Alunya's a naturally talented sorcerer who happens to live in a place that has existed in peace for so long that any semblance of power is intrinsically viewed as a threat! But more importantly, he's very much enveloped in a hostile culture which shapes him in a contradictory way. As the story goes on he becomes more and more repulsed by those around him but rather than becoming cynical or jaded, he becomes increasingly self-assured and confident in his own supremacy. All in all, he was written to help me practice writing characters that can be fun, cute, and energetic, while still having a particular sense of grandiosity and seriousness when it matters, since those were traits I previously struggled to combine. I think that it works pretty well personally.
He starts out cute and innocent, but when he loses his innocence he doesn't just grow up but fights to stay who he is and keep his playful, vibrant spark. The world around him becomes increasingly alien, but he still finds joy and things to love in it. And even when those he loves become threats to his innocence, he holds onto them. He's not delusional, he doesn't hide from reality; he tries his best to understand it, but rejects what he won't live with. He can be tempted to act reckless but he has enough rationality to not just jump off the deep end when he's not ready. There aren't any limits to how far he will go to live in the world he wants to, and he will not accept being degraded nor corrupted.
He wants to learn and expand, to gain a better understanding of the world and the things in it, and not only to learn about them but be able to shape, create, and change them. That drive foments a kind of ambition in him that doesn't necessarily need a specific end goal, save the desire to keep becoming more and shape the world around him. He loves to make things himself, to see the fruits of his labors in reality, and that is more important to him than any kind of luxury or comfort. Becoming better, wiser, smarter, more creative, more vibrant, are all ends in and of themselves as far as Alunya is concerned.
Oh, and also, he's a little brother. Alunya loves his big brother!
I swear to god I actually tear up re-reading the last currently written part of the story with Alunya and his brother Antares.
