Enna is a main character throughout The Books of Bayern and is the main protagonist of Enna Burning. She is Ani's best friend, Finn's wife, and a good friend of Razo, Dasha, Geric, and Rin.
Biography[]
Like many Forest residents, Enna's family struggled to buy enough food for the winter. To help earn money, Enna took up a job caring for the royal chickens as soon as she was old enough to work in the city.
The Goose Girl[]
Basking the triumph of a prank gone well against the sheep boys Razo and Beier, Enna confidently introduces herself to the new goose girl, Isi, and enjoys regaling the hall with how she saw the foreign Kildenrean princess arrive to Bayern as the soon-to-be bride to the Crown Prince.
Some weeks later during a rainstorm that forces everyone to be cooped up inside, Enna confides to Isi that she likes watching the fire, feeling like its trying to speak to her. Isi says she feels the same way with the wind and is reminded of a story her Aunt used to tell. Enna demands to hear the story and attracts more listeners until the whole dining hall is paying attention. When Isi reaches the end of her tale, Enna and the others request that she tell them a story every night.
Later, Isi tells a tale about a tragic romance. When the hall breaks for bed, Enna spots Isi staring at her reflection and teases her about getting a proper mirror. Embarassed, Isi quickly slips into her little room. Guilty for startling her friend, Enna intends to knock on her door in order to apologize but catches sight of Isi's hair through the small gap in the window curtain. Her long, blonde, definitely-foreign hair. Isi suddenly whirls around, looking as surprised as Enna feels. Pulling Enna inside, Isi laments that she's been hiding so long she's grown careless. Thunderstruck, Enna touches Isi's yellow hair, realizing that the reason Isi constantly wears a hat or headscarf was to hide it to blend in among a country of brunettes. Dropping her Bayern accent, Isi reveals that she is really Princess Anidori-Kiladra of Kildenree, forced into hiding because of her traitorous lady-in-waiting, Selia. On the journey to Bayern, Selia led half of her royal escort into mutiny, murdering the other half so that Selia could impersonate her. Isi managed to escape the carnage- albeit without her beloved horse, Falada. Isi explains that she and Falada once had a special bond that allowed them to communicate telepathically, but she recently found Falada in the palace stables and was heartbroken to discover that Selia and her allies have driven him insane. Isi concludes that she originally planned to tell the king her story and beg his assistance, but admits that the word of a goose girl will never be taken over Selia's, especially since the imposter princess is gifted with people-speaking.
Enna sits in stunned silence for a few moments, reeling in shock. When her voice returns to her she swears to keep Isi's secret, knowing that the Kildenrean traitors will kill her if they find her. She emphasizes that she truly believes Isi's incredible story and vows to help convince their fellow animal workers and help her reclaim her name. Although Isi appreciates the sentiment, she doesn't want their friends to risk their lives just to get her name back. Before Enna leaves, she promises to protect Isi and offers to worry and mourn in Isi's place so that the princess-in-hiding may sleep peacefully for once.
As the Wintermoon festival approaches, the Kildenreans make their search for another "yellow girl" public, claiming that the princess's lady-in-waiting got separated from their group on the journey to Bayern. Enna warns Isi that it's dangerous for her to go to Wintermoon, but Isi insists that the guards won't be looking for a simple goose girl. Enna is amused by her friend's sheer amazement at the wonders the festival has to offer, including fortune-telling witches, magicians, and acrobats. However, it's not long before Isi quietly pulls her aside and tells her that she saw one of the Kildenrean traitors, though he didn't see her.
