The Fractured Mage

Chapter 8 - Morning Person

"Ugh, so bright...," I muttered to myself as I yawned, dragging my my feet avorss my room and opening up the light box, squinting my eyes as a bright glow shone out of it.

Oh, right, I mentioned before that all technology that existed before the Ether Apocalypse five hundred years ago no longer exists, let me explain what technology is like in the current era.

Most things are powered using various forms of crystallized Ether, which are known as Vitrea. They're crystals with special properties that form under certain conditions, used for a variety of things, like lighting, heating, cooling, cooking and so on.

For lighting, we use what's known as Light Vitrea, crystals that form in areas exposed to heavy sunlight, like deserts. They produce light indefinitely by continually absorbing Ether from the surrounding air.

The only way to switch them off is to enclose them in lead, which blocks the flow of Ether. So Light Vitrea usually come in lead boxes that can be mounted on walls or ceiling, open the box and the crystal lights up, close it and the light fades.

There are also Cold Vitrea, which are used for air conditioning and refrigeration, Heat Vitrea which are primarily used for cooking and boiling, as well as heating in the winter.

Cold Vitrea form in snowy areas, while Heat Vitrea form near volcanoes. These three types of Vitrea are the most commonly used, you'd be hard-pressed to find a building that doesn't make use of them.

From what I know about the technology that existed before the Ether Apocalypse, people could communicate over long distances and even had modes of transport that didn't require horses or any animals to pull them.

It almost sounds too good to be true...we don't have any way of instantly communicating with people over long distances, and transportation is limited to horse-drawn carriages and the like.

We do have plumbing and running water though, which was implemented about a hundred years ago when the current era of peace began to be established, thanks to the knowledge previously left behind by the Sky God before they disappeared following the battle against the Malevolent Witch.

Anyway, let's get to the present now, shall we? It's now been a little over a month since I first woke up here, and I've gotten pretty settled into and used to life here. I like to follow and stick to a simple routine each day, and I don't like it when that routine is broken.

Wake up, eat, train, shower, laze about, eat again, laze about some more, eat once more, and then laze about until it's time to sleep, repeat the process the next day.

Unfortunately, more often than not, I don't get to follow that routine as closely as I'd like...

"Rise and shine, To, you up yet!? Helloooooo!? Alright, I'm coming in!" A loud voice echoed out from outside my door, before I let out a weary sigh as the handle twisted down and the door began to open, "Oh, you're awake. Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's too early for whatever this is about," I muttered with a strained sigh.

"You're such a grouch in the morning, you know that? I don't get it, you just woke up after several hours, you should be full of energy!" Came the obnoxious response.

Stupid morning person...

"And you're way too full of energy, Li...go run around or something in the yard till you tire yourself out, why don't you?" I replied dryly.

Lilac Lero, Ifeus's younger daughter, and the person I see the most around the house. Mainly because Ifeus is busy most of the day with his Guild, and Iris is a full-fledged member too, while Lilac is still pretty new to it.

"You're so rude sometimes," She huffed indignantly, before adding with a pout, "I just wanted to see if you were ready to have breakfast, I was waiting for you."

Damn it, now I feel bad. And I only just woke up too, talk about a great start to the day...

"Oh. Uh, yeah...I was about to wash up and then go eat. Sorry, thought you wanted to drag me to play with you or something," I responded sheepishly.

"That can wait for after we eat. Okay, I'll wait for you downstairs, don't be long!" She grinned, as she walked out of my room and headed down the stairs.

"What? No, I'm going to train after-...," I began, trailing off as she'd already gone out of earshot, sighing as I completed my sentence, "...I eat. Damn it, would it kill her to stop and listen to me for once?"

I then headed out of my room, making my way to the bathroom. After using the toilet and brushing my teeth, I made my way downstairs after splashing some water on my face, stretching my arms up as I yawned slightly.

It's almost 10 AM, guess I overslept a bit today...oh, well, it's not like I have any reason to wake up early, so this is fine. I feel pretty well-rested, that's what's most important.

"Hey, you're finally here, it's about time. The food's gotten cold...is what I'd say if we were eating something hot for breakfast," She greeted me with a smile, as she dumped a pile of cereal into a bowl and poured milk over it.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know," I pointed out, sitting across from her as I poured milk into my bowl, before adding the cereal.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's truly horrifying...the way you pour the milk first, before the cereal," She shuddered dramatically.

"Hmph, this way is more logical...I like my cereal nice and crunchy, I don't want a pile of soggy, mushy cereal at the bottom. Adding the cereal bit by bit until the milk is over ensures the ideal texture right throughout the meal," I defended myself with a huff.

"I mean, when you put it like that, I guess I get the logic behind it and all, but...it just feels wrong."