Vhalar 26, 706 - Age 15
Torqin awoke before sunrise, as he did every day now for as long as he could remember. Crawling out of bed, the Lotharro boy settled into his usual routine. He crept from his bed, stood up at his full height, growing like a reed these days. He was already as tall as his father, and it seemed as if there was still more to go. The boy stretched, enjoying the cracking in his joints, groaning in satisfaction. He was always a morning person, and immediately settled into bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, getting ready for his chores. Stepping out of his room, he saw his dad's door was closed. He must've gone out early. Likely to travel to another city and pick out some new steeds to bring back. When Torqin was too young to handle the animals on his own, he'd go with his father on the travels, but now he did his father's job instead.
Torq ate a quick breakfast of cornbread, fried fish, and pear cider. Then he moved out into the yard, enjoying the crisp foggy air. They kept their yard minimalistic, though gardeners and the like might call it barren. The grass was long since eaten and trampled away, leaving dirt. They had a few small trees and shrubbery, to maintain some semblance of privacy. No one enjoyed a nosy neighbor. Or at least this pair of Lotharro didn't. Clad in just a pair of cotton breeches, he felt the cool dirt between his toes.
He walked up to the ash tree at the corner of the yard, and began the morning work out routine. He jumped up, grabbing the lower branch, one he used to not be able to reach until recent arcs. He swapped one of his hands around so that the palm faced him. Then from completely extended arms, he slowly lifted himself up, beginning the first of his dead hang, neutral gripped pull ups. He made sure to keep his ankles crossed, his core taut, and use only his arms, shoulders, and back to pull himself up, using no momentum from swinging. Slow, arduous work, as he raised himself up and down, intentionally lowering himself as slowly as he raised up. Over and over he lifted and dropped, his arms and back bulging, and now glistening in sweat.
Once he finished, he dropped down, and finished the rest of his work out routine. He then walked down to the shore, picking a secluded spot, which wasn't so hard this early in the morning, just as the sun was rising. He bathed quickly, enjoying the slight chill that was beginning to come with the wintry waters. Once dried, he dressed once more, returned home, pulled on the rest of his clothes, laced up his boots, and grabbed his father's pack of tools. He stuck in a lunch, same stuff as breakfast, wrapped in paper, and left the house.
He made his way through town, nodding and smiling at each person he passed, but not stopping to speak to them. This day was like many others, a nice, comfortable routine. And just like any day, the local baker's daughter was tossing dishwater into the gutters in the streets, and as usual her gaze lingered on the teenage boy. He returned a confident smile, and a slightly more personable nod. And just as usual the night fisherman were hauling past, wagons laden with their catch. Everything was nice and normal. The guards at the Aestedia Barony waved him through, no need to stop or search the boy, he'd been coming here since he was knee high to many of them. It was hard to believe he'd grown taller than the lot of them.
Torqin made his way to the stables, stopping before it to stare at it, always impressed by it. They weren't the largest stables in the kingdom, nor the most elegant. But the way their white stone was crafted was efficient, with incredibly focus on longevity, and showing the skill of the sculptor. It was sturdy, strong, clean. And one day, he'd be running them for the Andaris family. He walked in the back entrance, dropping his gear off in his stone locker space, and stepped out into the main thoroughfare. As usually Toddy was there, the newest stable boy. Torqin wasn't sure how he'd gotten the job, but he sure was eager to please. He was always the first one to arrive, and last one to leave, despite being a mere eight arcs. He was busy sweeping the floor, despite it still being nearly pristine from the sweeping he'd given it the night before.
Torq walked up to the boy and rustled his hair, and walked over to the first stall. Before he started any of his chores, he always greeted each steed by name. A pat on the nose, a scratch behind the ears for most. Some of the more irritable ones got a look and a nod, but Torqin figured they'd come around too. He just needed to get to know them better. Once he'd done all of that, he went and raised the dam-lock on the water troughs, and the water poured through, giving all the beasts a crisp drink.
He went and checked the day's list to see who would be getting trained today. Starlet, Corvick, Butter, and Helga. Nodding, he grabbed a bag of grains, and began to pour them into the feed troughs for those four. This would give them more than enough energy for their training. Once that was done, he fetched the first bale of alfalfa hay, carrying the bundle against his chest, as he walked back into the stables, wondering how long until the first owners started showing up, as well as the other workers, such as the horse specific trainers. Some of the Andaris preferred to have a single trainer for their horse. Whatever made them happy, Torqin supposed. Not his place to judge.
