'

The squire made a conscious effort to adjust the way his feet landed. He angled the way which they landed so that they were more even with the ground, rather than an upward angle which caused his problems. This allowed for him to land in the middle of his foot. It would take some getting used to, but it was a small change. What would be more difficult was making the adjustment with the blasted chains on his back.

Orion kept sucking in breath after breath as he struggled under the weight. Metal links rubbed against his back as he forced himself to take step after step. Droplets of sweat dotted the ground behind him, but onward he pressed. His feet wouldn't be the only thing which would need correcting, and without someone there to observe him, he could only manage to work on whatever it was he could remember. The longer he ran, the less that would be.

The squire was forced to slow down as came upon a group of civilians in a corridor. He took advantage of the decrease in pace to try and catch his breath and recover enough to continue. He ignored the strange looks he received, knowing full well that a man running around carrying a chain was an unusual sight.

"Good . . morning . . mister," he managed between gasps. The man he addressed simply scowled at him and moved aside. No small talk in the early bells, it seemed. "Oh well . . . enjoy your . . . morning." Orion took another deep breath and stepped forward, moving around the group of chatting men and deeper into the city.

by **Orion Michaels** on October 25th, 2013, 5:53 pm

Orion knew he didn't have much left in him. He'd not run under these conditions before and his body was rapidly being overcome with fatigue. He understood the purpose of the chain; it worked his muscles harder. He was not only building endurance, but by training with the heavier chain it would build strength. When that chain was removed, he'd be able to operate without its encumbrance and be better for it, but that wasn't something which would change overnight. Many ticks, chimes, bells, and days would have to be spent teaching himself to make sure he didn't get injured with bad form whilst surviving the intense training Dinah put him through.

Orion struggled onward, grasping the chain tightly. His shoulders were beginning to suffer under the metal links, and it wasn't anything that surprised anyone. He'd been training hard over the past several seasons, but he was no embodiment of physical perfection at this point.

Gods . . . this is stupid. Everything burns. I'm gonna be so sore in the morning.

He could feel the growing tension with each step he took. He kept his arms pumping to move himself forward, though each stride drained a little more of his energy. The former doctor's pace was slowing down with each passing moment as his body began to give into exhaustion. He'd set off like a madman, pushing himself way too quickly, but he'd left with the intention of it being a distance run. He couldn't settle on sprints now, he'd expended too much effort. He couldn't even hope to complete any respectable distance, either.

Sweat dripped down the squire's face, sliding down his nose before falling to the ground, dotting his path with droplets of his exhaustion. His feet thudded against the ground as the form he'd tried to maintain rapidly disappeared. He was a mess. His shoulders began to sag, he began to lean too far forward, and his feet no longer hit with the proper part. It wouldn't be long now.

It only took a few chimes more before Orion was done. He'd continued up to that point with as much vigor as he could muster, but his breaking point was rapidly nearing. His pace slowed from an almost run to a jog. From a jog to an almost jog, and finally he to a walk. Orion gasped for breath, desperate for the life giving air for which his lungs so greedily beckoned. His left calf cramped up almost the instant the former doctor stopped, causing him to dropped to the ground rather ungracefully. He let the chain fall from his shoulders. The heavy item met the ground with a loud clanking noise, though Orion was more concerned with the pain shooting up his muscle.

He situated himself against the wall of the corridor he was running and tried to stretch out that leg as much as was able. Orion shot the left leg out and tried to point his toe out to engage his calf, but it only made things worse. He was completely spent, his body was rejecting his workout. His abs, his shoulders, his arms, his everything hurt thanks to that chain being added. But at least there was some good news.

Dinah wasn't around to kick his ass into running more.

The squire closed his eyes and continued to take loud, deep breaths. His heart hadn't jumped out of his chest, so at least he had that going. He would just have to wait for his leg to calm down, he'd pick up the chain, and then head back to the training grounds and pray that Sera Lorene wasn't around.

by **Radiant** on October 26th, 2013, 3:07 pm

Orion :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Running	+3 XP
Body Building	+3 XP
Endurance	+2 XP

Completed No Rest for the Wicked