As the group wanders through the festival, Enna keeps a sharper lookout as she explains to Isi a few of Bayern's customs, such as the javelin dance- a ceremony to welcome Bayern boys into the community, although Forest boys are excluded out of prejudice. After she tells Isi about the dance's significance, she spots a group of nobles daintily picking their way through the crowd. Sheep girl Bettin mentions that the prince should be with them and, to Enna's surprise, Isi decides to see him because she never has before. Following the nobles until they stop at a game booth where a preteen boy happily throws toy spears at a wooden boar, Enna and Isi are surprised when Razo identifies the little boy as the prince. Happy with his success at the game, the prince hands a bundle of little spears to a young man whose aim goes wildly off-mark when Selia playfully bumps his elbow. Alarmed that the imposter princess is so nearby, Enna tries to tug Isi away, but she can't seem to move. Enna tugs harder and at last pulls Isi further into the crowd. A very large crowd that eventually separates Enna and Isi. Frantically searching for her friend, her attention is caught by a flock of pigeons suddenly taking flight, causing enough of a commotion to be heard above the rabble. Her attention caught, Enna spots Isi trapped with two of her traitorous countrymen. Knowing that she must act quickly, Enna finds a band of peace-keepers (a local group of men who take it upon themselves to protect the people when the official soldiers fail to) and leads them straight to where Isi is struggling with the Kildenreans. One, a man named Yulan, tries to convince them that nothing is wrong, but the peace-keepers wait for Isi to speak. In true Bayern accent, she reports that they're holding a knife to her back. Almost instantly, she is wrested away from her captors. Losing his temper, Yulan attempts to attack the peace-keepers and is killed in the scuffle. That night, Enna an Isi tell the thrilling story to their fellow workers and are regarded with awe.
Some nights after the festival, a light snowfall turns the workers thoughts to their struggling families in the Forest. No one wants their family to be forced to move to the cramped living conditions of the city. Isi is asked what her family sells, and she replies truthfully that she doesn't know what they're doing now. Suddenly, Conrad laughs roughly at her, scorning her answer. He continues mocking her until he has the attention of every worker in the hall, culminating it all by declaring that she's a yellow girl, the one the Kildenrean guards are looking for. The room is entirely silent with tension until Enna rallies to Isi's defense, but the jealous goose boy challenges her to make Isi reveal her hair and settle the argument. Putting on a mournful expression, Enna deftly invents an explanation that Isi's hair was burned off in a fire before she came to the settlements and she's not going to let her be embarrassed just to set Conrad straight. The workers study their potatoes with sudden interest, ignoring Conrad's insistence that he'll prove that she's foreign. Angry that no one believes him, he stomps off in a huff. Isi, deeply relieved, thanks Enna for saving her once again, but tells her that Conrad saw her hair. Enna reassures her that no one will believe him, but she will keep her safe just in case.
Two months after Wintermoon, Isi's flock is attacked by thieves. Luckily, she somehow manages to drive them away all on her own. For some reason, Isi refuses to talk about it so Enna and the rest of the hall hear the much-embellished tale from Isi's would-be rescuers. Some workers are sent to the goose pasture to collect the poles and sacks the thieves left behind, but they instead return with the palace pageboy Tatto. The young page grandly announces that the king has heard of the valiant protection of his geese and wishes to thank those involved, and Enna presumably cheers along with everyone else as Isi and Conrad follow Tatto out the door.
However, later that evening, Tatto gossips with the workers about the rumor of war in the spring. According to Tatto, the princess told the king that Kildenree is plotting to attack Bayern and that she was sent to Bayern as a decoy to pretend all was well, but she has grown to like Bayern and doesn't want to be a part of her country's deceitful ways. Enna immediately goes to find Isi and brings her to the hall in time to hear Tatto declare that as soon as the pass is free of snow, Bayern will crush Kildenree in a preemptive strike. Feeling faint, Ani grips Enna's shoulders and urgently whispers that this war is how Selia plans to keep anyone from finding out her secret.
That very night, Enna and half the settlement hear a racket of angry geese and spot Isi running for her life from a large man with blonde braided hair chasing her. A terrified Enna leads everyone after them, but they both vanish somewhere in the woods. Faced with everyone's questions, Enna feels like she has little choice but to finally tell them all the truth about their goose girl and why she's being chased by a Kildenrean guard. For days, Enna nearly goes crazy with worry about her friend, wondering if she's even alive.
