Winter 30, 515AV
The morning woke him up with icy tendrils enveloping around his bad joints. Standing up was a pain. The cold, windowless room brought his old injuries back as if they just happened yesterday. Warming up his body with a round of calisthenics and prayer, the knight prepared for a morning run. Soon all the stiffness and pain were gone. The whole ordeal in Sahova had really done a number on him.
The time spent in prison had surprisingly done some good for the Akalak. The two brothers had learned how to live with one another a lot better. Garonn finally accepted that all the oaths Imass took for Syliras were also his responsibility. Imass realized that shoving his brother away for such a long time was a terrible mistake and he would have to pay for it dearly. The two still hated each other, but the brothers were cold and calm. Together they were able to hold onto their sanity despite the despair of the timeless prison.
One thing that they both could agree on was that physical fitness was crucial for their success. Thus at the crack of dawn, the Akalak ran down the stairs of the Safehaven Hostel. He wore the simple woolen suit to go for the run as to not overheat with the heavy coat. Imass chugged a whole liter of clean water, which Vysia Prakmat yelled at him for being wasteful as he walked out.
The knight began to jog around the Celestial Square. The area was not very crowded at all, except for the patrolling monks. No one gave him any grievances other than strange looks. Within a minute, he was already breathing hard for he had been without exercise for years. He needed to slow down his pace. As he ran he began to drill mantras in his head. He remembered the training Moustache had given him as a squire and the indoctrination into the ways of the order.
“Slow is always sure and sure is always fast… the light of the Windoak lives within me... never surrender… never give up… it is not over until I defeat my opponent…it is not over until I win… my oath is my duty, my duty is my life…There is no love for the wicked… there will be no peace until the blood of evil men flows...I will never stop… I have no breaking point for light of Sylir guides my actions…”
Circling the Celestial square three times, the Akalak was ready for a rest already. Breathing hard, he held his hands above his head and stared at the mist that was his breath. A whole tick later, he started up again with the goal to keep going until his head was steaming.
As he ran, more and more people began to emerge into the streets to begin their daily business. Nearly everyone was bundled up in winter clothing. The knight’s legs muscles and lungs were beginning to feel it, but he kept pushing for his head was not steaming yet. It was a struggle though for he was badly out of shape.
After a little while longer, the Akalak needed to make a conscience effort to dodge people occasionally. One woman in particular stood out to the warrior, because he nearly bumped into her. She had brown hair with red streaks. Exhausted and huffing air, he side-stepped her weakly.
Running until the end of the bell, Imass was finally done.
Winter 31
Thus, the Knight’s morning routine began. He would wake up before dawn, offer up prayers to his gods, get yelled at by Vysia, then begin jogging around the Celestial Square. The warrior noticed immediate improvement from the day before. His joints felt a lot smoother and he was lasting a lot longer than before. It was still a struggle for him and he needed to keep repeating warrior mantras to keep himself going.
Curiously, the same woman as before got in his way again once the streets got crowded. This time he locked eyes with her as they both decided to avoid the collision by going the same direction. The knight’s martial footwork was ingrained and his next step took him away from her, avoiding her completely. He did not bother to turn around to look at her though.
At the end of the bell, he was completely exhausted as before. He nearly vomited from the physical excursion.
Winter 32-33
Vysia was starting to get show real annoyance with Imass’ habit of chugging water in the morning, but she took no action against it. The knight was actually beginning to enjoy his morning routine. As he ran, he noticed the same peddlers and people rising up for the day. There were always new faces too, but he consistently ran into the same girl who was always up in the morning. She had a beautiful face and brown hair with red streaks that could not be mistaken. The strangest thing too was that no matter what he did, he always had to dodge her in a crafty way. The latest encounter, Imass even smiled at her through his bushy beard.
Winter 34
The night before, Imass had actually trimmed his three year long beard and cut his hair a little shorter. Now, he was actually looking little less haggard. His skin was slightly less pale and it was much easier to run.
Today, the Akalak decided to take the alleys and back ways of the Celestial Square to enhance his knowledge and layout of the area. When he turned a blind corner he smashed into someone who was walking. Falling on his ass, annoyance swept over him. Standing up, he was about to run off again, but alas it was the beautiful girl that he had been seeing all those days.
“My deepest apologies,” he offered her a blue, calloused hand to help her up, “There you go,"
For a moment, the blue man just stood there with his hands on his hips. Steam emanated from his head and his woolen suit had sweat rings around his neck and armpits. His clothes smelled like Akalak body order, for he did not have the luxury of daily washings. His crooked eye was the result of a bashed in helmet and he had a missing canine and a few missing molars from battles. His beard was neatly trimmed though, which did well to hide the scar on his face.
“My name is Imass. May I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the lady I must dodge every morn?” he laughed genuinely hoping for a positive reaction.
