The Pillar of Enera

[Chapter 19 part 2] Dawn - Flying lesson

...

Soul nodded, "Fayla briefed us. How bad is it?"

"I'll get to that." Lily said. "First, some updates. Since Astra and I will be busy with the fallout, Kate will show you around today. Frankly, it'd be safest for you to lay low, but Astra vetoed the idea." Dawn was grateful. It'd be frustrating to be confined underground again.

"Bring them to Miki after this." Lily told Kate. "She's organized instructors for Hope and Wise. Once finished at the Guild, take everyone to get their wrystals and come straight back. No incidents."

"Will do." Kate replied tensely.

"That reminds me," Lily looked them over. "I'll eventually introduce you to Sarah Godspeed, but for now stay away from the Rose Palace. Use other exits."

"As for last night, don't worry about the break-in. It's Astra's problem, not yours. The takeaway is that she'll have less spare time. I'm surprised she didn't cancel your lesson." Mother is stubborn in inconvenient ways.

"Regarding the Undercity murders, those do concern us. Courtesy of the Laughing Man, the term 'doppelganger' is back in circulation. The good news is the story is being drowned out. The bad news is Cedric Grinfield."

"Of those who loath doppelgangers, Cedric does so most violently. He discovered his entire family sliced in half. They were the last to die in this manner until last night. There's no way he'll overlook this. Cedric never stopped, even after avenging his loved ones. His hatred extends to all mass murderers, and he's spent centuries hunting them down. If he uncovers you, he'll slay you instantly. I'll need to intervene to prevent that..."

Lily collapsed on the table, "I really don't want to... His animosity aside, he's a decent person. Heroic even. Come to think of it, the Laughing Man loves exploiting flaws and twisting good people. Cedric is highly skilled. Confronting him is a nightmarish prospect."

"Surely you aren't scared?" Rose asked in disbelief.

Lily continued sulking, "One on one duels were never my specialty. I'm not weak, but not especially strong either. Meanwhile Cedric excels at them. What's more, if battling with you present, it'll rob me of my mobility, and this body puts me at a disadvantage in close quarters. Besides, I'm a fire user. My expertise is destruction, not protecting. I'm not well-equipped for non-lethal match-ups, and we can't afford to kill him. He's one of the most popular, well-loved immortals out there. It'd turn Enera against us."

"Astra wouldn't have these problems." Lily lamented. "She's an experienced front-line combatant, and she can freeze him to end the confrontation. If she isn't around when he shows up, it'll get complicated..."

"You're one of the seven!" Rose exclaimed, obviously upset. "You're supposed to be at the peak of what's possible. How can one opponent on home ground reduce you to this?"

Still slouching, Lily eyed Rose, "You're half-right. The Isle is my seat of power. Regrettably, this advantage pales in comparison to Cedric's 'Righteous Fury'. You see, after centuries of felling monsters, he developed a Sublime Vagary which strikes fear into evildoers everywhere. It's ridiculously powerful under the right circumstances."

I remember this. Relatively few Sublime Vagaries were well-known, but this was one. It lets him borrow the 'righteous grudges' of others, even the dead, to strengthen himself. The scope was too limited for her tastes. It wasn't helpful in preventing crimes, only avenging them. From a heroic perspective, it's flawed.

"In a normal fight, I'd comfortably come out on top. A battle where I'm protecting you is another story. Sola's doppelgangers committed countless hideous deeds. If 'Righteous Fury' determines I'm defending those, it'll have an extremely deep well of resentment to drawn on. He'd be unstoppable. I really don't want to face that..."