A boy took his dog and his wish,

Ran off to the lake for a fish.

He tripped on his feet,

Ended up all beat,

Now he just hopes for a dish!

Goldie Honorhide

I woke to the smell of cooking fish. It was full daylight, so it was probably lunchtime. My stomach growled, alerting everyone I was awake.

"There is plenty left, lad," Yoboc said, "although Felix and Makara have been stuffing themselves."

"Felix deserves it; I'm not sure about Makara," I said, sitting up. One of them gave me a wag, and the other made a rude gesture. I sat up and looked around. On the lakeshore was the skeleton of a huge fish. It was big enough to have wrapped its teeth around my thigh. Scales were stacked to one side, and some of the bones were beside them, although the jaw was still intact. I took the meat offered by Yoboc and stared at it. "What is it?" I asked.

"It used to be a Northern Pike," Goldie answered from over where she was working on the sled. "However, it was changed and mutated when turned into a monster."

"It was a monster?"

"Aye, lad," Yoboc said. "That monster core there says so. It also belongs to you, as you killed it."

"And half-cooked it," Goldie said.

"Waagh ared you ju?" said Makara with her mouth full.

"I think she asked what you did," Yoboc said. "We are very curious."

"We awoke to a massive flash of light," Goldie said, "and we were scrambling for weapons when you collapsed. Felix started barking like mad, and a huge bubble of steam rose from the lake with a dead and half-cooked monster. Then a wave of cold swept through the area."

"I think that last cold was from Felix." I checked his status, and he had Frigid Void listed. He did not have Cosmic Aura, though.

While I was at it, I checked my status. Sure enough, I had a new Skill called Solar Flare. I felt the skill, and it was definitely a form of the sun's fire—a very small form of the sun's fire. It used Spiritual Agility to ignite and Spiritual Strength to keep it going and manage its strength. I had very little control over it at the moment. It would essentially blast at full strength. Control would come at the higher levels.

My Heat Resistance has doubled. I think I am still feeling slightly cooked. If Felix had not come in with Frigid Void, I would have died. If he had not given me spiritual energy, I would have died. Solar Flare has a minimum energy requirement, and I did not have the energy to spare. I hope this will become more manageable as I level it.

Now, what do I tell the others? Makara thinks I have a magnetic-type affinity, but this does not fit anything. It certainly does not fit with the ice.

I hesitated, not sure what to do.

"Just spit it out, lad," Yoboc said. "When you do stupid shit then there are consequenses. You can't hide things for long with travelling companions."

"So I created a skill called Solar Flare. It creates intense heat and flame, but it runs me out of spiritual energy. I would have died if Felix hadn't learned the ice skill and shared his energy with me."

"What sort of weird ass affinity do you have, because that is the only place something like that could come from," Makara said.

"It is definitely weird," I said.

"And powerful," Makara said, "the lake is still warmer than it should be."

"Really?" Goldie said. "Can you do it again? I want a warm bath."

"Ha, " a small laugh escaped me, "I definitely need the practice," I said.

Pretty sure I saw Goldie grin.

"You never answered my question," Makara said.

"No, I didn't," I said. "It is complicated, and I don't feel well."

"What did the fox do to you?" asked Goldie, pointing to the fur drying by the fire.

"It was practice, too."

"It wasn't cooked," said Makara in a leading way.

"No, it wasn't," I said, getting annoyed. I am not quite sure what I am getting annoyed about. I think I might need to have some time alone. I am getting peopled out. I am also tired, physically and spiritually. I can see the signs of my rising stress, but why can't people just be like Felix?

"What are you going to do with the bones?" I asked Yoboc.

"Sell them. Monster bones are good for all sorts of things." I was reminded of my bone knife. "If you want to help, we need to get the teeth out. I want to make them into arrowheads."

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I nodded. I got my chisel out, sat with my back to everybody, and sat down as I started working the teeth loose. Felix came and sat beside me and knawed on a bone. Why can't people just be like Felix?

They did leave me alone for several hours, although Yoboc intercepted Makara several times. Eventually, he took her off into the bush.

Goldie took over drying the flesh to keep it longer and then showed me how Yoboc wanted the arrowhead to be shaped, so I got to carving.

Goldie didn't need to chatter all the time with questions. By mid-afternoon, she had finished the new sled. It was longer than the previous one and had sides to prevent things from falling out. She also used the fox pelt to make decent padding for Felix's harness.

In exchange, I heated the lake for her bath. Solar Flare still hurt and emptied over three-quarters of my Spiritual Energy, and that was inside my Cosmic Aura. My Heat resistance increased by another two points. I think that if Felix had not flooded me with Frigid Void, then the heat from Solar Flare would have killed me.

"Heat Resistance of 5 or 6 will stop small burns," Goldie explained. "10 and you will have no worries about campfires and stuff. Blacksmiths and the like will be up in the 20s. Over 30 is extreme. Remember, Heat Resistance is not the same as Fire Resistance," she said immediately after I put my hand in the campfire and my fur started to burn.

I squashed the fire with Frigid Void, only losing a small patch of fur. The heat from the fire was warm, but it didn't hurt. I figure the more I use Solar Flare, the faster my Heat resistance will get to extreme. Solar Flare would also burn if I were too close, and until I could control it or increase my Spiritual Energy to cast Frigid Void simultaneously, I would have to be careful. I used the campfire until I had Fire Resistance on my Status and less fur on my arms.