Soon after, the prince's upcoming wedding to the Kildenrean princess is announced and the whole city has a week-long holiday. Freed from work but having nowhere to go, Enna joins the rest of the workers in the dining hall. Suddenly, Isi herself walks through the door, accompanied by Finn and Talone, the loyal captain of Isi's guard who survived the mutiny. Enna immediately runs to embrace her friend, incredibly relieved that she's alive and well. As the workers congratulate her on surviving, Isi asks why they all seem to readily believe that she's royalty and is touched when Enna frankly replies that they all know her; she's their friend. Moreover, she assures Isi that the workers are joining her on her quest, despite the danger.
Leading her group to the palace, Ani gains an audience with the previous prime minister Odaccar, who is now retired. He writes a very official note for the stable-master so Enna and Finn can get horses as Ani and Talone get her a fancy gown fit for royalty. They manage to acquire about a dozen horses, but not many animal-workers can ride. Those who can are chosen to accompany Isi all the way to Lake Meginhard, where the wedding is to take place. Enna makes sure she's included; she will not abandon Isi.
That night on the road, Enna tells the story of why Bayern women travel to the battlefields with their men: to provide extra motivation to win. Arriving at the manor the next day, they are stopped by the king's guards. To Enna's intense discomfort, they insist that the princess see the king alone, forcing her along with the rest of the escort to remain outside. Nevertheless, they eventually gain access to the manor just as Selia and Ungolad's treachery is revealed to the king of Bayern. Ungolad attempts to kill Isi, but Talone bursts in the nick of time, distracting Ungolad by challenging him to a duel. Talone fights the vicious, maddened Ungolad as the workers rush into the room to help the king's guard fight the Kildenrean traitors.
As the Kildenreans lose their lives one by one, soon the only fight left is the one between Ungolad and Prince Geric. Knowing that if anyone tries to help the prince win his very first real battle it would be a great dishonor, the Bayern soldiers and animal-workers watch helplessly from the sidelines as their prince struggles against the vicious, maddened Ungolad. Ungolad manages to stab Geric in the side, but the pain seems to give Geric strength until he manages to give his opponent a deathblow, ending the battle between the traitors and the Bayern as a whole.
The king symbolically declares Geric a man and decides to charge Selia with treason, making everyone notice that Selia is, in fact, nowhere in sight. Enna sticks closely to Isi as they examine the ghastly, body-strewn room when everyone suddenly realizes that Conrad, too, is nowhere to be found. Enna and the others grimly look through the bodies of the dead when they hear screaming coming from the hidden passageway. They look inside to see a proud Conrad dragging a furious Selia along by her hair, having caught her just as she was trying to escape through a window. The king's soldiers swiftly carry her away screaming to the dungeons to await her punishment for treason: to be dragged through the streets in a barrel full of nails, a punishment she herself devised for Isi. Enna drily bids her out the door with "a meow to [Selia] too" as Conrad proudly asks if she noticed that it was he who caught the traitorous yellow-lady.
The next morning, Enna visits Isi in her rooms to discuss the events of the previous day. Enna mentions that she maybe shouldn't have entered the battle, but she was horrified that Isi was left alone with the Kildenreans and all she could think of was getting to Isi's side. Enna encourages Isi to speak to Geric, who is recovering from his wounds. When her friend expresses doubt that he would really want to see her, Enna reassures her that of course he will. Sure enough, Isi is soon summoned to the king's council. Enna meanwhile is taken to the dining hall where she takes her place among the newly formed hundred-band made up of the Forest folk. Eventually, Isi enters the room with Geric and is officially hailed both as Geric's fiancee and as the hero who stopped the war before it could begin. The royal couple walks among the captains of the hundred-bands and soon approaches the newest one. Enna asks Isi her opinion on whether their band should be called the Forest-band or the yellow-band, in honor of Isi's exotic blonde hair. Geric suggests it should be named after his future wife, but Isi insists on the Forest-band.
Some days after the celebration, Enna attends the marriage between Isi and Geric in the Thumbprint of the Gods, a public city square where anyone, noble or commoner, can attend the wedding.
