Realm of the Sun

Chapter 4

Sylas had told Solarie a few things about Irena- she was good, mastered all forms of water, and was already working on controlling water in the body. She gulped, but Sylas reassured her that it was going to be okay. Irena was in the eregana order- manipulation, not creation. It didn't do much to relieve her panic.

"Begin!"

Irena lifted her hands, water forming in her hands. I thought she was eregana- where is she getting this water from? Solarie shoved her rationale aside, instead trying to focus on what Sylas had taught her.

Catalysts were the source of every Elite's powers, which were connected to channels that stretched all over the body. Channels were filled with energy only that catalyst can create. Solarie's power, to their understanding, was taking a hold of the catalyst, replicating the properties, and creating the energy within herself. She had only done it twice, both explained to her quite simply. Because she had spent so much time with Jin and Orion, she had unconsciously been familiarizing her own catalyst with the energy they made. The doctor on the other side of the glass was from House Erebus- so clearly, her power worked on even disinherited Elites. But Solarie had never spent time near Irena- she didn't even know what a catalyst looked like, or felt like. How was she supposed to beat Irena?

A spiral attack suddenly thrusted at her, and Solarie dove to the ground, scraping her knee in the process. She hissed with pain, springing upwards. For now, she would have to keep dodging, until Solarie could figure out how to use the catalyst inside her.

Wait, Solarie suddenly thought as she ducked under another attack. Isn't ice just solid water? Surely Jin's catalyst is somehow related. Roza said that ice was a derivative of water- there must be something similar enough.

She tried to concentrate on the moment she had first used her powers. Jin was in danger. Solarie technically was now, but it seemed she didn't have the same sense of self-preservation versus the need to protect Jin. Irena's attacks were attached to her arms- the water warped around them, like an extension of her. At each end were icicle claws.

Ice. That was it. The next time those claws came at her, she grabbed the frigid points, praying to Aurel that her plan would work.

It did. Slowly but surely, the water began to freeze, climbing up until it finally reached her real hands. She had only frozen her left hand, and unfortunately for her, it seemed Irena was right handed. At least she had pulled off something, Solarie thought quietly to herself.

Somewhere in the bleachers above, she could faintly hear someone yelling, but her head was pounding so hard she couldn't focus on the sound. Instead, she had to prepare for what was next. Her opponent quickly unfroze, and instead opted to drop the arms altogether.

The water exploded into mist, and Solarie was blind. It was impossible to see, and if she tried to freeze the mist, she'd end up hurting herself with tiny micro ice bits. She coughed, and waved her arms frantically, trying to clear her path of sight.

She didn't have to for very long. Again, the water converged into one singular area, and to her horror, Irena stood above on a podium of ice, accompanied by eight enormous arms of water. Irena learned from Solarie's last trick- she bet that once those tentacles stung, they would be turning to ice. She didn't have to wait to see. Irena thrusted all 8 tentacles at her, like a giant octopus or a deadly spider. The water enveloped her, and once she had caught her prey, Irena froze the water, trapping Solarie in one big glacier.

"Stop!" Instructor Xiao called out. Irena gently set Solarie down onto the field, and the ice melted away, quickly evaporating back into the air.

Irena bowed, and sauntered off to Ethan, probably to discuss whatever new trick she had been learning, no doubt that spider-octopus maneuver.