SplitRift

Dearest Fellow Assassins, I present you all that I've translated of the first new journal I received, dictating the next part of the story of The Alchemist: My fire is dying. The wood is sparse around here and all that I've found is wet. This area is so dark and dead but it's the only place I can be. Two days ago I passed through a village only to find that someone had already visited looking for me. I'm not sure how close I was to being captured and held prisoner for the hit man to come get me. So now I sit here, holding my life in my hands, and watching my only light and my only warmth die slowly. There is a road near me that heads north, the direction that I wish to travel, yet the road leads to only two places, Indorran and Falling Rock, two small cities which serve as the only ways of passing safely through the mountains. However, I know my death waits for me in these cities. Those trying to kill me know where I am headed and I would surely not be able to pass through either city alive. On the other hand, I will not be stopped. I have decided that I will, instead of travelling through the cities, attempt to traverse the mountains that oppose me. My body has not yet fully recovered from it's long time in prison and so as of now I will not be able to survive the mountains. Instead I will spend the next several weeks training my mind and body so that the climb and various challenges will not best me. I have not forsaken the Art of Displacement that I once learned so long ago and even now I practice it with a vigor that I believe will one day revive the study. I plan on practicing it specifically several times a week however traversing the forest like I am will require me to keep my body going everyday. I also plan on doing several general training workouts that will help me build the upper body strength that I will need to ascend the mountain. When I passed through the small village to the south I couldn't resist stopping at the inn for a drink or two and in doing so I found myself disgusted. These foul drinks have littered my appetite so that I seem to never drink anything other than mead or ale. Still feeling disgusted with myself, I have decided also to rid my diet of these drinks and instead drink water though I know that I am much too weak to simply stop and so I plan on reducing my intake of non-water drinks down to one a day at most. Currently, the mountain stands in the way and so right now it's the mountain that I must conquer and conquer it I will before the men after me find me and bury me. Still, I shant forsake my art, the magnificent Alchemy that damned me to prison and death in the first place. I know it is illegal and I know that if anyone finds out I will most definitely not escape with my head but there's something so enticing about it. Such a beautiful and powerful art, I will not let myself fall into the ignorance that plagues the common people. Instead, I will relearn my art making sure to read from my books for at least an hour everyday. I desire Change but Change requires Force. Force requires Power. Power requires Knowledge. Knowledge requires Information. The goal is not to learn but rather to understand. Should you read this, believe that I am strong and right. The Dynamic Alchemist.

Dearest Fellow Assassins, I'd like you to please forgive my indecency in our last meetings. Due to some sever troubles in my life I lost the rest of the journals written by The Alchemist and so the rest of the story was lost. I feel so bad about that and I even considered never coming back to start another story lest I mess it up again. However, today I received a package in the mail from an anonymous sender. At first, I wasn't that interested but then I realized that someone, though I don't yet know who, has sent more journals concerning the fabled tale of The Alchemist. The story seems to leave off nearly a month after he got out of prison and I have pieced together a few parts of what happened to him. However, the journals are written in a dark magical language I have yet to translate but I'm working. Should you decide to listen to me once more, I will post my translations here and tell you more of the story of The Alchemist. Sincerely Splitrift

Dearest All, more from the journal of the Dynamic Alchemist. I woke up sore from my workout on the previous day. It had been a fairly easy workout and yet I found myself troubled with it, further evidence that I've let myself go. Nevertheless, I planned to shake off the ache and get just a little bit of work in although leaving the day most to rest. I had a visitor today. One of few people I know from the outside world. The guards let her take me out of my cell for half the day and I was able to get some fresh air and different scenery. Unfortunately, I got lost in my control and had too many sugary drinks over the day. More than the one I had promised myself I would only have a day. I hope to remedy my mistake by not having any sugary drinks for a few days. I consider it a form of punishment or something. I am fairly ashamed of today as I did not get much exercise today at all and according to the prison scale, I gain quite a few pounds since a few days ago. I know I must not get caught up in my failures but to work harder to right them.

Today was kind of a rough day for me, I'll admit. With no sleep I was quick to crash in the middle of the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I started the morning off by doing the Beginner Bodyweight circuit three times.I thought I was going to die. I know it's been awhile but I didn't expect to feel that bad doing it. On the other hand, I did it without sleep and having eaten naught but sugary badness. I plan on focusing on more movement tomorrow instead of a "workout" more like a "play out". I wouldn't say that I am new to parkour but I would say that I am a beginner. When I was younger I wanted to be a ninja and so I trained myself more than most little kids and in the process, I ended up teaching myself some basic parkour skills even before I knew what parkour was. So I can do a few things like most basic vaults and pretty fair precisions. I can also wall run a small bit and I love to climb. Tomorrow I will hopefully be going to some form of a playground and I plan on playing on that. There are all kinds of things you can jump over, hang from, and climb there. I'm not going to try to practice specific moves but rather just play and freestyle it a bit. I've used fitocracy in the past and I like it's questing and level up system though sometimes I can't log an exercise I performed because it's just not listed. I also don't like that it's trying to be super social networking and stuff. Fitness buddies are nice but I'm here for that. Fitocracy is just a record. And to all of my adoring fans I give you this video that I really like. I can't remember if I found it on this site somewhere so you may have seen it before and if you have you should watch it again because it's fantastic. It's great for traceurs and useful to those who don't practice parkour/freerunning as well. It's called The Bench.

