The morning after Landell left me to my thought's life felt completely different. I couldn't help but feel bad for Lauren, life had different plans for us whether she liked it or not. We had a long conversation with her over breakfast, Osiris was making promises about how we will come to visit her after we do, "Awesome training stuff," as he put in his own words. Even so, I did intend to keep that promise, she helped us all this time and taught us the essentials of potions and planting herbs and the importance of botany for future use. It's certainly helped us from time to time. Osiris was oddly optimistic and excited, but I still couldn't get the fog that was clouding my brain out of my head. Lauren's demeanor eventually let up and turned back after several hours of morning tears and lots of " It'll be okay," from both Osiris and me.
Having the presence of mana has altered the way I touch things. Last night I had to completely cover my body in cold water in the bath before going into bed. Everything was so unbelievably hot; it was horrible, and it was still like this. I didn't know how to fix it. I thought having Ice magic would make me really cold all the time. I think Landell forgot to mention how much it sucked having mana and magical affinities. On top of that, it wasn't just me who was having problems with day-to-day life. Osiris was thinking that everything was very cold, and he had to cover up in 4 extra blankets for the past four days just to keep himself warm while inside and going to sleep. This was obviously due to our opposite affinities for magic, anyone with a brain could figure that out. Since Osiris had fire and I had ice, there had to be something in the middle that we could both do in order to make us comfortable. I needed to have Osiris and I sit down and start getting our palm magic figured out.
There were moments throughout the day when I felt like I was normal, but the majority of the time I was always feeling ill, and things that were near me were excruciatingly hot and it was unbearable. By midday, I had run to the lake and was sweating bullets, and just jumped straight in from the heat taking over my body. Until I felt like I couldn't take it anymore, and as I went underwater, I opened my eyes and saw ice start caving in around me. bubbles flew out of my mouth, but no words or sound came to form them since I was underwater, and I swam quickly towards the surface. This wasn't good, the longer we waited I felt the more this sort of thing would occur around Osiris and me. The only hope I had was that Osiris wasn't currently burning the house down with Lauren inside of it. We needed to get training and fast.
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A few days had passed and I was lucky enough to have found a way to get some form of my own mana dispersed in a tiny controlled area. Lauren got upset though since it took me so long because I had broken the tub while taking a bath merely just by sitting in it too long. My mana was able to infuse itself into the small wooden cracks that the tub had collected over several years of use. To my embarrasment, I was forced to have a heated conversation with Lauren about how she'll need to have a contractor come to the house and build a new bathtub while I was in only a towel. That was the last straw for her, the only other problems that I've caused were blankets being ruined from ice either protruding out of my hands or feet while sleeping. It's easy to say my powers need to have a on and off lever. I needed to produce a way to turn my mana on and off, or at least limit it from appearing when doing everyday tasks. And I was going to attempt to do just that. In the three days of being in the dark with how to control, I forced myself to stay outside all day and work on this one problem. I didn't want to be a bomb waiting to explode anymore and Landell said I could die if i don't work on this so that's another benefactor to my plan.
Inside of Duria, there are certain things that are rare natural, or man-made resources. In our shanty town we are known for the production of cattle and lamb, and several other things like botany and potion production thanks to Lauren's beautiful gardens. Though for other places for example, Icarus, a native land to a lesser known people. Ice is formed by the boat loads. Their community exports items that keeps things cold for many nations across the country. Ice boxes, ice cubs, anti-inflammatory creams made out of shaven ice shards infused with magic and herbs only grown up in the Iceland of Icarus. Icarian people also receive aid from towns and nations like us here to provide transportation of such frail cargo. Now my idea is, I could make myself try and learn how to make ice cubes. They are rare here and next to impossible to keep for longer than a few days. Transporting Ice cubes from Icarus is not easy either and lots of missed deliveries are commonplace. My goal for the day. Make an Ice cube. Just one, and that could set my life in easy mode, I could become the ice cube seller for my town and everyone can enjoy a cold glass of water produced by myself. Simple right? No, not it's not.
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Throughout the land there are many different resources that are capable of only being produced strictly within certain areas. For example, our local area is known for it's exportation of cattle and lamb and the meat that they are capable of feeding us with. Not only that, cheese is a big export locally from the cows that are held within. Another area that has a unique geographic resource that I've only heard of through rumors and merchants who bring their wares from all across the globe is Icarus. From what I've gathered purely from eavesdropping is they are a native people to that land who have lived there for as long as time, but are well trained in cultivating herbs and ice formations that grow rampantly since the temperatures there are well below average all year. Nobody knows how big their village or city is, but it's been said they don't have very much even though they are the only place capable of selling ice and sending it long distances. The Icarian people is where I'm getting my idea from, what's interesting about them is they cultivate ice, clean it and send it all throughout Duria. Towns pay for creating carrying devices to attempt to keep the ice cold, and other items that require to stay in frigid temperatures to stay active and remain useful. A well known item that is used commonly in these parts imported from Icarus is anti-inflammatory cream that helps with muscle aches and can be used on any life form. Cows and humans alike both have tough times with muscle aches and pains so their work is greatly appreciated up in Icarus.
Icarus is the reason why I feel like doing this training could become a real beneficial power in my lifetime. Ice cubes could be my main stream wealth one day, If I learn to control my mana after training and get to where I can form a small cube in my hand or on the ground in front of me. I will be a millionaire. Ice is next to impossible to get to town since the weather here is much more tropical than it is in Icarus and since it's so far away, keeping the Ice cold long enough is quite the challenge. Cold beverages are a commodity here and that is now my newfound dream that I have come up with if I don't turn up with any other better ideas. Tudor's Ice shop. Better than Tudor the Ice God.
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There is a path from Laurens house that leads to town, though about halfway there is a fork in the road and if you take the opposite direction away from town. You can find yourself at a small pond of on the right side down a rocky slope. In total the trek is about two miles long and is a solid forty five minute walk if you enjoy your time and hold a slow and steady pace. The pond is where I was going today. I'm damn near useless at home and so is Osiris, I was laying in my bed reading another book about a legendary hero, before I told Osiris my plan for the day.
"I am sick of feeling like garbage all the time, I'm going to go to the pond and try and see if I can make some magic happen. Literally."
He wasn't even laying in his bed but I saw his curly hair poke out from behind the bed side and then only his eyes. Osiris hadn't slept and I could see it, one eye closed before the other when he blinked.
" I am a zombie, I need sleep. Good luck. Bring me food when you come back."
"I guess I could do that, if I don't explode into an icicle."
Before I even got that all out, snoring was shaking the house. Finally he got some shut eye. I know exactly how he felt, these powers are not seeming to be worth all the physical issues we've had to deal with. Which is exactly why I have become determined to find a way to get rid of these ailments by any means necessary.
I hopped out of bed and grabbed a small satchel and packed it with a few shirts that I knew I was going to need. Once packed I put on my shoes and headed downstairs. Lauren I'm sure was already up and doing her daily garden tending. I ran into the pantry and grabbed a few apples and filled a leather bladder up with water before leaving the house. It was hot, and I needed to stay in the shade. In the last few days I have been able to learn at least a little about why I always felt like my bodies temperature gauge was broken. Shade brings it back to normal or at least better than hot or too cold. I found that out after Lauren gave me her large tan gardening hat after I damn near thought I might pass out from heat exhaustion. I wore the hat for the rest of the day and anytime I took it off I felt nauseous.
Since then I haven't been outside much and anytime I do go outside during the day, I bring a cover up or something to make sure my face is out of the rays from the sun.