The first rays of sunlight crested over the cliff walls, faintly illuminating the opening of the cave. Aiden stirred as light began to hit his closed eyelids, he had a dreamless sleep due to the exhaustion he had felt yesterday. He stretched his sore body, strengthening his resolve to create a bed for himself. Stone was just not doing him any favors.
Aiden grabbed a few of the empty bamboo jars before heading off to the riverbank, his dagger stashed on his belt. He needed to stock back up on fresh water after having used so much yesterday. He also had to give his clothes and body a rough scrub, he had been exercising for days with no bath. Although he couldn't bathe in the river directly, he could use the water from the bamboo jars.
As Aiden approached the shoreline, he slowed down. Carefully peering between the trees and vegetation to make sure the coast was clear. He didn't want to run into a riverbeast unawares. It looked as though the bank was empty, so he confidently strode out. He quickly gathered the water and cleansed himself to the best of his abilities. He left his clothes by the fire to dry before diving into a round of morning practice.
Immersing himself into the magical world of aura, strands floating all around him. He pulled colorless strand after colorless strand to him, forcing them deeper into his body trying to strengthen his tendons and ligaments. Tendons were what anchored your muscles to your bones, they needed to be strong otherwise if you attempted some of the more extreme movements as your cultivation increased, they would not be able to bear the force exerted by your muscles.
Two hours later, Aiden withdrew from his cultivation. He frowned slightly, colorless strands were becoming less and less useful. Pretty soon the amount of aura they provided would be negligible. He understood now why the Soulfyre clan inhabited a volcano. What better place for fire energy could there be?
Until he was able to leave this area, the small pocket of fire energy he had found would have to suffice. Aiden headed back out to search for more herbs and perhaps something for breakfast.
Down by the water he discovered some reeds that were known as Stripers, due to the alternating bands of brown and white that covered their long stems. He gathered a few of them because they could be used in a recipe for bug repellent he had scanned during his study of his inheritance.
As he moved among the reeds searching for the healthiest of specimens to take, he spotted a small ground nest. He crept closer, eyes shining with excitement. Sure enough, three brown and black spotted eggs lay within. He grabbed those and headed back to the cave. Eggs were an excellent source of nutrients, not to mention delicious.
His meals back at the Moore manor were very bare, some boiled vegetables and bread, occasionally if the housekeeper was feeling very generous maybe a fruit. Meat was a luxury preserved for the servants with higher status. As for family members, their meals would be far better, with the quality increasing as their cultivation increased.
The last few days had been the best that Aiden had ever eaten, with his low status in the family he was worse than some of the servants. Meat and eggs were not within his reach at all. He arrived back at the cave and got ready to cook some breakfast.
The fire slowly built itself back up after some wood was added, and Aiden pulled over the flat rock he had been using as a pan. He lay a few small strips of Mud Snapper and a few slices of his trusty Eidleroot, before laying the stone against the fire. He then monitored them closely to prevent them from overcooking.
When he felt that they seemed sufficiently cooked he hooked them with his dagger onto another clean flat rock he was using as a plate. Then he took the small eggs he had gathered and cracked them on the edge of the rock plate, before splitting them over the area of his rock pan where he had cooked the meat.
The grease from the melting fat met with the fresh eggs releasing a burst of fragrance into the air. The deep golden yokes against the whites of the eggs formed a unique scenery on his makeshift pan. As the eggs sizzled away, Aiden had to work hard to keep from drooling.
Although no one else was here, he was a member of the noble Soulfyre clan after all. He couldn't be so shameful! The eggs were ready soon enough, and he sat down to enjoy the fruits of his labor. The slightly spicy Eidle root next to the strips of grilled Mud Snapper meat and the three golden yoked eggs all looked tantalizing. The Mud Snapper had a thick, heavy taste and gave off a strong earth aura that was bolstered by the faint earth aura of the Eidle root.
