From the time they had set out from Demacia City, a month had passed by the time Lux reached the Sun Gate.
Over the course of that month, Lux had sailed a full ten thousand miles.
Now, she and Eno had finally arrived in Piltover, beneath the famed Sun Gate.
The Sun Gate was the last of the three locks on Piltover's canal, and also the grandest and most magnificent.
This enormous lock, built from a mixture of materials, could withstand astonishing water pressure. Using massive power machinery, the people of Piltover opened and closed it three times a day, allowing ships on the canal to pass through and connect directly between the Sea of Watch and the Sea of Conquest.
Of course, this wasn't free. Ships passing through the canal had to pay a hefty toll: one Hextech for every ten tons of displacement, rounded up. Silver and copper coins weren't accepted.
Still, considering the distance it took to go around Shurima's southernmost point, countless ships lined up to leave every day at sunrise.
This one-of-a-kind trade monopoly in all of Runeterra was what brought Piltover its astounding profits, giving its people the means and the right to pursue their wildest ideas.
Lux and Eno disembarked at Piltover's northwestern harbor, in front of the Sun Gate. After paying a personal tax, they finally arrived in Piltover.
They turned down the porters who came to solicit their business and didn't hire a cart. Dragging their heavy trunks, Lux and Eno set off from the harbor and climbed the steps, soon reaching Piltover's seawall.
The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder, and whistles from the enforcers rang out as they kept order. Even Lux, who had grown up in Demacia City, was astonished by the city's prosperity.
Even Demacia City probably