The Pillar of Enera

[Chapter 9 part 1] Hope - Sola's Legacy

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Hope fumed, leaving that ‘thing’ sitting innocently behind. The worst part is she’s correct, dang it. At least she’d take comfort in knowing her sister was an awful person.

Hope’s personality revolved around wry humor and sarcasm. Plus pessimism. These diffused the rage. So far she hadn’t enjoyed the best luck in life. Understatement. Being the ‘weakest of the weaklings’ ——curse you, Dawn—— wouldn’t be so bad if not for the competitive environment. She’d read about it, this thing called a ‘caring mother’. That’s not Astra. She’d only come across one character who resembled her. He’d been a drill Sergeant.

I probably shouldn’t complain. Wise and Silver had been through worse. Rose tortured herself with her obsessions. Free had also suffered greatly, but it didn’t really count since it was self-inflicted. As for Dawn… Has that narcissist ever known hardship? Light and Soul were closest to normal, which was funny considering one was a wanna-be-ninja and the other a wanna-be-hero.

That’s better. Venting and mocking the world’s wrongness always improved her mood. She stared across the arena at Wise, her eternal nemesis.

There were three siblings she’d never beaten: Dawn, Soul, and Wise. Nothing could be done about the first two. They’re monsters. However, Wise was different. First, he was weak. Nearly as much as me! Second, he won in an annoying fashion. Technically not his fault. Finally, his attitude was infuriating. Again, he’s not to blame, but damn him anyway.

Since Wise’s foresight made him fatalistic, he used to announce the outcome of their matches. It’d been maddening. I reject that I’m destined to lose. He’d eventually stopped, but she still saw it in his eyes. That bastard knows he’ll win.

Dueling Wise felt like battling fate. She hadn’t won, not once. My nemesis. Wise looked back with a resigned expression, extending his retractable staff. That hateful thing…

“You’re well-equipped…” he noted, “I’ll have to work harder than normal.”

Hope just glared. She’d learned that saying anything would come back to bite when she inevitably lost. ‘Inevitably lost’? Screw that! For every encounter, Hope dreamed up new tricks and plans. Hasn’t worked so far, but… Her current strategy had a decent chance: overwhelming him with a wasteful quantity of items. It’ll be painful. It took time and effort to infuse spells, making her stingy. But not today.

She tossed a large shuriken in the air, and it whirled to life, diving forwards. She’d imbued the projectile with rotation, levitation, and homing. There were virtually no restrictions on her enchantments. Everything her siblings could do, so could she. It just takes longer and must be done ahead of time.

Wise evaded ——Of course he did——, and the shuriken turned in a wide arc. It’ll target him for two minutes. She aimed to drain his stamina while keeping him at bay. For me, Wise is unbeatable up close. Ideally, something would connect once he was exhausted. I only need one hit.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be that easy. As the spinning blades came in for a second pass, Wise tapped one with his staff, and the steel dropped with a thud. That bothersome ability…

Wise could cancel magic. Makes sense. If you could create, then it should be possible to unmake too. Whereas other magics added to the world, necromancy focused on erasing. Also bending reality and summoning that which shouldn’t exist.

She really wished Wise hadn’t future-fried his brain. The pity makes it harder to dislike him. At his insanest, he’d been hideously strong. Rivaling Dawn. While he’d lost nearly all that, the key word was ‘nearly’. The portion he’d conserved greatly frustrated her. Especially that staff.

Canceling didn’t help much against the others, since martial arts couldn’t be countered. However, it’s stupidly effective against me. If she spent five minutes on an enchantment, he’d take five seconds to destroy it. Then there’s the anti-magic relic from his crazed self. Wise’s staff negated anything it touched, even Soul and Dawn’s armor. Her enchantments didn’t stand a chance.

Reaching in a pocket, she grabbed a fist full of pebbles. Small and light, they stored a decent charge and were her favorites. There’s a ready supply outside.

Letting them fly, they glowed red and shot out fireballs. These weren’t as fast as Rose’s, but that didn’t matter. Wise can cancel lighting. Her brother swatted two and sidestepped the rest. She threw more, and ice shards rained down. I’ve brought dozens of every type. Let’s see you last.

After two minutes of fruitless bombardment, Wise suddenly rushed forwards. Oh no, you don’t. Hope backed up while flinging pebbles which grew a hundred times their original size. He can’t cancel them all. However, the boulders hit nothing as her brother had switched to moving sideways. Hope ran the other way. If he nears…

Wise circled the rocks, gaining ground. I’m prepared for this. She swung her arm, dropping a line of stones. Flashing yellowish red, they erupted into a ten foot inferno. That’ll slow him. Wise accelerated. At least it should’ve… He planted his staff and vaulted over the flames. Shocked, Hope watched him land safely. I didn’t know he could do that! Wise probably hadn’t either. Foresight had given him the solution.

He’s close. Hope threw a fist-sized rock. Flickering white, air exploded outward. That’ll give me space. Wise threw his staff, which cut through the gale and struck with a thack. The wind vanished, and he caught his weapon passing by. This isn’t fair, Hope protested. He’s never thrown it before.

I’m in trouble. Wise was much faster. He’s not weighed down. Besides the rocks, she wore bands around her neck and arms. Hope could ‘metal bend’, liquefying steel to form blades and other shapes. Sounds awesome, right? And it was… Against opponents who weren’t Dawn, Soul, or Wise. The first two froze her metal. They’re too strong anyway. As for Wise, his detestable staff severed her control.

