Personality

Growing up, Enika never got the chance to make many friends. As an only child and heiress of a highly acclaimed clan of divine fortunetellers, she had no choice but to find ways to occupy herself and her time. She grew up to be rambunctious, imaginative, and adventurous. Though she is still young, she does not know much fear. While the young girl travels often with her mentors and extended family on business trips and training, Enika has yet to experience much of civilian life. She is highly curious and thinks of the world as her playpen. That said, she has an air of naivety about her, finding fascination in even the smallest of things amidst commoner life. She is also very bad at making friends, unsure of how to properly communicate with children her age in a friendly way. She comes off as bossy, sometimes even abrasive or even pompous. Enika finds it hard to relate to children within her social class, for her parents convinced her that status is everything between clans. There is no room for hobbies or friendly connections. Among kids outside of her social class, Enika finds it even harder to relate to them... She's almost jealous, even, of their seemingly wide range of freedom and foreign lifestyle. While she acts this way towards children, however, she's (usually) incredibly mindful of her elders. She is capable of being respectful and holding back her impulsive, childish nature in favor of a young woman trying her best to inherit the duties entrusted to her by her elders. This usually means her closer acquaintances tend to be older people, and she thinks of them as extended family.

History

Hundreds of years ago within the borders of Radiant Harbor, the Tsurara clan made their humble beginnings at the base of the rocky mountains. These mountains separated the Harbor from the mainland, but very few dared to ever set foot near them. They were harsh and unforgiving; some even speculated foul demons lurked the rocky cliff sides in search of lost and weary souls to prey on. It was strictly forbidden for Harbor residents to travel outside the borders, and the same went for those from the mainland. Some say this separation policy, although established under mutual agreement of the respected leaders, was what gave birth to such sinister stories of the mountains the Tsurara clan called home. Luckily for them, this worked in their favor.

It was said that Lady Inari, the ancestor of the Tsurara bloodline, established a shrine at the base of these mountains and with her incredible powers over ice and snow she subdued the ominous darkness plaguing the rocky peaks. The whispers of foreboding spirits soon vanished under blankets of white, the air silent and peaceful once more. The snowy peaks shimmered brightly under both the sun and moon, and the Harbor saw the mountains as a symbol of reverence - something to be wary of, but respected all the same. Early texts within the Tsurara records say that Lady Inari was then given a blessing from Arceus herself, thanking her for her kind deeds and quenching the darkness welling up in the hearts of her kin. The Ninetales' hair once radiant in shades of blue and indigo now shimmered lavender and pink with tips frosted white. Some ancient texts also describe Lady Inari's powers as having been increased under Arceus' blessing, but neither these claims nor the shiny blessing have been proven. What can be proven, however, is the existence of the shrine from centuries ago nestled within the rocky bases of the mountain, along with proof of the Tsurara clan's work in the artifacts they left behind for their descendants.

The Tsurara clan of Ninetales are revered as divine fortunetellers, though their abilities extend a little beyond mere prophecies and blessings of prosperity. For centuries their unique power over ice and snow has been seen as a sign of spiritual purity. They use their powers to purify and extinguish ill omens, capturing evil spirits within frigid winds and putting them to rest, frozen in time. With the use of special crystals imbued with the power of the icy stones the clan's vulpix evolve from, they exhibit a limited clairvoyance and reach into the spiritual plane. This gives them the power to foresee the future, though Tsurara fortunes read more like prophecies or divine inspiration. While they cannot directly influence the futures of their clients, by embedding their power into charms or words of prayer, they give their clients that first step towards a prosperous future.

When Enika was born, her family had only just begun offering their services to their neighbors of the mainland. Due to recent events and the ripples of turmoil that shook the regions of the Sun Empire, their guidance was well received. She grew up in an era far different from her parents generation; her world had expanded far beyond what her family's boundaries originally were, and the work cut out for her tripled. Because of this, her parents were hardly ever around to raise her. She was left in the care of her extended family, often times her cousins or aunts who had completed their divination training. Under Enika's parents' orders, they kept her restricted within the noble's tier and began her training early. The girl didn't dislike the training, but it was obvious that the history and logistics behind the work itself bored her to death. She longed for a break, some down time with her parents amidst this vast world that they could travel across whenever they pleased... But they chose their work over domestic life. Enika was left alone, strictly isolated and yet unsupervised. She was lonely.

Their influence slowly began to build, and a reputation soon formed that allowed them to eventually move their residency closer towards the growing cities within Radiant Harbor. While the family shrine still stands, many of the ancient artifacts were relocated with the clan - all except one: an ancient mirror said to have belonged to Lady Inari herself. This mirror was special, in that it held the prophecies of the Tsurara clan's members within its reflection. No one clan member can see into the future of another without this mirror, and the title of Clan Head cannot be passed down without its presence in the ritual. They locked this mirror up within the original shrine in the mountains, supposedly safe from harm as no one dares to venture out that far...

But come Enika's tenth birthday, terrible news erupted within the clan's walls. The mirror had been stolen and the shrine stripped of its sanctity.

No one knows who could have stolen it, or if the mirror was even on Sun Empire soil anymore, but they were desperate to find it. They enlisted help from officials everywhere, even daring to venture into Radiant Harbor's underground circuits for information, but nothing was ever found. At her wit's end, Tsurara Miwako (Enika's mother) sought guidance from her ancestors in an arduous divination session. She pushed the boundaries of her clairvoyance as far as she could, eventually robbing herself of her eyesight from the strain, but alas she managed to gain one clue - a form of closure, even.

The mirror would be relinquished from the hands of an eevee - the evolution unknown - and returned to the clan's possession indefinitely.

The search continued for years and eventually Enika's training was put to a stop. She was nearly finished, only a couple more years before she would be deemed a certified fortuneteller, but the search for the mirror was deemed more important. She couldn't advance without it, or take her place as the rightful head of the clan. A small part of her thanked whoever caused this chaos to ensue; now she is free to explore the world and experience things she previously couldn't. She now roams Radiant Harbor with her cousins, babysitters, or even a close family acquaintance who often invited her on business trips to other regions, occupying herself with the wonders of life as a commoner. Every so often she'd aid in purification rituals, but she isn't allowed to do so unsupervised. Still, that doesn't stop her from trying... It's not like her parents are there to watch her.