I killed some more fish when I cast a Solar Flare in the lake. The light from it was blinding if you were looking directly at it. I didn't have the energy to keep the flare going for long, but I was taking the opportunity to test it. This portion of the lake was boiling, and the fish were cooking.

Once the flare stopped, we had to wait for the lake to cool before swimming. Goldie and Yoboc stayed in the shallows and looked like they were in paradise. Makara went swimming deeper and kept surfacing, saying things like, "This is so weird." She had never swum in hot water, and it felt weird. Felix pranced in and out of the water like a puppy. He was having a ball.

Another storm came over during the night, and I stood watch in snow flurries. I heated the lake again for practice. This time, I was trying to reduce the intensity. I managed to push the skill up a level.

The morning was low and overcast, and more snow was expected. I heated the lake for a swim. I think I significantly reduced the fish population, or they stayed away from this side of the lake.

We loaded the sled. The lack of fur on one of my arms was noticeable, and I didn't like it. It will grow back.

When we set out this time, it was at a fast walk. Felix and I moved the sled, although Makara said she could take a turn pushing if I wanted. Maybe later.

About midmorning, I stopped everyone. Yoboc was not around as he was out scouting. I released Felix from his harness, and we moved to the side, away from the sled.

"There is a deep snow bank here," I said. "I want to try Solar Flare outside of water."

Makara huffed. She was grumpy because I still hadn't explained anything to her, and the more she asked, the more stubborn I became.

Felix and I moved closer. "Back me up if I need it, OK?" I said to Felix. He sat down and wagged his tail. I was not encouraged that he sat behind me.

I moved my aura over the whole area. It was a deep snow bank. I picked a spot at the deepest point right next to the ground. Now that the skill was level 2, I wanted to see if I had more control. The cost had dropped slightly, but it got slightly more potent as well. That was a worry. I needed more control.

I initiated the Solar flare, and the brightness was even greater. I tried to reduce the intensity, but it was a wild thing and sucked out the energy it needed, dispite me trying to restrict it.

The flare flashed in place, and the snow was gone within a second. The nearby trees started to burn, and so did I. This was intense. I was not quick enough to cover my eyes with my hands, and one of my eyes flared in pain, and I could no longer see out of it.

I was standing way too close. I stopped the skill as that was something I could do. The flare didn't go out immediately. It took a few seconds for it to use up the energy it had and the energy of the area.

A wave of Frigid Void swept over me and the area. I sat stunned. The snow had melted in a wide arc, leaving me on bare ground.

I looked with my one working eye, and Goldie and Makara were picking themselves up from where they had thrown themselves. The side of the sled was blackened.

"Fucking troll shit," Goldie said, "You keep that far, far away from us."

I just nodded. The was dangerous and wild. I had no control. I looked around. Even now, the ground was smouldering. I looked closer, Clearsight letting me see through the smoke and heat. The ground where I had cast Solar Flare was molten rock. It melted the rock. There was a crater of molten rock. I just stared in wonder.

Snow started falling, evaporating way above the new molten hole in the ground I had created. The heat was intense even where I was sitting. Goldie and Makara moved the sled further away, where snow was on the ground. Makara was using her water to hose down hotspots.

Yoboc came running, "What the trolls bollocks happened here?"

Makara and Goldie just pointed to me. That is one of the few times they actually agreed on anything.

Yoboc looked at the crater and the quickly hardening rock. Then he looked at me. I looked down. I was missing a lot of fur. Even Felix was missing some. I checked my status. My Heat and Fire resistances had jumped. My Pain Resistance had gone up. Felix now had Fire Resistance, even though it had no number next to it.

Yoboc shook his head, "You are going to kill yourself, lad." He fished in his belt and handed me one of the health potions we had looted. I drank it down, and the area around my eye was soothed, but I still couldn't see out of it. My other burns healed. Obviously, my Heat Resistance and Fire Resistance were not enough yet.

"Let me have a look at that," he said, moving closer and examining my eye. "You have lost the entire eye, lad. It is going to take a specialised healer to grow that back. You won't find one till Jern. Even then, we may have to go to Hrothgar or Kirghiz." He stepped back and examined me. "No more practising until we can find a safe place. Shit, lad, you could have at least hid behind a rock. You are acting like a silly goblin child. Safety, lad. You are a trained Guard. You know better than this. The skill heated an entire lake; how much power do you think that took? Do you have a fucking death wish?"

"He is only seven, no, eight years old," Goldie said. "He lacks experience."

"Well, you are bloody lucky to have survived that experience," Yoboc said. "You better have learned not to do that again."

I have never seen Yoboc so angry. He is normally very even-tempered. The thing is that he is right.

"We need to move," Yoboc continued. "If anyone sensed that flare, they would come and investigate it. Hopefully, this snow will continue and cover it up, although the burned trees are a massive sign that something happened."

Goldie approached and looked at my eye, which was only an eye socket. "You need a patch so dirt doesn't get in there," she said, cutting some cloth. "This will do for now." She wrapped the cloth around my head to cover the hole. "The healing potion will probably be enough to regrow the eyelid, but the eye will need a specialist."

I needed a second Healing potion later in the day.

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