Starting at the End w/ Infinity (Dungeon Crawl)

[Infinity.Creates]

Atlas ran down the hill, laughing as the wind blew through her choppy brown hair, tousling it worse than normal. Her mother would sigh with disapproval when she got home - but that was when she got home. Right now, she was running through the field, laughing. All of her work at the Gold Dragon Inn was done and her father had let her head out to relax for the afternoon. The day had been a quiet one, the autumn rush was not yet upon them, but most people were home preparing for the harvest. She'd swept and prepared the bread for tomorrow and cleaned the recently vacated rooms. She then swept again, and again, before her father had swept her out of the building and told her to relax. 

 

At the bottom of the hill was a river, wide and languid, its origins in the hills above Tocra, though it would soon join the busier river of Ketrad. Here, she could wade in until it was at her chest, though for a human it would only come to mid-thigh. She slowed as she grew closer to the river, then pulled off her shoes and tucked her skirt into her belt so only her leggings would get wet. She splashed in until the water was at her knees, then spun at the sound of laughter behind her. 

 

It was Ido, following the same path they always took, a slash of a grin on his lips as he raced down towards her. His long black hair was tied back, pinning his pointed half-elven ears flat against his head. His loose shirt was pushed up to his elbows, grease stains on his hands and top and smeared across his chin. He slowed as he neared her, laughter endlessly tumbling from him. He had the afternoon off from the forge every Whelsen, and they both aimed to take full advantage of the summer sun they still had. He joined her in the river, his trousers rolled to his knees and his shoes laid neatly next to where she had haphazardly kicked hers off, and he let out a happy sigh at the sensation of cool water around his ankles.

 

As a halfling, she barely reached his belly-button, but that didn't mean she wasn't capable of jumping up to push him into the water, laughing as she stumbled away from the splash of water as he fell in. The laughter only got stronger as he tried to push himself back up to standing but only managed to trip over his own feet and fall back into the water. He was nearly twice as strong as she was but managed to be startled and fall in every week. Ido spluttered as he sat up in the water, trying to rub the water out of his eyes. Despite him being two years older than her at 22, he still looked so young, especially when the water made him look so bedraggled. 

 

"You needed the bath!" Atlas teased, before shrieking as he lunged forwards, intent on taking her into the water as well. 

---

"Well, well, well." A sneer paints a voice above them, and Atlas leapt up from where she'd been lying, her head pillowed on Ido's arm as they stared at the clouds changing shape, her hands quickly untucking her skirt from her belt to smooth it around herself. 

 

"Carson! What are you - what are you doing here?" The Baron's son never had cause to venture out of the stone mansion he called home, and to catch her - catch them. Her eyes were dragged away from the smirking human to Ido, who had sat up and pulled his shirt back over his head from where it had been laid out to dry. He stood and gave a slight bow to Carson as he came to stand next to her and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "My Lord, can we help you with anything?" 

 

"No, I was just on a ride with my horse - " He pointed to where a horse was grazing on the hill above them, "- when I saw something most interesting. Does your fiancee Resa know about this, this friendship?" The smile on Carson's mouth was cruel, enjoying the chaos for the sheer sake of chaos. 

 

Ido's face blanched and his grip of Atlas' shoulder tightened. She knew that the marriage was an arranged one, Resa being a human girl who ran the bakery on the main road, Ido's human mother having arranged the match. 'Help prove your respectability' she had reasoned, though the two in the partnership were merely friends. Ido stepped forwards and said "Carson, please, I wasn't doing anything. There's nothing to tell Resa, is there?" 

 

The smile on Carson's face only sharpened as he shrugged. "I can tell her anything I want, can't I? I've always enjoyed watching her walk around town. Perhaps she'll come to bake in my kitchen?" He glanced between them, then turned and started walking back up the hill. "Enjoy the rest of your day." His tone was light even as Ido's grip on her shoulder started to hurt. She shrugged out of it, but Ido only took that as an incentive to start forwards and pull Carson's shoulder so that he spun around.

 

"Don't, don't threaten Resa. Don't touch her." The intensity in Ido's eyes was frightening, even compared to the ugly anger that twisted its way across Carson's face. 

 

"Don't - touch - me -" Carson hissed out, before he raised a hand and slapped it down across Ido's face. "I do what I want here, son of someone. Your father couldn't be asked to spend even a portion of his long life with you, could he? Pity." And he slapped Ido again, leaving two red marks on his right cheek. Ido's jaw was clenched, his fists tight, but he stood there with his back straight even as Carson slapped him again.

 

The ringing of the slap stopped echoing in Atlas' brain and she started forwards, one hand extended. "Carson, Carson, stop it!" The last words came out stronger than she expected and the other two turned to face her - one with mild bemusement and the other pleading with her to stop. Carson looked directly at her, eyes glittering cold, and he slowly raised his hand, before slapping Ido again.