I am also super jealous of your parkour classes. Please keep updates of how those go, like what you did and how much you hurt afterwards. As for the friend goal, I think that should be a goal for everybody. Who couldn't use more friends?* *This questions completely ignores the idea of some form of a facebook reference. Anyway, good luck with your challenge!

Hey guys, the time has come. A new challenge is before us all. Even The Dynamic Alchemist, locked in his prison is ready for the challenge. Perhaps my real goal is not to outrun my assailants but rather to outrun myself. I have wondered lately if control over myself is what I have really been craving, what I truly desire. If this is the case, the weeks ahead bear no changes in anything other than significance. after these weeks, I will be stronger and faster and, overall, better. Even if I am confronted by my attacker and I am taken down, forced to pay the price that all men pay, then I will do so with a powerful confidence that in the last days of my life, I achieved control. Today, I have decided, is the day that I start testing my willpower. I start my training today. Before this day, I let go of any form of control. It may be foolish to have done what I did but the past is behind me. These past days, I have lazed more than ever, drunken more sugar than water, and eaten more than two of me should. Even now, I write this on the dark of the new day, with no sleep from the night before. I have had a hard time sleeping and so I will attempt to stay awake on my first day so that by its end, I will sleep peacefully and be ready for my second day. I have let myself be weak these past few days more than before but as the old week ends, my old weak also ends. I have lain before I can stand. I have hid before I can present myself. I have been in the dark before I am in the light. I will sleep before I am awake but I will struggle before I can sleep. I pray to the gods that this day and the weeks following favor me. So I want to make a quick remark on one thing the Alchemist mentioned. This opposite before the goal kind of thing. I, like the alchemist, have longed to practice parkour and I know that parkour has a lot to do with defying gravity in a way. However, I feel like as a traceur, before I can defy gravity, I must first understand it. I have included a link to a video of a popular song but it's the "Unlimited Gravity" remix. It has greatly inspired me to understand gravity and then overcome it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1wjL4BqXlI Also, friends, I made myself a Fitocracy account to make keeping track of my workouts that much easier. If you are a fitocracy person, feel free to stalk my profile and mock me about being level 1. The link should be down there vvvvvvvv in my signature but I can only hope that changing my signature actually resulted in the effect I wanted. Anyways, I wish you all luck with your challenges and I pray that a strong wind comes to carry you over your obstacles.

I'm really interested in your challenge, I relate to it a lot. I'm in love with parkour and I know what college is like although I'm only just going into my second year of undergraduate studies. I wish you luck on your challenges and a swift wind to carry you over your obstacles.

When you train with the assassins, nothing is too much. No challenge is to difficult. No obstacle cannot be overcome by our fancy ninja skills.

I'm glad I have intrigued you. It's been too long since I've actually kept up with one of these things but I like taking the role-playing farther than normal. I will continue the story as I translate the journals I have.

Too long? Didn't read? Main quest: To increase fluidity and agility Missions: Practice parkour twice a week Train at least five times a week Limit intake of sugary foods and drink Life Quest: Read for at least an hour a day. Motivation: To be comfortable with my body in both look and function.

So it’s been a little while since I told anyone a story but I feel like telling you all a story now. It’s one of my favorite stories. The best part is that the story is a true one and is taken from the journal of a great man. So without further ado, I give you the story of the Dynamic Alchemist. (If you’re too lazy to read, the moral is in the next post). I am known by many simply as The Alchemist, though recently, I've mostly been known as The Prisoner. I have been in prison for a long time now, accused of practicing the forbidden art of Alchemy, an accusation I proudly admit to. I should have been sent to death as many others had but the gods look favorably on me and I have been given a second chance. I don’t know what year it is, or how many I have spent here, but I do know that it is nearing the end of the month of Julius and so my release is imminent. Only three and a half weeks and I will taste fresh air and freedom again. But my freedom is overshadowed by danger. I know that people wanted to see me hanged and that they will be upset about my release. Surely, someone will come to kill me shortly after I get out. Perhaps some mercenary gang or a hit man will track me down. However, I do not plan on going down so easily. It has been such a long time but I was once a member of the legendary Assassin’s Guild. I was taught the skills to survive, to move, and if necessary, to take the life of another. Unfortunately, I have grown weak in here. I have become lazy and managed to put on too much weight drinking the sugar drinks that more privileged prisoners can sometimes get access to. I’ve sat around most of my days playing the petty games other prisoners play. Surely, like this, I will be an easy target. I have decided to not be an easy target. My main goal is to put some movement back into my body. I want to increase my fluidity and agility so that I can once again call myself an Assassin. I will not be just an alchemist, I will be dynamic; I will be The Dynamic Alchemist. I once learned from some Northern Assassins l’art du displacement in order to move quickly through tough environments and over great obstacles with ease. I have forsaken this art for too long and so I must go back to it if I plan on outrunning the people after me. The prisoners are allowed out into the courtyards twice a week and I will use this time to practice this art. My body also needs further controlled training and so at least 5 days a week I will train my body with a variance of workouts so that I can be strong once again. I must not forget my diet though. My training will mean nothing if I cannot quell the faults of my stomach. I will reduce my intake of sugary drinks down to only one a day at most and I will focus only on my food when I eat so that I make sure not to over consume. Though I will use a lot of my time to train my body, I must not forget my mind and so I will also read for at least an hour a day My time in prison has been long and has made me weak but my remaining time in here is short and I will use it to make myself strong. I will not be so easily taken out, not so easily captured again. I am a long lost member of ancient guild and I have at least one person coming to kill me. We will see who the better Assassin is.