Enna Burning[]
Back home in the Forest to live with her brother Leifer following their mother's death, Enna is alarmed when her normally quiet, gentle brother is suddenly reckless, angry, and even talking of rebellion against Bayern for their prejudice against the Forest folk. She suspects this uncharacteristic behavior is related to a mysterious vellum he recently found in the Forest, but Leifer refuses to say a word about it. Instead, he tries to convince their close friend Finn to take up arms against the "foreigner princess" -his little sister's best friend- right in front of Enna. When she of course vehemently opposes the idea, Leifer grimaces as if in pain before Enna feels a rush of heat that sets her skirt on fire. As Finn extinguishes the flames, Leifer runs off into the Forest in horror, leaving an utterly bewildered Enna and Finn to speculate that he has somehow learned fire-speaking the way Isi knows the language of the wind. Enna decides to go to the capital city, knowing that if anyone can advise her on her brother's situation, it's Isi. The two are soon happily reunited in the city, but as they head towards the palace Enna uneasily notices that her friend is easily distracted to the point where she doesn't always respond to her. Isi leads Enna to a treasury deep below the palace where it's "quieter" and explains that her skill with wind-speaking has grown so much she can hear its voice constantly, which is driving her crazy. In order to focus on her immediate surroundings, she now requires locations with minimal air movements to think clearly. Reminded of her brother, Enna informs Isi that Leifer has somehow learned fire-speaking but can't control it very well.
River Secrets[]
Enna begs to be a part of the Bayern amabassador's escort to Tira.
Forest Born[]
The plans for Enna's wedding must be put on hold until the uneasiness with Kel is resolved.
Physical Description[]
Enna has hair "as black as night" that reaches to the middle of her back. She has wide, dark eyes, slightly giving her an owl-like look. She is often said to be very pretty.
Abilities[]
- Enna is a very skilled fire-speaker. She can:
- Sense heat from living things and pull it into a special place inside herself, forming it into fire.
- Send fire into anything she chooses, from dead wood to metal sword hilts to living flesh.
- Create bigger fires and keep making them for a longer period of time than any other known fire-speaker.
- Send tiny bits of heat into her own fingers and toes to keep from being cold.
- Send tiny bits of heat into other people to warm them.
- Cause wind to dissipate by breaking it up with heat.
- Pull heat directly out of a person's body.
- Enna was taught wind-speaking by her best friend Isi. She can:
- Sense images of things that the wind has touched before reaching her.
- Suggest paths for the wind to follow.
- Gather the wind around her into a buffeting shield.
- Douse fires by flooding them with wind.
Quotes[]
- "Quick, Razo, Beier. That sulky old ram... he beat down a hole in his pen... got into my chick coop... I tried to stop him, but I-" *the boys rush off* -I couldn't stop him because I was so busy rigging a bucket of oat mush above the door".
- "I want to tell you [Ani] how I believe you. I don't know why. I wouldn't believe Razo if he pricked his finger and told me he was bleeding, and your story's almost as crazy as your bedtime tales, but I really do believe you. And when you get tired of worrying and mourning your horse and trying not to be afraid, tell me and I'll do it for you a while so you can shut your eyes and sleep peaceful."
- "If I ever find a man, he'll have to be a man, really a man, to handle me."
- "I couldn't care less for Kel or her queen. But someone who claims to be the Kelish queen is sending fire-speakers out in the night to burn Bayern villages, and that makes me grumpy. So I'm all for tracking down this 'she' and telling her, very politely, that in Bayern, burning down inns just isn't good manners. And then char every hair from her body."
- "If Finn were here, he'd let me rest my head on his chest at night. Or leg. Or arm. And then he'd find whoever was responsible for the whole sleeping-outside-with-no-pillows situation and hold him while I kicked him in the shins. Hard."
Trivia[]
- Shannon Hale used elements of her own relationship with her husband when writing Enna and Finn's relationship.
- According to Razo, Enna hates having her hair touch the back of her neck, dislikes having dry fingertips, prefers her potatoes with salt, and likes music with drums.
- Enna can't hold completely still, like fire and wind.
- Enna's name may be inspired from the Gaelic names Enya, which means "little fire" or "flames"; or Ena, which means "bright and shining".
- In the Bayern Justice League, a tactic Shannon Hale used for character development, Enna is considered to be Wonder Woman.