Endurance Test (2/2)

Writers: Avery, Francesca, Halyonix, Heather, Hunter
Date Posted: 6th June 2025

Characters: Tolna, Cidra, Serisa, Chalzie, Noreia, Tolnira, Shonjir, Ceivarre
Description: The junior apprentices take a diagnostic swimming test.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 8, day 6 of Turn 12

Tolna

Cidra

Serisa

Ceivarre watched the attempts of those before her, and had been about
to volunteer when she was cut off. She then snorted in contempt when
she saw Cidra have to switch to the backstroke, and then her pitiable
attempt to come back in and instead get dumped out. **Shows what she
knows!**

When she was called, she struck out into the water at an initial pace
that might have looked slow to the people on shore, but was sensibly
planned. She wanted to know the status of the currents and waves, what
they _felt_ like against the body. A sea that looked smooth could have
undertows, a sea that was choppy could be caused by wind creating
waves along the top but be smooth underneath, or could be powered by
deeper currents.

Once she had the sense of it, Ceivarre continued a forward stroke to
the first buoy. To tread water, she kept her legs going steadily but
barely used her arms, showing off her skill. Then when the buoy
dolphineer marked time elapsed, she set off at a faster stroke to the
second buoy..

She nodded at Chalzie when she reached the breath-holding buoy. This
was going to be the easiest part. She’d practiced long dives in the
lagoon at home every day. She could hold her breath longer than men
who had been divers for 10 Turns. She took a deep breath and sunk
under the surface.

Swimming was nice. Being underwater was better. It was hard to resist
the urge to dive all the way down to the seafloor and press herself to
the sand, but she did go down enough below the surface that she wasn’t
subject to the push-pull of the surface. It was a kind of active
moving meditation for her, to gently scull while holding her breath,
challenging her lungs to hold just a little longer, a mix of a moment
of peace and challenge. It felt like she’d barely gotten started when
she was tapped on the shoulder to rise.

“That’s time? I barely noticed,” she said.

From there, it was simple to swim back to the first buoy to tread
water again, this time with a breaststroke just to vary it up. She
showed off by doing this treading water primarily with her arms and
not legs, the reverse of the first time. Then it was back to shore.

“And _that’s_ how a Leeward Lagoon diver does it!” she declared upon
arriving on shore, grinning fiercely. And if there was a bit of burn
from having chosen to work just some muscle groups during parts of
showing off, well…she wasn’t going to admit it.

Watching the other apprentices go hadn’t done much to lessen Serisa’s
anxiety. When the Master of Apprentices called her, she stood up,
automatically checking her braids to make sure they were secure.

Serisa got in the water and began swimming, keeping her pace slow.
Treading water at the first buoy wasn’t too hard, so she picked up
speed while swimming to the second buoy.

“I’ll tap your shoulder when you get to thirty seconds,” Chalzie said
when Serisa arrived, hour glass ready to go. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Serisa took two slow breaths in preparation, then a final breath
before going under. **One, two, three…” She quickly lost count, her
mind jumping all over the place. She tried to focus. **I’m here. I’m
doing it. It’s fine.** But as the seconds passed, she began to panic,
feeling like she needed to breathe. She tried to hang on but, almost
unconsciously, resurfaced, taking gasps of air.

Chalzie quickly grabbed her, pulling her to the buoy so she could rest
for a moment. “You’re ok. You almost did it.”

Serisa watched the final grains of sand fall, showing her just how
close she had come. Her breaths slowed as she calmed down.

“You can try again or swim back,” Chalzie said. “Either is ok.”

Serisa wanted to be strong and try again, but she was tired and the
thought of getting under the water again was unimaginable at the
moment. She shook her head. “I’m heading back.”

Luckily, the rest of the test was uneventful. When she was back on the
beach, her legs shaking, she felt defeated. She sat down heavily,
pretending to watch the apprentices still in the water as she tried
not to cry.

Tolnira gave Serisa an encouraging pat on the back. “You did fine,”
she told her friend. Then, in a lower voice, “Cidra was in worse
shape.”

The words weren’t particularly encouraging, but Serisa appreciated the
effort and gave her friend a small smile.

Noreia had been watching calmly and now felt even more certain that
she could pass the test. Luck made a soft chirrup of encouragement.
With a nod to Tolna, she slipped into the water and began swimming.
Unlike the other apprentices, Noreia focused on keeping her strokes
effortless to conserve her strength. Luck flew over her head, singing
encouragement, but she sent a quick request for silence so that she
could concentrate.

First buoy, first treading. Done. She swam on.

Second buoy, hold breath. Done. She swam on.

She could feel the burn in her shoulders but pushed through it. She
let her legs do most of the lifting for the next treading water. She
swam back to shore and surprised herself by wading out of the water,
still feeling like she had strength to expend. Luck could not help
himself and crowed proudly, flying circles around her while she took
in great breaths.

When it was his turn, Shonjir hit the water with barely a splash, arms
slicing cleanly through the surface as he began the familiar path
between the buoys. He swam at an easy pace, not fast, not slow, just
enough, arms cutting through the water. At the first buoy, he tread
water smoothly, breathing in long, measured draws, eyes half-lidded as
he watched the clouds shift above. No hurry. No pressure.

By the time he reached the second buoy, his thoughts had already
drifted far from the test - toward the stone pens back home, the
bellow of beasts, the heat of dust in his nose. He hadn’t missed it.
Not once. The sea didn’t ask much of him. No expectations, no
inheritance, no brothers with sharper minds and straighter backs.
Shonjir dipped beneath the surface, counting slow heartbeats in his
head as the quiet wrapped around him like a blanket. Thirty seconds,
forty, a minute passed, then halfway through another before he let
himself float to the surface and fill his lungs. Hardly a challenge
but why push harder when this was already more than enough? At the
first buoy once more he tread water with the same lazy rhythm,
watching a fire lizard wheel overhead. Then, the final stretch. A few
strong strokes to shore where he stepped out the water, dripping and
unbothered. Another box ticked.

“Good job, all of you,” Tolna told the group. While there had been a
few tense moments, no one was completely hopeless. Some of the
apprentices would need to do some extra work to increase their stamina
though. “I’ll be following up with each of you to talk about where you
are and activities to help you keep improving. For now though, go
relax.”

With a final smile, picked up her towel and headed to her office. She
wanted to organize her notes from the test immediately, so she didn’t
forget anything. And then, maybe a quick swim before dinner.

Last updated on the June 13th 2025

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Endurance Test (2/2)