Smack the alarm. It's 0600.

Brush the teeth. Two applications of toothpaste. Waiting until after breakfast was for plebes.

Mouthwash. Thirty seconds or bust. Rinse with water after, because Listerine does it right but is a little strong.

Twenty minutes on the Internet. Get the news. See what's happening.

Remind yourself that you're a free man.

Remind yourself that the Lie wants you think you are.

Thirty in cardio. Then upper body one day, legs the next. The Supernal is the Self. Sweat it out and chant it like a mantra.

Remind yourself that you used to smoke until recently, and that was a fucking stupid play if you wanted cardio to suck less. Prison habits reinforce the Lie. The self wars eternally, but this was one war a Nicorette patch was sure as hell going to help him win.

Massage out the knot in your glute by sitting on a lacrosse ball. The Supernal doesn't need a butt cramp.

Fry up bacon. Sausage. Do up a little toast. Look at the orange juice and remind yourself you don't need the calories.

Water. So much water. In your mouth. On your body. Shower. Self-purification is Essential, and it's tough to purify your soul when you smell awful.

Eight a.m.. Time is a Lie, and you've got a gym job to get to for nine. Resist the urge to spend the hour opening a portal to your closet. Guardians of the Veil get uppity when you use vulgar magic for no fucking reason, and it isn't worth getting in shit.

Remind yourself that traffic is worse than seg.

Remind yourself that nothing is worse than seg.

Move the broom. Be polite. Be thankful someone decided to give your ass a shot. Service is Mastery, and mopping piss off a fitness center bathroom floor (how did it get there?) counts as serving people, right?

Hate your job. Remind yourself you shouldn't have preferences. An Arrow should be able to be a janitor one day and a general the next.

Wonder why you're even bothering, when you could steal whatever the fuck you wanted.

Remind yourself that you changed your life when you Awakened. Remind yourself that you're no convict anymore, that you damn sure mean to be better than you were yesterday and the day before.

Ignore the part of you that whispers that a throne would be so much better than this.