When Aiden bit into one of the eggs, his amber eyes widened. He had never tasted something so delicious. Although that didn't mean much seeing as he hadn't eaten very much of anything, it didn't change his wonder at this moment. He swiftly finished his meal barely stopping to take a few sips of water.
He then turned to his study of Alchemy, after yesterday, his confidence was bolstered and he was ready to try something else. As the weather continued to warm up the number of bugs would increase. Aiden had no interest in experiencing the onslaught of mosquitoes, ticks, lice, and other pests that abounded out here. He had a pretty simple recipe for a bug repellent powder that seemed promising.
It only had three ingredients, two of which he already had. The leaves of the Eidle root plant, The stems of the Stripers. And lastly, a plant called Dewdrop Parasol. These were very small weed-like plants that grew close to the ground in wet areas. Their small stems branched out into an umbrella shape, thus earning their name.
Since he was very close to the river, finding a patch of them was a breeze. Though he had to select them carefully otherwise he could end up getting poor quality ones. Dewdrop Parasols had a short lifespan, and they would begin to lose their emerald green color in a matter of days. When they were the most vivid green, is when they had the best efficacy.
After having gathered enough of the Dewdrop Parasols, Aiden headed back to the cave. He set up his turtle shell cauldron and began boiling water. While that was heating up, he carefully prepared the herbs. He trimmed off the leaves of the Eidle root from their bright orange stems, setting those aside for future use. He cut off the leaves of the Stripers, as only the stems were useful. The Dewdrop Parasols were left whole, being so small their essence was in the whole plant.
Once the water was boiling, Aiden immediately focused on bringing his mental power into play. He first grasped the Eidle root, his first attempt felt very awkward and unwieldy but he struggled to persevere, tossing it into the cauldron. Eidle root was an Earth element biased plant, making it more stable and harder to change. That is why it was the first into the pot.
After placing the Eidle root leaves into the cauldron, Aiden focused his mental power on dissolving them, leaving only the raw essence of the herb. It was difficult, his mental power was like an untrained muscle, his brain knew what he wanted it to do but he seemed unable to execute.
It took a long time before he was able to separate out the essence, it formed a small ball of luminescent brown energy within the cauldron. Aiden had to separate out a thread of mental power to keep it from seeping out and impacting the rest of the concoction.
The next step was to throw the Dewdrop Parasols in. He grabbed three of them with his mental power, this proved even more difficult than before due to part of his mental strength being portioned off to take care of the Eidle root. Sweat beaded on his brow as the effort became more and more strenuous.
The Dewdrop Parasol was a wood and water based herb thus it was quicker to dissolve than the Eidle root, leaving behind three small droplets of green and blue energy. Those three droplets merged together under the operation of Aiden's mental power, and he had to once again split off a strand of his mental power to monitor it.
The last herb, the Stripers, were water biased. The water and wind elements were the most changeable of the elements, but water was far more stable than wind which made it the most easily dissolved element. Thus the Striper dissolved down into a glowing blue orb of energy far faster than the other herbs.
Aiden's breath grew ragged as exhaustion and strain set in. The next part was the most difficult, fusion. Using the Eidle root as the base he began to use the Rising Phoenix Palms, each gesture weaving the aura and commanding it.
The Dewdrop Parasol and the Striper essence flew forward to the Eidle Root essence, trying desperately to merge. But earth was the least changeable element and the Eidle root essence seemed to repel the other two.
Aiden's hands moved more forcefully, and the aura above the cauldron seemed to roil and shake. Within the cauldron the three essences seemed to be undergoing some sort of battle, each striving to tear the others apart and consume them. Aiden's mental power swam around them seeking to stabilize and merge them. In the intense conflict, Aiden felt as though a year had passed before finally the three essences merged.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, a wave of energy burst out of the cauldron, blasting out towards him. He fell backwards with the impact, feeling the searing heat on his cheeks. Aiden looked around, his amber eyes dazed as he tried to figure out what happened. He thought that he had succeeded, but then reality delivered him a stern slap. He lay back down on the stone floor, letting the cold from the stone help him calm down.