Lighter Than Air

[Claire Gallows]

The Isle’s keys had been handed over for the last time. All but one, at least. Diamond set with turquoise, the key to the Tower of Air had been a steady presence in the wake of all that had happened at the crystal tower. It wasn’t mouthy or manipulative like the semi-sentient opals of the Outback and it didn’t come with its own manor like the baronial rings of the Arena. But just the same it carried its own form of presence, a steadying calm like a soothing summer breeze that seemed to trail in her wake no matter where she went.

The last of the set, the final one on the list.

Each time she had challenged Matt for it, she wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she finally won, especially not when she was fresh off of a year and a half long stint in the Tower of Fire to the northwest of her new home. Elation? Relief? Maybe somewhere in between, she wasn’t sure. It marked the end of a chapter in her dueling career and as such, she couldn’t help the wave of introspection that washed over her each time she stepped foot through the clouded door of the nigh invisible tower set high, high above the rest of the Isle.

What had started as a fleeting dalliance with the sport of dueling had somehow turned into… this.

A passing peek into a musty, sweat filled Outback had led to…

Two Diamonds.

Two Opals.

Two Overlord belts.

Five Baronies.

One run as Archmage.

And now the fourth final elemental Tower had been struck from her proverbial To Do list.

The squeak of sneakers on polished white marble, the quiet sigh of even breathing, it all led her to the very top of the tower where she pressed up through an access hatch to step out onto the circular crown amidst the clouds. There she could be alone with the twilight, or at least what bit of it could break through the inklike darkness that had otherwise spilled over the Isle like an inkwell overturned from the peak of the crystal tower in the far northwest. This far up, it was almost (but not quite) like being on the floating hunk of rock upon which the Celestial Citadel sat. It had been years since she last held the key to the Citadel but as clear as day she could remember everything about it. So while this was close, it wasn’t quite the same. Either way, as much as the Celestial Citadel was a chapter long in the past, the Tower of Air signified the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

“Well… where do we go from here?” She wondered aloud but for now the tower offered no answers. Claire sighed. “I suppose we’ll figure it out, huh? We always do.”