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Ringing metal, striking blows, and battle cries filled her senses as she followed the movement of feet striking the tiled floor. She forced herself into motion. One step. Another. Then the next. Fleeing encouraged her heartbeat to accelerate. She could feel it in her ears. She felt her vision clear with each new step. Her bare feet told her of the change from stone to road. Then from road a field. Her eyes translated images from the colors. Forests. Tents in the afar distance. Structures of stone. Many different paths diverged from the one they followed. A glance behind showed a kind of chapel or castle too far away to make the details of. "Rehua, was it?" The rallying voice drew her attention. She felt her eyes finally focus, and locked eyes with a stranger. This one stood confidently, trusted by the others that were going their separate ways. The insignia that seemed clearest on their attire was colored green and sported a scimitar across a bow. Just beside them was another, who appeared strong. Perhaps it was the double axe-head crest she confidently wore that supported this impression. "We rally our forces by specialties." The warrior's brows furrowed as confusion overtook the starred elf's expression. "What is it that you do? What are you interests, then?" "I.... Before I can consider that, I must to affirm who I am and what my weaknesses are." Rehua looked between the helpful individuals who she felt the most gratitude for, especially concerning the challenge of escaping the prison. Once, she had been in motion, comfortable just running and putting herself onto paths that she could follow forever. She remembered joyful seasons practicing for war under the tutelage of monks and students of combat. "Are there shamans among you? Wisefolk?" "You might be interested in the druid camp." The ranger gestured to the path that led into the forest. "Follow that path deep into the forest. If you find they are not able to help you, you can follow the path back to find another guild. Wherever you find your best fit, that is where you belong." Rehua looked between the two, who to this point, she trusted as friends. Inasmuch as their encouragement had been instrumental to her success, they deserved her respect. "And.... will they accept me?" "Go and see for yourself." The warrior smirked. "Though, if you change your mind, I highly approve of anything with a sword!" Rehua reached for her side. She had not considered that she had been trapped with the weapon. As she looked, she felt the curved blade was secure against her side and still wrapped into her attire. A moment to inspect the blade revealed that it was still in good condition. Perhaps this tool would continue to be of assistance to her as she warred against her shadow. With a word of thanks to the ambassadors who had accompanied her, she made her way into the woods. Dark though it would undoubtedly be, she wished to see for herself if they continued to seek truth, facilitate healing, and if they considered the matters of the mind and soul as they had so long ago. Supposing, of course, they wanted to be found. Even if that were not the case.... did she not venture forth for her own healing? -- -- -- -- -- For this five week challenge, I humbly ask to join the druids as I focus my study on meditation, mindfulness, and also adding a mindful aspect to what I eat. Main Goal: Lose fat via mindful and intentional eating. I wish to continue increasing my daily movement, keeping ten to fifteen minutes of being out and about or on a treadmill where that is impossible. I also wish to begin practicing tai-chi, which I hope will improve my flexibility and therefore, my ability to move and feel at peace with myself. While these things all attend to my body, I will not neglect my mind, as I will include five to ten minutes of time to meditate, where I hope to improve my ability to direct my mind to the focus of my choice. Fitness: Daily walk for ten minutes to an hour. (Continued from Previous Challenge) Tai Chi - Youtube led, book supported. 5-10 minutes daily In bed by 11:30pm every night. Diet: Breakfast every day - Preferably within a half hour of rising. One Vegetable/Fruit at Every Meal (Continued from Previous Challenge) LevelUpYourLife Mediate 10-15 minutes Daily (Mindfulness Focus: Breathing, and redirecting attention to breathing. Or: Visualization Focus) (Continued from Previous Challenge) And so... with all of that said..... Here I go!

