Chaos Cartel Exercise Challenge

The Chaos Cartel Exercise Challenge, also commonly known as just "the Exercise Challenge," is a challenge that was issued to all Tome Knights for the first time in November of 2024. The Chaos Cartel is officially claiming responsibility. A number of Glitter-coated flyers were scattered over the various Seats of Power of The Great Houses in the form of paper airplanes that randomly appeared out of nowhere. People who picked up the airplanes and unfolded them read the following text:

Chaos Cartel Exercise Challenge!

Welcome to the Chaos Cartel exercise challenge! How is this not a Self Care Mafia thing, you might ask? Well, in the first place, I made it up, and in the second, keeping the body as healthy as you can is important to maintaining happiness and finding your bliss. You need to have physical energy to create chaos! More importantly, did you know how necessary physical exercise is to maintain your mental health? I didn't, and I've been pretty physically active in my life, especially for a writer. But it was one of the things I was directed to do as part of my therapy. I'd allowed myself to lapse on that, especially being exhausted all the time from not getting enough sleep. But even if you know what that's like, which I know many of you do, did you know that if you exercise at least every couple of days or so, you'll sleep more? And better? I didn't, but guess what? It works! Any hey, let's face it; no one needs more help with our mental health than the Chaos Cartel *wink* We spend a lot of time in our chairs, so I want to help us get our butts moving. Not a lot, I promise. Don't worry, this isn't Bodyguard Boot Camp. To fulfill the assignment, you just have to do some level of physical activity for at least 10-15 minutes in a day for it to count. It doesn't have to be weightlifting or a marathon. Just some physical activity. I promise I'll have options for all levels of ability, too. Even if you walk with a cane or are confined to a wheelchair, there's exercise you can do to get the blood moving through the body, and that's the only goal. To make it fun for you, I'm going to offer you badges:

You get a badge just for participating

You get another for doing exercise for 5 days out of the month

You get another for doing exercise for 10 days out of the month

You get another for doing exercise 25 days out of the month

Bonus round for managing all 30 days!

I'll give you lots of options, too, because believe me, I know all too well that one of the reasons people don't exercise is that it can be BORING. But you've come to the right place! We're the Chaos Cartel! I promise you I will offer you lots of very un-boring options and ideas. Are you game? Then let's get started!

Those who accepted the challenge received badges as promised, once they had recorded the results of their challenge on the paper airplane, folded it back up, and tossed it into the air, whereupon it vanished. The badges later magically appeared under the recipients' pillows. The Exercise Challenge was since re-issued in a similar fashion at the Tourney of Tales April 2025, and seems likely to continue in this fashion for each Tourney and Word War.

Execution

The flip side of the paper airplanes were printed with the following text:

Suggested Exercises

A short walk

Do the dishes

Weights routine

Go for a run

Yoga routine (wheelchair and chair friendly) (let me help you; I made a video for my book and you can find it here. Also here’s a chair yoga video.)

Tai chi (here's a helpful video for that too; and another one if you prefer.)

Katas

Combat sports

Go up and down the stairs for 10 minutes

Aerobics

Pilates

Squats

Belly dancing

Dance like an idiot; no one is going to see!

Mall walking - walk briskly through a shopping mall for 10 minutes

Take a dance lesson

Climb trees

Sit ups

Paintball or laser tag

Rock climbing

Wall climbing

Play with the pets or the kids

Ice skating, roller skating, skateboarding

Snowboarding or skiing

Clean the garage, attic, or storage

Clean out the cupboards or clean the bathroom (hey, you gotta do it anyway)

Go physically to the grocery store, do the shopping, put the groceries away

Simple stretches

Push ups

Yard work

Weeding and gardening

Paint your fence (I found this was, in fact, an amazing amount of exercise)

Window shopping through your downtown core

Park the car and walk to where you're going

Stroll through the park

Go to the waterslides

Hit the farmer's market or a Ren Faire; you've gotta walk to get to the stalls

Snowball or water balloon fight!

Jump in the leaves

Sledding

Exercise bike/stairmaster/nordic track etc.

Hit the club and actually dance

Go for a bike ride - if you don't own a bike, most cities have rentals now as part of the public transportation

Take the bus for your commute; you'll usually end up walking some distance

Wheelchair racing (okay, safely!)

Physiotherapy

Chairmaster! (get up from the chair, sit down in the chair; rinse and repeat)

Pretend you're swimming on your waterbed

Airband!

Wiggle and shake (nobody's watching)

Musical chairs

Bake bread (kneading dough is physical work!)

Get a Slinky and watch it roll downstairs (then you gotta go fetch it before you can do it again)

Nature hike

Make snow angels (not just for snow)

Bed routine; do what you can while on your back! Includes sit ups, leg lifts, cane presses, stretching, and more

Casual sportsball game with friends

Do the laundry

Twister

Find a wall and play catch with yourself

Go to one of those axe-throwing places

Dance Dance Revolution

Juggling or hacky-sack

Hit the fair! Between walking to rides and tossing balls or shooting to get prizes, it definitely counts

Trampoline

Bouncy castle

Hopscotch

Sort the recycling

Take the kids to the park - push them on the swings and merry-go-round

Public pool or lake

Go fishing - you gotta row and cast

Walk the dog

Mini golf

Go to a playground at night and see if you can still swing and climb the monkey bars

Build a snowfort

Tour a museum or historical site

Go to a national, state, or provincial park (there's always walking you have to do there!)

Explore a BIG library

Sexy time! (grown-ups only)

Build something

Give your partner a good massage

Drop in on a martial arts lesson or yoga class

Want to change it up? Gamify it! Challenge yourself to go a minute longer with the walk every day; to take different routes; to climb one more stair every time you do a stairwell, to push to lifting gradually heavier weights, and so on. Make sure to reward yourself for your accomplishments. Don't want it to be a sugary treat? It can be anything. I like scratch-and-sniff stickers with positive words, like we used to get in grade school. Or make it retail therapy; promise to get yourself something you've been wanting if you achieve a certain workout goal. Or walk to a location you've been really wanting to see; the trip to the thing is the reward, and the walk is the exercise. Not enough? Make it a competition! Challenge a friend to beat your time or total! Above all, be safe, keep moving, and have fun! Good luck!