 

Something snapped inside her and she spat out an insult, something bubbling inside that lent power to her voice, echoing even as she spoke. Carson flew back from Ido by an invisible force, landing on his front even as he clutched his head in his hands, three lines of blood painting the back of his thin tunic. He struggled up to his knees, eyes bloodshot with anger. "I'll get you. I'll get both of you," he hissed, before stumbling to his feet and running towards his horse. Ido and Atlas watched as he hauled his way onto the creature and started galloping back into Torca. 

 

When he had dissapeared over the hill Ido collapsed to his knees, his cheekbone already beginning to bruise. He swore under his breath and Atlas moved forwards to wrap an arm around his shoulders. 

[Infinity.Creates]

Am I nearly a week late? Am I starting in the last challenge of the year? Am I writing this as the literal end of the day? If the answer is yes to all of above, congratulations, I have started as everyone else is finishing. But have no fear, the fact that you have started at all is good, and your progress shall be exciting. Carve your own path, and that is how you shall be remembered.

 

To start back after maybe a year of being away (geez, has it really been so long?), I'm with the Assassins, because I want to focus on movement and martial arts and sneaky things. I'm nearly at the end of my term of university, which has been really fun, and actually really good for all of my habits, but now is the time to crack down and create something sustainable and more than happenstance. My main focus' will be my sleep schedule and making time for the Bible, so in concrete terms, it will be :

 

#1 - Sleep before 12 x5 a week

#2 - Wake by 8 x5 a week

#3 - Don't eat after 9 x5 a week

#4 - Attend all lectures & seminars

#5 - Read the Bible once a day, and memorise the verse for the week each day.

 

If I defeat all of these then I shall reward myself with some new Dungeons & Dragons die. If I fail, then I shall reduce my weekly budget by £10 for a month. If I achieve something in the middle I'll figure something out  Right now though, I'm just going to get started!

[Loveable_Bouncer]

The story you share caught my attention!

However, staying once more for a fellow student and needing a good influence on maybe getting a better bedtime in the future  

[lucky fire dragon]

following  what movements do you like to play with? 

[Infinity.Creates]

13 hours ago, LovelyBouncer said:

The story you share caught my attention!

However, staying once more for a fellow student and needing a good influence on maybe getting a better bedtime in the future  

Ahh, the ever elusive bedtime for a student. I know at three people in my flat of 10 are basically nocturnal at this point. The struggle for me is that I have so many societies, and they end between 9 and 11pm. They also often start at 6, and I don't feel like eating before then, and eating after is what I'm trying to stop. I've accepted the fact that my wake up has moved forward by an hour, just because of that schedule, but I can still tell I'm not sleeping enough ....

 

1 hour ago, lucky fire dragon said:

following  what movements do you like to play with? 

Heyooo. Currently, I'm walking ~5km a day, across campus or into town or around for photography. Some days are a lot less, due to time or energy, some I hit 15k, just cause of my to-do list. I also do Wing Chun every Thursday (a friend introduced me and I'm really loving it), and K-pop dance every Monday. I want to do some cycling trips, and I know when the weather gets warmer I'm going to be swimming in the sea on the weekends (I love the ocean so much). Hopefully next term I'll be able to build yoga or stretching into my morning routine, along with a personal Wing Chun practise, by my morning just aren't structured enough yet (partially because I'm waking up in a rush)

[Infinity.Creates]

I've got four essays due in on the 14th of December. I'm not too worried about them, though I've got to start getting concrete words down and not just faff around with the reading. My main issue is socials.

 

Ahh, socials, those university demands. I'm normally out for three evenings a week, but this week I have something on every single night, from this Sunday night all the way to next Saturday. I think I'm going to cancel the Monday and the Saturday one, just so I don't get so socially exhausted. I like hanging out with people, but small talk is draining, and I do have deadlines. 

 

The other fear is that I want to pick up the drama society next term, to do one of their plays. However, everyone warns that it is a massive time commitment, and I'm already in seven societies. I know this is first year and the grades don't technically count, and the drama is only for one term because I miss it so much and I really want to do it, but I'm mildly worried for my mental health in the future. But these are all things I'm absolutely passionate about, and they are worth doing the impossible for. 

 

I'm just glad I also have amazing friends already who will stick with me and keep my head screwed on

 

As for the challenge, I can already tell that going to sleep early will be a challenge, and so is Bible reading. This second one is because I need more structure for it, I need to make a space timetabled into my day, and I don't have anything scheduled except for specific events, or my lectures. As these aren't consistent day to day, but I want the Bible reading to be, I need to find a pinning point, a time slot to read the Bible every day. Stay tuned for experimentation.

