The Pillar of Enera

[Chapter 2 part 2] Astra - Restless Introductions

"I'm Dawn Skyfell." Her daughter bowed elegantly. Looking around confused, the fairy stood and did a somewhat-clumsy imitation. I wish she wouldn't steal my summons.

On the surface, Dawn seemed a success story. She was polite, competent, and intelligent. She was also, by far, the strongest, with only Soul coming close. Appearances can be deceiving. Inside the girl hid an ego the size of the sun.

Dawn had excelled from a young age, giving rise to a concerning pretentiousness. One self-important prick can deflate an entire unit. To preempt trouble, Astra had stressed vanity's shallowness. Those possessing real strength don't need outside validation. To everyone's relief, Dawn internalized the advice, adopting a modest demeanor. Life went on smoothly until recently, when the facade had began to crumble. Every so often, undiluted arrogance would escape the girl's lips. Astra had been horrified by how far the narcissism had progressed. If she voiced her thoughts all the time, she'd be insufferable.

"I'm Hope Skyfell." Announced a girl with auburn hair. "It's so thrilling meeting someone new. So, in celebration..."

With an underhand throw, Hope sent marbles flying. These soon flashed, scattering wandering orbs of every hue which kept exploding and multiplying. The soundless pyrotechnics transformed the space into a kaleidoscope.

Hope was an enchantress, able to fuse power into objects, either as one-time spells or permanent enhancements. Despite this amazing talent, her daughter was sadly in the same situation as Wise. Astra vaguely knew that enchanters wove magic into their flesh, but the specifics were a mystery. Without a martial arts, Hope relied heavily on her enchanting, spending all her time toiling in her workshop. It was for naught. On top of their formidable magics, her siblings could move at prodigious speeds and turn their bodies to steel. No amount of enchantments could erase this advantage. Hope had never even beaten Wise.

Realizing its futility, Astra had exempted the girl from matches. Or at least I tried to. Hope would have none of it, insisting on the same training. I suppose that's better than her despairing or rebelling. Born from bitterness, Hope had developed an uncompromising stubbornness. This inner turmoil had also made her a feared mischief maker. Enchantments make excellent booby traps.

"My turn!" The boy with the scarf leaped high, and Astra's heart sank. What's he planning? His arms became a blur, sending shurikens in every direction. Each collided with a drifting light, and the room darkened until only the blue of frost fire remained. Her son landed, one hand on the ground, "I'm Light Skyfell, future master ninja."

Light stood and crossed his arms, head tilted forwards and eyes closed. He favored this pose recently. I must teach them proper introductions.

Light was obsessed with all things 'cool'. This dated back to when the boy had gotten hold of a popular book series called 'Tales of the Shinobi'. The fictional warriors within had captured his imagination, and his life now revolved around them.

She'd made no attempt to reign him in, knowing many others who shared his strange passion. There are cities dedicated to fulfilling the vision laid out in those novels. On Enera, eccentricity could be a strength. No, the issue lies elsewhere.

"That wasn't nice." Hope grimaced. "Why'd you do it?"

Light's eyes widened in panic, and his hands flailed wildly. Finally, he mumbled, "sorry."

Astra shook her head. She'd noticed Light's feelings two years ago. What do you do after discovering your son has a crush on his sister? Fortunately, he had yet to confess, and Hope was too preoccupied to notice. That didn't stop Astra from losing sleep. I'd rather fight a colossal undead than deal with this stress.