Chapter 37 – Sunfire and Shadows

As the year drew to a close, anticipation hummed in the halls of the Royal Academy. Students prepared for exams, lectures became fewer, and final projects consumed everyone's attention. But none garnered more intrigue than the challenge issued to Elara Wyrmshade.

Instructors from every department had debated for weeks. How could they possibly evaluate someone who outpaced their own knowledge? In the end, they settled on a unique solution. Elara would be asked to create a new invention that combined both of her strongest fields: runes and mechanics. She would then deliver two presentations — one theoretical, one practical — each analyzed by a joint panel of master-level faculty. She was given one month. The caveat: she could refuse the challenge and still be promoted to her second year with perfect marks.

Of course, Elara accepted.

Her project was simple in concept, elegant in design, and ambitious in function: a solar-powered sprinkler that gathered and stored mana from sunlight, then used it to condense moisture from the air and evenly irrigate the surrounding ground.

The device utilized a combination of solar-conversion runes embedded into a copper-etched mana battery and an array of fine-tuned vector lines drawn in a radial formation to disperse mana in a circular pattern. When charged by sunlight, the rune matrix generated a steady pulse of mana directed through water-condensation glyphs. These glyphs cooled the surrounding air in a 3-meter radius, triggering moisture collection. The final step redirected the condensed water via micro-channel grooves toward a central rotating ring. The ring, aided by gravitational counterbalance runes, spun slowly, spraying the collected water in an even arch.

It was a fusion of renewable energy, practical enchantment, and accessible irrigation technology — a device Elara envisioned as a revolutionary tool for farmers across the continent.

She had been working tirelessly for weeks in her private workshop in the capital city, lost in blueprints, soldering wands, and vector calculations. The Forge nearby rumbled with distant activity as Darnak continued his own projects.

The day it happened started like any other.

The workshop smelled faintly of lavender oil and scorched brass. A chalkboard overflowed with arcane equations and refined blueprint layers. Elara adjusted her lab coat and reached for her engraving pen, preparing to make the final adjustments to the sprinkler's output regulator.

Then the air outside cracked with sound.

Shouting. Steel clashing. Mana discharges.

Her royal guards.

Elara turned sharply as her workshop door burst open, and four masked figures in black stormed inside, weapons drawn.

The first thing she did was grab her runed staff.

The second was will mana into the embedded safety enchantments woven into her lab attire. Originally meant to protect her from self-induced explosions, the defensive field deflected incoming crossbow bolts and glinting knives with ease.

When one of the intruders lunged, a shimmering kinetic wall activated, flinging him backward into a stack of metal crates.

"Who are you?" Elara demanded, eyes narrowed.

"You're gonna die today, b*tch," one spat. "No matter how many toys you built."

Her jaw tightened. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sudden entry of two more figures silenced her. They carried one of her portable rune-printers. Elara's eyes widened in furious disbelief.

"Are you serious? You're using my designs to try and kill me?"

No answer.

The printer clicked and hissed as it began layering hastily etched attack glyphs onto crude spear shafts.

That was the last straw.

Her mana surged. Her demeanor shifted.

Everything about her — from her posture to the sudden glow behind her pupils — screamed danger. Even in her high heels, she stood impossibly grounded, like a statue of divine wrath.

"You shouldn't have done that."

She adjusted her staff. The focusing rings aligned with a quiet shunk. Runes spun into place, forming a spell she hadn't tested outside simulation.

A crimson beam snapped into being, invisible at first glance, but deadly in truth: a binding-dissolution laser.

The room filled with a burning hiss. Six black-clad assailants dissolved molecule by molecule under the relentless assault of directed mana.

When it was done, only ash and warped steel remained.

Elara exhaled slowly, turned on her heels, and stepped out into the daylight.

Outside, a fierce skirmish raged.

Two of her personal guards lay injured. The others were engaged with at least twenty additional enemies. Mana bolts cracked through the air; steel rang against enchanted plate.

Then the chaos halted.

Because Elara stepped through the door.

Sunlight caught the golden inlays of her staff. The wind played with her high ponytail. And the aura around her shimmered like heat waves.

She looked divine. Untouchable. Deadly.

"Who's in charge here?"

Her tone was conversational. Calm.

Several attackers turned and pointed toward a tall man in the back.

Elara didn't hesitate.

She vaporized the rest.

The commander was frozen in place by the time the light cleared. He didn't resist when the guards tackled him.

"Escort me to the palace," Elara said simply.

An hour later, she arrived under tight security.

Sylv was already waiting in the palace courtyard, her expression one of pure worry. The moment she saw Elara, she dashed across the cobblestones.

"Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," Elara replied. It wasn't a lie. It wasn't bravado. She was fine. Steady. Clear.

They retreated to Sylv's private room, where Elara finally allowed herself to sigh and remove her coat.

"What happened?" Sylv asked, handing her a cold drink.

"Assassins. Six inside. Twenty outside. All dealt with."

Sylv blinked. "...Of course."

A beat.

Then the princess smirked. "You're terrifying, you know that?"

Elara laughed. It was short, but real.

"I get that a lot."

They spent the evening in a bubble of calm. Facials. Snacks. A long bath. Sylv had Mira send over a set of new loungewear, and both girls curled up together on the oversized bed.

Sylv glanced sideways. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"No problem at all," Elara said honestly. "They were amateurs."

And with that, both drifted to sleep.