For Arthur who has been encouraging the completion of this Delphinium chapter. Sorry text is so long. I had such a blast putting this image together, especially in post work. I am very happy with it if I do say so myself. Needs a full size peek. For the better part of a hard day Onna and Anna had fought it out in the old Elven temple - neither seeming to gain any significant break over the other. For her part Onna remained unscathed within her powerful protective shield but she could not drop it for an instant knowing that Anna would throw a wicked energy bolt and destroy her before she could get away, if her accursed cat did not get her first. She was trapped in the sphere and could only hope to wear Anna's energy down. As for Anna she had held this wicked witch of a dark elf in place and as long as she kept her wits and energy about her she felt she could hold Onna forever. She had no idea how close she had come to cracking Onna's protective shield with her last blow. As far as she knew Onna had deflected her energy bolt with calm aplomb and had in fact counterattacked. Anna felt that she was no closer to freeing George than she had been at the start of their battle that morning. What to do? She had tried every energy spell she had been taught and nothing had cracked Onna's shell. Obviously she was not strong enough to overcome Onna by a direct assault. She needed to invoke a different kind of magic. To invoke was not a term to be used lightly nor was an invocation a kind of magic to be cast without careful consideration. It was a very dangerous kind of magic, for once it was cast you had to give up a lot of control of events. Putting your fate in the hands of the devine was a high risk game to be used only under dire circumstances. Anna had never done it before. Before Lady Larkspur had taken over the Delphinium Order it was under the care of another priestess, Calum's wife, the Lady Abigail. The two were cut from quite different cloth. Though she was very wise, and could be patient when need be, Lady Larkspur was more of a dark worker, someone who relied on energy and force fields and direct assault. She had taught Anna well, but it was what Anna had been working with all day to no success. Lady Abigail on the other hand had spent a lot of her mystical energies travelling between the spirit worlds. She had little hesitation in invoking divine help when need be, choosing carefully amongst a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses to come to her aid. In that regard she had been connected. Anna had been blessed to spend time with Lady Abigail before her untimely demise at the hands of Shaw and his men. Anna was Abigail's last student and she had taught her charge well, though she had sworn Anna to never use these gifts unless absolutely necessary. And her sage advice had been, in times of war there was only one Goddess that need be invoked. And that Goddess was Ishtar. And so it came to pass that as dusk fell across the remains of that ancient and ruined Elven temple Anna had grimly put herself into a high state of being and called on Ishtar for help. The setting in a ruined holy place could not have been more profound or the occasion more dire. She could trust Millicent to strike if Onna made any moves so she could focus totally on invoking the Goddess. In all regards it was a perfect place and a perfect time.