Off-balance, Hope sent out snaking spears. In the past, she’d shaped shields, but he’d just drive them back into her. After a few concussions, she’d given up on defense.

While her opponent knocked her blades aside, she rearmed herself. With this many, I’ll—— Wise threw his staff. Again? It hit her head with a thock.

She fell backwards, pebbles scattering. When she’d recovered, Wise stood over her. At this range, it was over. Sneak attacks are useless. “I give up.” Hope collapsed.

Wise offered a hand, but she ignored it. Don’t make gestures you know I won’t accept… They won’t absolve you. Instead, she gathered the unused enchantments and got up.

“Dang it, I was doing well for a second.” She said.

Wise shook his head, “It wouldn’t have worked. Even with all your stones, I would’ve barely had enough energy left.”

“Also, Sorry… I should’ve ended it sooner. I initially thought you’d loaded up to show off. Once I realized you were serious, I felt terrible letting you waste your hard work…”

So, I would’ve lost either way, but you beat me quickly out of ‘kindness’. Hope let out an internal scream of anguish. His well-intentioned honesty simply magnified the damage. NEMESIS!

Hope marched out. So disappointing! Since Wise never got stronger, it felt like she wasn’t improving either. Which isn’t true, since I bested Free last year. Her efforts were producing results. Except with him. She couldn’t beat her feeblest sibling even once. Does he make an extra effort against me? He really didn’t need to.

Her mother had joined the others. Great, just in time for my defeat. At this point, did it matter? She’d gone all-out today, and… No, don’t you dare get depressed. Stay angry! Next time, I’ll win. On the Isle, she’d juice her spells with rare materials and finally acquire a martial art. It’d be her turn to shine! Let’s ignore that Wise will have those same advantages.

“So I hear you’ve been evaluating my children.” Astra said expressionlessly. She’s annoyed…

“They wanted an outside perspective, and I was also curious. Perhaps we were overenthusiastic…” Simon replied. “Was it not alright?” Nice job.

“I don’t appreciate it happening without my knowledge.” She gestured. “Please, continue. I’d like to hear this.”

Simon cleared his throat, “Hope, you cast a wonderfully diverse array of spells. You’ve the makings of a first rate enchantress. Wise, you displayed amazing foresight in negating and evading all that sorcery. It bespeaks deep necromantic talent. For you both, I note your strength is paltry compared to your magics. I can only assume you lack suitable martial arts.” Spot on.

“May I see your staff?” Simon asked.

“Sure.” Wise handed it over, confused.

Simon studied it, “As I thought, impressive nullification… To possess the skills to fashion this, yet only rudimentary martial arts… I can’t fathom how it happened.”

To his credit, Simon returned the staff without pushing for clarification, “You’d benefit significantly from proper instruction as necromantic martial arts operate fundamentally differently. Understanding their underlying philosophy would aid you greatly.”

“Can you tell me more?“ Wise asked. A question? Wow, he must be excited.

“Sure.” Simon smiled. “You see, we necromancers don’t make ourselves stronger. Instead, we make everything around us weaker. Rather than increasing our speed, we slow the world. We throw punches with normal strength, yet they hit like a ton of bricks. The end affect is the same, but the means of getting there is reversed.” Wise just found a competent teacher… I need one too! She wasn’t falling further behind.

“Can I see your stones?” Simon asked.

This again? “Here you go.” Hope held out a handful.

“One’s enough” Simon examined his pick. “They’re ordinary rocks…” Why yes, yes they are.

Hope gave Simon the stare. He continued quickly, “Nothing wrong with that. Base or earthly materials are still commonly used. Enchanted steel is functional and cheap. However, later on, these won’t cut it anymore. All the toughest and most versatile materials are of unnatural origin, raw magic given form. Since you’re a metal bender, it’d be a good idea to play around with Orichalcum, Adamantium, Mithril, or Cardium, to name a few.”

Yes, I want those. All of them. Astra had items of unnatural alloys, but they weren’t for her to mess with. I should make a must-do list.

“For enchanting, parts from magical beasts surpass anything of earthly origin. I’d suggest the claws of a griffin. They’re cheap, light, and hold more than rocks.”

While she’d grown attached to her pebbles, she was prepared to give them up. To crush Wise, I’ll enchant nails, teeth or whatever. Her resources had been deplorably limited here. Mostly ice and rocks, dammit!

“Lastly, I should mention combat strength is less critical for enchanters. They’re the one group who can reliably become immortal without risking their lives. Instead, they can gain recognition through the tools they craft. On the Isle, you’ll find them in high demand.” That’s nice, but I’m still beating Wise. She wasn’t OK with being weak.

“You don’t happen to know about martial arts for enchanters?”

“Not the specifics, but I’ve heard some details.” Simon said. Oh? That’s better than expected. “I had a chat with a colleague recently. She said it involves ‘layered enchantments’ for ‘rechargeability’. Apparently, this was ‘a pain because each body part has to be done its own way’ which ‘is needlessly complicated’. Sorry, that’s all I remember.”

“Can I meet this person?” Hope asked.

“I’m sure you will.” Astra answered. “Simon, thanks for your advice. Here’s some of mine: next time, ask before appraising someone’s children.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Simon said seriously.

Astra clapped, “Alright, to the airship!”

(continued in part 2)

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