[lucky fire dragon]

sounds like you need Hermione's time turner

 

Drama is such fun, but yes a big time consumer. Can you cut down on the other societies? The impossible is possible for short term only, it makes sense you thinking ahead here, even if it means some sacrifices.

 

[Infinity.Creates]

6 hours ago, lucky fire dragon said:

sounds like you need Hermione's time turner

 

Drama is such fun, but yes a big time consumer. Can you cut down on the other societies? The impossible is possible for short term only, it makes sense you thinking ahead here, even if it means some sacrifices.

 

I did always want the ability to turn back time, but imagine the headache of trying not to meet yourself?!

 

I think I'll probably have to cut out Wing Chun and Christian Union - though I'll still go to the small groups and to church. That way only Monday and Wednesday evenings are taken up, but we shall see what my schedule will look like. Especially considering I want to get a job as well ....  

[Infinity.Creates]

I realised yesterday that I may have unconciously broken my sugar cravings and tolerance and need for it.

I went to a Carol Service with some friends and then we decided to go for dessert together, because there was a deals for waffles on. I had a quarter of a waffle from two of them, totaling half a waffle, and man I could feel that sugar kick in. I was talking twice the speed I normally do, with a lot less of a filter. (From the few times I've gotten drunk, I remember that I was aware enough to try and compensate. With sugar, it was just energy) I remember going to that place nearer to the beginning of the term and having a whole waffle to myself, with half the side effects. 

I remember craving chocolate on some of the earlier weeks, but now, twelve weeks in, I fancy the occasional chocolate biscuit (wow that makes me sound so British), but I definitely couldn't eat the amount I used to. Or I could, but I would feel the effects a lot stronger.

 

I also realised that I've lost a bit of weight since coming to uni, probably because I'm fully in charge of cooking my own meals, and only my own, so they tend to be smaller portions and with more vegetables. Also, because I can't just buy whatever I want from Aldi due to budgeting and no parents to cajole, I don't have nearly as many snacks just lying around, so I'm only really eating my main meals. And I'm also doing intermittent fasting (though that one is more because I don't have time before my lectures for breakfast because I wake up without enough time, and then I just don't head into the kitchen until lunch), so those are all probable contributing factors. 

 

Now to pray that I can maintain this when I go back home, I'm no longer cooking, and there's Christmas sweets everywhere .... (Good thing that's not for another two weeks, I'm gonna have to plann)

[Elastigirl]

Yay for breaking the sugar cravings. That will help over Christmas break.Even if you end up eating more sweets thann you planned, your tolerance is lower, so  you will eat less. Though, f you are like me, January you will probably have to re-train yourself.

[WhiteGhost]

On 12/2/2018 at 2:19 AM, Infinity.Creates said:

I'm with the Assassins, because I want to focus on movement and martial arts and sneaky things.

Yay for sneaky things  

 

Also, congratulations on breaking the chains of the sugar slaver!

[Infinity.Creates]

On 12/6/2018 at 9:17 PM, Elastigirl said:

f you are like me, January you will probably have to re-train yourself.

If it only takes January, I will be very happy

But I think I'll ask my family for accountability and hope that I have the energy to cook some of my own meals. Though I'm definitely looking forwards to not shopping on such a tight budget (I just wanna buy some of the more expensive vegetables, and some seafood. Oh salmon how I miss you.)

 

2 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Yay for sneaky things  

Also, congratulations on breaking the chains of the sugar slaver!

 

It helps that I mainly wear black, right?  

Now just to keep those chains off and keep moving forward!

[Infinity.Creates]

I'm taking a break from all this essay writing. I was going to do an update yesterday, but that fell through with vague panic and lots of essay planning and reading. 

I've got one essay due in on thursday and three more due in on friday. A total of 6.6k words to submit this week. I've gotten 1k through yesterday, but I have another 1.5k to do this afternoon, then 2.5k tomorrow, then 1.3k on thursday, along with edits each morning. 

Eek.

i honestly need to learn to never do this to myself again because it destroys me for the whole week, and I know the quality of what i'm producing is really not as good as it could possibly be.

Admittedly, this is first year, so all I need to do is pass, and all I need to do for that is write on the topic for the word count. But even that is a bit of a struggle sometimes. And if its worth doing, its worth doing well, but I procrastinate until the last week and a half, so its impossible to do that well.

 

I also just haven't been a normal level of hungry these past few days, probably due to recovering from a mild bout of a cold, but it means I've been eating later than I want to, and so go to bed late, and so wake up late, and then start the day late. But eating earlier is rejected by my body, and I'm just not hungry enough to eat anything I should. 

But I'm just gonna get through this week and then see where everything is at again.