Well, perhaps not "Overlord" in the strictest sense, but I've found that there's a great deal of power in the idea of being strong enough to be a lord or lady in a position of authority. As my gamertag of many years, I feel that it suits me well. (I reserve the right to change this username, just in case.) Why in the world does a female choose to call herself "Overlord"? Perhaps she's just a fan of Overlord as a game? Or was that just a coincidence?! Or was she inspired by the now famed 'Overlord List'? What about the Manga? Anime? The recent WW2 thriller? For me, it was a coincidence. e0verlord, or, the Eternal Overlord, fancied herself as powerful and capable, just as she felt herself to be in many of the different games she played. Yes, indeed. I enjoy titles of power. I enjoy games that allow me to build on strength, power, cunning, and on which I can direct and organize people. In a way, it's playing on the fantasy that I love so much. I was more active when I was younger, partly because of the insistence of my parents, and facilitated best by a YMCA membership. I have earned up to a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do in middle school and early high school. I have done a Couch to 5k style program called "Zombies Run 5k" a few times over the past few years, and have noticed that my times are slowly going down. (YAY!) In more recent years, I've become more and more aware of how stagnant my life really is. I rarely went out through high school, or through college, and I have a lot of skills to learn if I want to enjoy my life and realize the full capacity and strength of my body. I have enough experiences that have hurt me, and that I have neither recovered from or fully processed. Processing and moving beyond these things is and will be the goal and purpose of the upcoming years. It is my intention to conquer these challenges, master my body and the care of it, further understand myself, and attain all the excitement of a life well lived. So naturally, as a nerd of fiction, science fiction, video games, books, and lore both real and imagined, I was naturally drawn to the phenomena and the marvel that is NerdFitness. Turn my life into a game? Use the concept of gamification to transform my fantasies into memories and experiences? How extremely fitting, I thought to myself. Because people have the capacity to change, to grow, to decide for themselves what they focus on, surely there exists the possibilities and potential for the growth and freedom that I desire. But is it possible to be everything I enjoy in the games I play? First person shooters? The roleplaying games? The crafting capacity? The strength? It is easy to imagine the experience, as I have done through thousands of hours in daydreams, through millions of words in stories and self-made fiction, and in my drawings and sketches. Fantasy is a wonderful escape. But are these things possible to me? Are these experiences I can have? Goals I can achieve? Can I be everything I imagine myself to be in stories, dreams, and games? If so.... What an intriguing possibility..! And suppose this does help me overcome my fears. Suppose I can reach out to those that have gathered here. Suppose, then, that I can find my place and where I want to go. I have taken risks before. This seems a risk that will result in fewer injuries to my soul. Hello world. I'm here.

The crystal broke from the violence. The deceptive tranquility had been destroyed in the tumult. Surrounded on all sides by battle cries, the screams, the collisions of weapons, of swords against shields, arrows into flesh, and louder weapons still rebounded forcefully off the stone walls. It was disorienting for the one who fought free of the crystal. Years of sedentary submission had left her dazed. But the skirmish in the throne room grew more riotous by the moment. Another desperate push was being made. As her eyes began to adapt again to receiving light, she saw the gleam of light on axes, daggers lancing through the air, the flash of firelight on shields, and shadows of bodies in motion. The snap of bowstrings joined the shouts and cries. "Miss?" A stranger's voice. "Hey, we need to move!" She forced her muscles to move. How long had they been stagnant? How long had she gone without the warmth of sunlight? Rain on her skin? She reached out for the voice that sounded close and that encouraged her action. She felt the support of hands bringing her to her feet. How long had she been without interaction from others? How long had she gone without support? "Who are you?" "Rehua... Rehua Syraha." -- -- -- -- -- And so... we start at the top. Hello world, I'm Erin, but will happily respond to either my given name, gamertag, or my alter ego's name. I'm a gamer of over a decade, I have explored outer space, the bottom of the ocean, alien and fantastic places, interacted with a myriad of creatures and people, and all from the comfort of a chair near a console or my computer, if not from the pages of a book. My hobbies include writing, drawing, crafting, and daydreaming. With aspirations of getting my first book off the ground, I soak up everything I can about writing and fantasy almost through osmosis. I could probably talk about writing, fantasy, armor or weaponcraft, or ponder "what if" questions for days. I find that when I can fantasize/novelize my experiences, such as the written blurb you see above, I can throw myself into the gamification of my activities a little more easily. Besides, something about imagining it makes it just a bit more fun. Incidentally, I'm just as happy to talk story in this way for other's stories, if they want to either craft their own stories or join mine. And now, down to business, shall we? Main Goal: I'm here to get myself moving again. I want to be up and about more often than naught, especially if I can help it. Because a recent change in my life through most of my plans off kilter, I'm planning on nudging my live back into balance. I'm hoping to attain another job, to establish a habit of going out for a walk every day (hopefully a little bit longer every day), and bring balance to my diet.In other words, my main goal is to bring my life back under healthy control. Fitness: Ten to Fifteen Minutes of Walking - Whether on treadmill or out and about the neighborhood, something that would desperately be important to someone who just recently was broken out of stasis or hibernation is to begin all efforts to get them functional again. Walking, as a basic human function, is considered the healthiest thing a person can do. If they can do this well, then they are in decent shape. Of course, from such a point, one can build other strengths. As for when I'll be walking, I want to be able to do this in the early afternoon, probably around lunch time. Diet: Avoid drinking sugary drinks, such as sodas or juice.] Replace these drinks with water or tea. Eat one fruit or vegetable with every meal. (Fruit or vegetable in question should be mostly unprocessed. Light cooking is acceptable for vegetables like potatoes and yams.) LevelUpYourLife: Meditate five to ten minutes daily. - The main purpose of this meditation is to clear my head, or to practice keeping my attention focused on a certain point. For this particular kind of meditation, I'll be focusing on my breathing. What part of my breathing? The sensation of breathing as I feel it through my body. Well.... I'll be checking in here, with my subgoal of logging in and reporting my progress in the evening before my evening bedtime rituals. Wish me luck. (I'll accept all forms of support.) Thanks for reading! See you on the field.