The White King

South

Few things are more majestic than the power of the desert sun.

The Sun Spire of Solaris was definitely one of those things. The deserts of the south had been coping with a brief flood season every December and harsh droughts the remainder of the year.

Now, thanks to the fine magical engineering marvel that stood in the center of the only southern city within the Celestian Desert, weather was freely controlled.

And none of that would be possible without Octanus Clair.

"Ah-h-h-h!" she lets out with a yawn, slowly rising from her couch. She had a bed, but that was at home. It was much more expedient to conk out on the futon she'd managed to negotiate placing in the break room of the Desert Wind Magic College.

The sun was rising, finally, and she had work to do.

Or rather, a trip she had to take to her work.

Where is it? she asks herself while rummaging through her travel pack.

After a moment, she takes hold of the parchment and withdraws a stylized map.

Ah, yes. Lleterof needs my help with building their own Solar Spire...

She rolls the paper up and stores it within a secondary pocket so she could find it again later.

With one last stretch and a cup of coffee, she finally clears the lethargy of a brief nights sleep.

"Alright," she says, walking out of the room. "Just one more thing to grab."

Octanus turns right along the decorated sandstone hallway, making her way down to the research lab. Without even bothering to walk all the way in through the newly opened door, she reaches inside and takes her weapon: a pair of chains that, after her first fight with them, were equipped with mace-like ends.

Inefficient, probably, but she was working with magic. All she really needed to do was bind you to win.

Speaking of magic...

"James, you really shouldn't teleport everywhere; you might accidentally teleport into something," she says plainly.

The man in question scratches his neck awkwardly, trying to diffuse her silent annoyance. While he was eleven years her senior, and undoubtedly more powerful, it wasn't wise to anger the person who technically owns your towns most valuable possession: the Solar Core.

While everyone who used magic contributed to powering it, the emerald itself belonged to her, so she had more than enough influence over the sandstone village to inspire fear.

Not that she really embodied the potential terror when she almost nods off in the middle of conversations.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he says sheepishly. After a moment without a response, he simply turns and walks away, hoping to escape the situation.

She obliges, making her way out of the building without another confrontation.

The sun beats down from above, but a cool breeze washes over the town to ease the normally unrelenting heat.

Control over weather or no, they were still in a desert near the planet's equator.

Octanus inhales sharply, catching the scents of nearby food stalls.

Because of recent prosperity, quality food flooded the marketplace and left a permanent musk of smoked or roasted meat and citrus fruits to permeate Solaris.

Not that anyone complained; those kinds of smells were infinitely better than what came before the Solar Spire.

Hence why I need to make more of them.

Dropping eighty Pencel at a nearby stall, Octanus makes her way to the train station with a closed container of meat, eggs, and potato pieces- the real breakfast of champions.

Actual champions weren't a thing in Solaris, though. Physical combat was seen as unnecessary and barbaric while magical confrontation was viewed much the same.

As a rule, you didn't fight unless directly challenged, and duels had guidelines behind them.

Of course, when combat was required, magic was usually the go to. While the arcane arts were generally more destructive, the fights would always end in seconds based on who could cast a lightning spell first.

Well, usually. On a rare occasion, a fight could go on for a few minutes.

Like when I fought James.

Despite being four inches taller, ending up at 6'1", and with a more muscular body, James couldn't compete with her in a raw magic fight without a handicap.

Hence full-plate armor.

That might sound odd, especially when lightning attacks were the norm, but the skin effect- the way electricity will disperse itself across metal rather than heading inwards as long as it's sufficiently conductive- makes it more than worth it.

I won't have to worry about that where I'm going, though, she says with a half-smile.

As she's walking up to the doors of the train, they suddenly close.

Oh great... she thinks, watching it start to accelerate towards Central.

I guess I'm taking half the trip on the back of a giant metal bullet.