[lucky fire dragon]

All good insights and hopefully helpful for the future but probably not really right now. Sorry you're in this

*hugs*

 

[Infinity.Creates]

1 hour ago, lucky fire dragon said:

All good insights and hopefully helpful for the future but probably not really right now. Sorry you're in this

*hugs*

 

*hugs back*

 

Well, it's my own fault that I'm in my mess, so I'm dealing with the consequences. I'm halfway through my essay for today, and it's already 5pm. But I need it done today so I can do my essay on free will and neuroscience tomorrow. Thankfully, I also have Friday morning to review and edit them all, before they're due in at 3pm. After that, wooop, christmasssssss. Nothing to think or worry about till January comes around again!

[lucky fire dragon]

It's just that it could be totally my situation as well if I were to study  at school last minute jobs worked out well, later on... not so much.

 

Those are interesting topics though! Wouldn't mind having a peek at the free will and neuroscience essay  

 

Holidays are a lovely goal to spur on for. Go go go Infinity! 

[Infinity.Creates]

6 minutes ago, lucky fire dragon said:

It's just that it could be totally my situation as well if I were to study  at school last minute jobs worked out well, later on... not so much.

 

Those are interesting topics though! Wouldn't mind having a peek at the free will and neuroscience essay  

 

Holidays are a lovely goal to spur on for. Go go go Infinity! 

 

I'm just too used to being able to wing it and still get good marks, and the lessons I learned in A level seem to have not stuck in. (Then again, those were for exam revision and there's a reason I'm only doing modules without exams now ) 

Each topic is pretty interesting, but I just don't have enough time to research them in enough detail to really get into why I love it. I'm writing four essays (well, I've written two now), the first on normative philosophy in debates of politics, the second on whether children have a right to love, or merely to desirable care, the third is on whether or not society still has mythology, and the last is on whether or not neuroscience has proved that there is no free will. Each is interesting, but I feel like im underselling myself with how rushed they are, which is also making me not enjoy writing them or enjoy the process. 

[lucky fire dragon]

Bummer, but no reason to not keep at exploring all those things after your essays some more. Just for your own sake  They're such big topics that it's hard to squeeze into one essay anyway.

 

Keep rocking, I won't distract you anymore today  

[Infinity.Creates]

4 minutes ago, lucky fire dragon said:

Keep rocking, I won't distract you anymore today  

 

Don't worry, you're stopping my brain from melting

[WhiteGhost]

15 hours ago, Infinity.Creates said:

the first on normative philosophy in debates of politics, the second on whether children have a right to love, or merely to desirable care, the third is on whether or not society still has mythology, and the last is on whether or not neuroscience has proved that there is no free will

Wow, that is some deep stuff right there.  Very interesting

[Infinity.Creates]

1 hour ago, WhiteGhost said:

Wow, that is some deep stuff right there.  Very interesting

I love philosophy, so these are all really interesting to talk about, they're just very rushed, which is putting a heavy strain on my enjoyment and I don't have enough for the wordcount

[Infinity.Creates]

I'm DONE with essays for this year. 

That crazy week is finally over, and I spent two hours cooking this gorgeous lasagne (probably not that long but you know), and then hung out with some friends in the media center then went to McD with other friends, then played card games, then played some Mass Effect 3. Some nice relaxing, and I went on a proper walk for the first time in a week. 

As for all my challenges, they sort of got dropped over the course of the week in the desperate hope to make my essay writing as best as possible. And now half of the goals will have to change because my situation has also completely changed. I think I'll get something new up by Sunday, maybe with a story post - depends on how bored I feel tomorrow, or whether I spend most of my time with friends.

 

[lucky fire dragon]

Congrats on finishing the essays!

What lovely relax time
curious to see what you will come up with now
Doesn't sound like a headstart on any future essays is the plan for now [emoji14]

Enjoy the breather!

[WhiteGhost]

Way to get those essays knocked out.  I always loved that feeling of freedom after all of the big assignments got finished for the semester

[Infinity.Creates]

On 12/15/2018 at 5:39 AM, lucky fire dragon said:

Congrats on finishing the essays!

What lovely relax time
curious to see what you will come up with now
Doesn't sound like a headstart on any future essays is the plan for now

Enjoy the breather!

Well, I kinda want to get a headstart due to not wanting to feel that stress again, but I won't know any of my essay questions until term starts next year. Instead, I have three philosophy books to read, each which I'm very excited to look at. One is the Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader, another is the meditations of marcus aurelius antoninus, and the last is tolstoy's essays on art. Can you tell I'm excited to study my module of the philosophy of aesthetics and art?

 

On 12/15/2018 at 6:40 AM, WhiteGhost said:

Way to get those essays knocked out.  I always loved that feeling of freedom after all of the big assignments got finished for the semester

The sigh of relief once you get them all done is real . Everything seems so much brighter and easier:P

But it does leave you in a flux of feeling adrift and anxious about not doing anything