Torqin awoke before sunrise, as he did every day now for as long as he could remember. Crawling out of bed, the Lotharro boy settled into his usual routine. He crept from his bed, stood up at his full height, growing like a reed these days. He was already as tall as his father, and it seemed as if there was still more to go. The boy stretched, enjoying the cracking in his joints, groaning in satisfaction. He was always a morning person, and immediately settled into bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, getting ready for his chores. Stepping out of his room, he saw his dad's door was closed. He must've gone out early. Likely to travel to another city and pick out some new steeds to bring back. When Torqin was too young to handle the animals on his own, he'd go with his father on the travels, but now he did his father's job instead.
Torq ate a quick breakfast of cornbread, fried fish, and pear cider. Then he moved out into the yard, enjoying the crisp foggy air. They kept their yard minimalistic, though gardeners and the like might call it barren. The grass was long since eaten and trampled away, leaving dirt. They had a few small trees and shrubbery, to maintain some semblance of privacy. No one enjoyed a nosy neighbor. Or at least this pair of Lotharro didn't. Clad in just a pair of cotton breeches, he felt the cool dirt between his toes.
He walked up to the ash tree at the corner of the yard, and began the morning work out routine. He jumped up, grabbing the lower branch, one he used to not be able to reach until recent arcs. He swapped one of his hands around so that the palm faced him. Then from completely extended arms, he slowly lifted himself up, beginning the first of his dead hang, neutral gripped pull ups. He made sure to keep his ankles crossed, his core taut, and use only his arms, shoulders, and back to pull himself up, using no momentum from swinging. Slow, arduous work, as he raised himself up and down, intentionally lowering himself as slowly as he raised up. Over and over he lifted and dropped, his arms and back bulging, and now glistening in sweat.
Once he finished, he dropped down, and finished the rest of his work out routine. He then walked down to the shore, picking a secluded spot, which wasn't so hard this early in the morning, just as the sun was rising. He bathed quickly, enjoying the slight chill that was beginning to come with the wintry waters. Once dried, he dressed once more, returned home, pulled on the rest of his clothes, laced up his boots, and grabbed his father's pack of tools. He stuck in a lunch, same stuff as breakfast, wrapped in paper, and left the house.
He made his way through town, nodding and smiling at each person he passed, but not stopping to speak to them. This day was like many others, a nice, comfortable routine. And just like any day, the local baker's daughter was tossing dishwater into the gutters in the streets, and as usual her gaze lingered on the teenage boy. He returned a confident smile, and a slightly more personable nod. And just as usual the night fisherman were hauling past, wagons laden with their catch. Everything was nice and normal. The guards at the Aestedia Barony waved him through, no need to stop or search the boy, he'd been coming here since he was knee high to many of them. It was hard to believe he'd grown taller than the lot of them.
Torqin made his way to the stables, stopping before it to stare at it, always impressed by it. They weren't the largest stables in the kingdom, nor the most elegant. But the way their white stone was crafted was efficient, with incredibly focus on longevity, and showing the skill of the sculptor. It was sturdy, strong, clean. And one day, he'd be running them for the Andaris family. He walked in the back entrance, dropping his gear off in his stone locker space, and stepped out into the main thoroughfare. As usually Toddy was there, the newest stable boy. Torqin wasn't sure how he'd gotten the job, but he sure was eager to please. He was always the first one to arrive, and last one to leave, despite being a mere eight arcs. He was busy sweeping the floor, despite it still being nearly pristine from the sweeping he'd given it the night before.
Torq walked up to the boy and rustled his hair, and walked over to the first stall. Before he started any of his chores, he always greeted each steed by name. A pat on the nose, a scratch behind the ears for most. Some of the more irritable ones got a look and a nod, but Torqin figured they'd come around too. He just needed to get to know them better. Once he'd done all of that, he went and raised the dam-lock on the water troughs, and the water poured through, giving all the beasts a crisp drink.
He went and checked the day's list to see who would be getting trained today. Starlet, Corvick, Butter, and Helga. Nodding, he grabbed a bag of grains, and began to pour them into the feed troughs for those four. This would give them more than enough energy for their training. Once that was done, he fetched the first bale of alfalfa hay, carrying the bundle against his chest, as he walked back into the stables, wondering how long until the first owners started showing up, as well as the other workers, such as the horse specific trainers. Some of the Andaris preferred to have a single trainer for their horse. Whatever made them happy, Torqin supposed. Not his place to judge.
