The Athens' enclave didn't have an easy time when Ionas was born. The first half of the 20th century was not easy for a lot of enclaves in the Eastern Europe region. The mundane side of things got bad enough that it was hard for the wizards as well. Magic makes it harder for enclaves to fall, but when they do, it's hard to rise up again. And mundanes got too good at destroying a thing in a larger blast radius...

Still, Athens soldiered on and managed to cling to a sliver of stability. When it was time for Ionas to be inducted, the enclave even looked outright prosperous and rising. But he knew it was only in comparison to recent history, and it was necessary for everyone to take every advantage to hold onto their power. Ionas tried to make his part. Observing and making connections, figuring out who could be useful and in what ways. Never closing doors even if he couldn't let someone through.

Learning the hard way that if you tried to help the wrong person, that was a lost resource that could have gone somewhere that would've been useful.

He met his future wife after such an incident. A mistake from his part meant someone that needed help but couldn't hold onto it ended up beaten and in need of more help. All because of a trinket traded at a generous price. But you don't gain anything for free at the Scholomance.

If you gain something, there is always work behind it. Jomana has no delusions about the fairness of the system, but the scales can be tipped better. If one sees the opportunities. Or brew them. Convince people that this or that student is better to do your maintenance work, or bribe them to do it. Get someone else to have a reputation for brewing potions to enhance performance on the cheap. Then pretend you just discovered that person as an asset for the seniors of your enclave to trade with.

This all results in someone in the maintenance track kid finding themselves with better prospects. Enough that they trade even more shifts for some hand potions. Then that supply gets cut. Too bad that the maintenance kid has a temper and so do the enclavers that ends up locked out of the cafeteria.

It would be the sort of plan that would make Jomana proud, since it got a violent person in trouble and lost things. Some enclavers quickly learned a valuable lesson about responsibility. Jomana would be very proud of the conclusion.

But it was trading in lives. Because ultimately, that is the thing being balanced at the Scholomance. Who gets to live. And all things have to be taken from somewhere.

Jomana has no delusions about the fairness of the system.

From it, she gained the connection with the enclaver from Athens. They kept being cordial with each other during their shared time at school, but hardly thought much about any future prospects. That was for later.

Still, she remembered him when it came time to find a suitable partner.

Their first child, a son, is born in the year after their marriage. Soon followed by a daughter. Two beautiful children, bright, sometimes misbehaving, but ultimately kind.

They are named after some cursory divination work is done. Their firstborn is named "Aristotelis", not exactly after the philosopher, but because of the name's meaning: "best purpose". Suitable name for an heir.

Their daughter receives the name "Astra", because of her affinity for light, predicted by Jomana's grandmother.

They are good kids and the two make their best to instill the proper sense of responsibility that enclavers parents neglect to.

Astra doesn't cry when induction day comes. She well equipped and prepared. And Aris didn't cry before induction, and he will be two year ahead of her and help her out if she really needs to.

She doesn't cry at all when they make some last minute adjustments after her haircut. Milligrams of alchemical reagents are added to her precious cargo. A drop to fight dehydration from drinking less water all day. A drop of anti-nausea under her tongue the hour before to avoid induction sickness. Another drop of an entirely different potion in a special dispenser in her power-sharer. No drops of tear, even if those could be exchanged for something more useful.

Her parents, tutors and her just sit and wait while the time comes, making last minute revisions to past the time.

Astra has enough sense to think something is amiss, but unsure what it could be. They say goodbye. And one of her tutors assures her that everything will be fine and that she will make everyone proud.

Then the pull of induction comes, and she lands facing a void wall.

No tears, she realizes she wanted her parents to say something like her tutor did. But not tears, and there are more important things to do. Seeing an enclaver cry would freak others out.

Astra just gets up, writes down her room number. She drinks the drop of potion in her power-sharer. A bitter antidote, which the added bonus that it does make some tasks harder to focus without affecting her actual ability to fight off. Just swallowing it lets Astra cast a spell to make the numbers at her door glow faintly.

Then she makes her way to the cafeteria. Where Aris is there to welcome her with a hug that surprises her for some reason.

Astra doesn't think her time at the Scholomance is anything special.

Horrible, deeply so, but not specially horrible. She is part of a small enclave, which is better than being an indie. By a lot, but even when she tries to do everything she was taught to do and everything she is learning, nothing feels particularly remarkable.

By Scholomance standards, this is great. Most ways you gain notoriety at the Scholomance are some variation of "X died because Y" or come very close to it.

Her affinity is not great, but not completely useless. Mals hate it and shields can be easily adjusted to block bright flashes that would otherwise blind people.

And everyone wants more light at the Scholomance. A deal with maintenance track kids means she spends a good share of her time at her dorm room with her friends, absently weaving lamps.

Her room becomes even a better spot to hang out when the boy to her right dies, and it becomes a double wide next graduation. She fills that side with more lights pretty quickly. It's worth to have a surplus for when someone from maintenance comes to trade.