Chapter 2: The Fenralis Heir

  The Fenralis estate was a fortress of stone and steel, its t walls and sharp angles a testament to the family’s virtues: Honor, Strength, Pragmatism, and Efficy. Ihe training grounds, the air was thick with the sound of g bdes and the rhythmic breathing of students practig the Fenralis school of swordsmanship.

  Garrett Fenralis, now ten years old, stood in the ter of the courtyard, his swordstaff gripped firmly in his hands. The on was a relic of the Fenralis school’s ins—a long, elegant staff with a triangur bde at the end, desigo ter mages with read precision. It was a on matism, born from y, and Garrett wielded it with a skill that belied his age.

  Across from him stood his older sister, Cassia Fenralis, the prodigy of House Fenralis. At sixteen, Cassia was already a master of the bde, her movements fluid and effortless. She was tall and slender, her figure elega anding, like a sword fed for both beauty ahality. Her hazelnut-brown hair, streaked with golden highlights that shimmered in the sunlight, cascaded down her ba loose waves, tied back with a silver ribbon to keep it out of her face during training. Her eyes, a pierg shade of amber, glowed with an iy that could cut through steel—arrett’s fideh ease. She wore the Fenralis training uniform, a fitted tunid trousers of deep blue, ated with silver embroidery that caught the light with every movement. In one hand, she held a traditional sword, its bde gleaming like a sliver of moonlight. Iher, she wielded a Starfre, a sleek, stone-like device that resembled a firearm. The Starfre’s grip was ed in bck leather, and its “barrel” was made of Luminite, a rare mineral that amplified and directed magical energy, bypassing the need for intations or rituals.

  “Ready, little brother?” Cassia asked, her tone light but her eyes sharp, a pyful smirk tugging at her lips.

  Garrett adjusted his grip on the swordstaff and nodded. “Always.”

  The match began with a flurry of strikes, the sound of steel ringing through the courtyard. Garrett moved with precision, his strikes calcuted and effit. He had trained hard, and it showed. But Cassia was on another level.

  Cassia’s sword blurred through the air, each strike perfectly timed, eaent a testament to her mastery. She didn’t just fight; she danced, her Starfre glowing faintly as she eled her celestial energy. Her movements were so graceful, so effortless, that it was easy tet she was holding back—way back. Garrett knew she could end the mat seds if she wao, but she always took her time, letting him think he had a ce before crushing his hopes with a single, devastating move.

  Garrett blocked a strike and tered with a thrust of his swordstaff, f Cassia to step back. For a moment, it seemed like he might gain the upper hand.

  Then Cassia smiled.

  With a flick of her wrist, she activated her Starfre, sending a burst of fire spiraling tarrett. He dodged, but the distra was enough. Cassia closed the distan an instant, her sword stopping just inches from his throat.

  “Yield,” she said, her voice calm but ced with amusement.

  Garrett sighed and lowered his swordstaff. “I yield.”

  The other studeed into appuse, but Garrett barely heard them. He was used to losing to Cassia. Everyone lost to Cassia.

  “Of course,” Garrett thought, his internal monologue dripping with sarcasm. “Why bother trying when you’re peting against a on-a-tury genius? Might as well challehe sun to a brightness test. Or better yet, try to out-pizza the Hut. Spoiler alert: you ’t.”

  But despite the frustration, Garrett couldn’t help but admire his sister. Cassia was everything their father wanted in an heir—strong, disciplined, and magically gifted. Garrett, oher hand, was… well, Garrett.

  After training, Garrett retreated to the estate’s library, a vast room filled with books on every subject imaginable. He spent hours p over texts on physics, astronomy, and engineering, his mind rag with ideas. The Fenralis library was one of the fi in the Celestial Empire, and Garrett took full advantage of it.

  He articurly fasated by the aexts oial magic, which described the manipution of stars and the flow of energy through the universe. He couldn’t perform magic himself, but he uood the theory behind it, and he was determio find a way to apply that knowledge.

  “Still reading, little brother?”

  Garrett looked up to see Cassia standing in the doorway, her training uniform still damp with sweat. Her hair, now loose from its ribbon, framed her face like a golden halo, and her amber eyes sparkled with mischief. She leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed, her Starfre holstered at her hip.

  “Just studying,” Garrett said, closing the book he had been reading.

  Cassia walked over and picked up the book, flipping through the pages. “Celestial Meics? Shouldn’t you be practig your sword forms?”

  Garrett shrugged. “I already practiced. Besides, this is important too.”

  Cassia raised an eyebrow, her smirk widening. “Important? You’re not going to defeat an enemy with a book, Garrett.”

  “Maybe not,” Garrett said, his voice steady. “But knowledge is power. And power isn’t just about swinging a sword.”

  Cassia studied him for a moment, then smiled—a genuine smile this time, not the teasing smirk she usually wore. “You’re a strange one, little brother. But I like that about you.”

  Garrett smiled back, but the pliment did little to ease the weight on his shoulders. He knew he would never be as strong as Cassia, as skilled, as perfect. But he was determio find his own path, even if it meant defying everyone’s expectations.

  As he left the library, Garrett couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was ing. In a few days, the Fenralis estate would host a grand soiree, a ce for the noble families of the Celestial Empire to gather and celebrate. It would also be the first time Garrett was formally introduced to society as a member of House Fenralis.

  “Great,” he thought, his sarcasm returning full force. “Just what I need—a room full of people judging me for being the ‘other’ Fenralis heir. ’t wait to hear the whispers. ‘Oh, look, it’s the one who ’t do magic. How quaint.’ Maybe I’ll just hide in the library and pretend I’m a very tall bookshelf. Or better yet, I’ll quote Richard Feynman and fuse everyone. ‘If you think you uand quantum meics, you don’t uand quantum meics.’ That’ll show them.”

  But deep down, he khis was his ce to prove himself. Not as Cassia’s shadow, but as Garrett Fenralis.Later that evening, Garrett found himself in the gardens, staring up at the stars. The twin moons of Fenris Lupus hung low in the sky, their silver light casting long shadows across the courtyard. He heard footsteps behind him and turo see Cassia approag, her hair glowing like molten gold in the moonlight.

  “You’re brooding again,” she said, her toeasing but her eyes soft. “What’s on your mind, little brother?”

  Garrett sighed. “Just thinking about the soiree. Everyone’s going to be watg me, waiting for me to mess up. And I probably will.”

  Cassia’s expression darkened, and for a moment, the pyful older sister was gone, repced by the fierce heir of House Fenralis. “Let them watch,” she said, her voice low and sharp. “If anyone dares to say a wainst you, they’ll ao me.”

  Garrett blinked, surprised by the iy in her voice. “Cass, you don’t have to—”

  For a moment, Garrett didn’t know what to say. Cassia’s words were a lifeline, a remihat he wasn’t alone. But they also made him feel guilty. Cassia had always been the perfect heir, the one who could do n. And Garrett... well, Garrett was just trying to keep up.

  As they stood there uhe stars, Cassia reached out and ruffled his hair, her smirk returning. “Besides,” she said, her tone light again, “if aries to mess with you, I’ll just challehem to a duel. Ah know how that’ll end.”

  Garrett couldn’t help but ugh. “Yeah, with them running for the hills.”

  Cassia grinned. “Exactly. Now e on, little brother. Let’s get some rest. Tomorrow’s another day of training—and I’m not going easy on you.”