Not again. Agnes forgot to not bring any metal when she was visiting me. The small ring got too hot in my presence, and now we are here, sitting quietly, feeling sad. It was her boyfriend’s gift. Not anything serious yet, but maybe hinting at it. And of course, I felt bad for not intentionally making it untouchable for the next few hours. The glowing ring almost burned off her finger, but we managed to take it off her and let the table suffer instead. Luckily, I had a stone plate and now it is sitting there. Red, with some bubbles of the other materials made to decorate it…

“I think it’s getting stronger…” She finally said after lamenting the most probably damaged piece of accessory. “I mean, your magic.”

I shrugged, it might be. We both live in the only continent of Ivengard where technology thrives like the other world. But inheriting electricity magic, it became impossible for me to enjoy all that. The electric field I am emitting disrupts all kinds of metal – and thus all kinds of electronic devices. And well, I think with basic physics you might know that at some point, the metal gets warmer… Maybe that is what Agnes was thinking: My magic got so strong to the point that it can almost melt metal.

“Why don’t you go to a magic school, then?” Agnes asked, half to herself – half to me, I guess.

I shrugged again. “I can’t look them up… I can’t go to town without causing any restlessness, I can’t go into the network. I could maybe try to use the crystal ball of my parents, but… My magic skills are not advanced enough…”

“Huh,” my petite friend answered. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could look them up for you, and bring you my notes…” She looked across the room, as if she could find the words among the shadows. “I mean, if you learn some magic, maybe you could control that electricity… Could you not?” She tilted her head, as if the answers were already written in some angle on my face.

“But then I would need to learn electricity magic… I don’t know if anyone is ever familiar with that… Our kind is very rare, and because they all need to isolate… Well…” I shrugged. “But you’re right. Maybe I could just try. Learn some basics. And then maybe I could figure something out myself.”

My friend smiled, seemingly pleased with my response. “And I think you’re not the only one.” Now she seemed to look for her words in the window sill. She looked over quickly to the stone plate where we put the ring, and went to put it outside. Maybe she realized that it would never cool off if it stayed near me.

“My sister’s friend moved to Iluskia. I think her fiancé has this electricity magic too. She’s going ahead to handle the logistics. I think he needs to wrap some things up here before he is good to go.”

“Oh, he seems busy…”

Agnes nodded. “Yes. I think he made this kind of devices from wood. Little motors and such that move with water and other things. Because you know, he also struggles with metals.”

“But how will he travel? Wouldn’t it cause a commotion if he went abroad? I mean the trip… You wouldn’t be able to be fully free from metal, right?”

Now Agnes shrugged. “I think that is what he’s trying to figure out now. As far as I remember, he knows a little bit of magic, so maybe he can contain it to a certain extent…”

“Huh, interesting…” I thought about all the possibilities I could have if I wouldn’t be causing others so much trouble. I could maybe have my own electronic device, and be on the network with the others. Agnes’ stories always made me want to explore that digital world…

Though, maybe I could be like that guy who is moving to Iluskia. I have heard that the other islands are not that technology dependent as Bormen. Maybe… Maybe there, I wouldn’t need to isolate this much. And if I could learn a good amount of magic. Maybe… Agnes’ ring wouldn’t be glowing like now…

“Alright then, time for dinner? The ring needs to cool down anyway!”

I nodded, glad that there might be other possibilities for me than staying in this wooden hut.