Precedent scene: Professor Giron (https://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/professor-giron/2946163/) First scene of the story-arc: Chaos and Death ((https://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/chaos-and-death/2889324/?p&ca)) ________________________________________ Delphine was walking far in front of her companions, still angry. She was grumbling and mumbling because of the images that Marina and Sigrid had put in her head. But then, she suddenly saw her parents not far away, with a little girl. She instantly forgot her thoughts and hailed them with joy, speeding her walk to catch with them quickly. " Père! Mère! - Delphine! exclaimed her father, a bright smile illuminating his face. What a pleasure to see you. he said, taking her in his arms." Delphine's father was tall for a Tyrnaelvan, even if comparatively, he was smaller than Marina. He had short brown hair and a short goatee. His eyes were green like those of his daughter and his gentle heart could be seen on his face. He was sporting a red tunic with blue trims, a yellow and golden cape and a yellow hat with a red band. The only visible magical object visible on him was the staff he was holding in his right hand. Her mother though, was covered of magical items. In addition of her staff, her hands were full of rings. A large necklace was hanging on her chest and two big earrings pierced her ears. Under her blue hat, a circlet was around her forehead. All of these objets were set with magical gems, even the buckle of her belt, encircling the waist of her blue magician dress, was set by one of them. She was blond and had green eyes too, like Delphine, but she was smaller than her. Having them next to each other, you could, with not doubt, see they were mother and daughter. " My daughter. I am so happy to see you again." said her mother, taking Delphine in her arms and hugging her tightly at her turn. After the embrace, continuing to hold her by the shoulders, she looked at her daughter from bottom to top to see how she had changed over this year and a half. Looking at her face she suddently realised something that the joy of metting her daughter had hidden. " Delphine! Where is your hat?! she said with an abrupt tone. - Oh! Uhm, well..." Delphine's expression went from joy to that one of a child caught doing something wrong. " I let it at the Guild. - You what?! - Uhm, well... Delphine was avoiding the eyes of her mother. During our last adventures, it has almost been destroyed several time, so I have thought it was better to not take it with me this time. - Delphine, my daughter, a magician's hat is more than a simple hat. It is the symbol of your rank and of what you are. You should know that. she stopped and thought for a second. Does your decision come from some of one of those ridiculous ideas of Omdeo? - Oh no! Not at all. Omdeo has nothing to do with that. Like I said, I didn't wanted it to be destroyed." In fact, her mother's intuition was very good. One day, Delphine asked Omdeo why he wasn't wearing a hat. The old magician explained to her that if some symbols were important, a magician's hat was not one of them. After meditating on that later, she agreed with that idea and her beloved hat became less important for her. " Come on, Cleo, darling, said Delphine's dad. Her staff and her robe are largely enough to make her recognisable as a magician, even by the most uneducated man. - It's not the point, Roland! She should wear her hat with prid, no matter what. You are always too accommodating. - And you are always too strict, my love. But it's what makes us a well equilibrate couple." He leaned and kissed her on the cheek. Cleo's face became a little red. " Well, I suppose you are right." Her head was spinning a little. After all these years together, her husband still had this effect on her. "Delphine, I will pass for this time, but I want you to wear your hat. - Yes, Mother. responded Delhine looking down and thinking that the next time she'll come, she'll wear it only to save the appearance." While Delphine and her parents reunited, her companions had arrived next to them. Delphine took the occasion to change of subject. " Mother, father, you remember, Marina and Minalva? - Of course. How are you? they saluted them, bowing. I hope you have taken care of our daughter well, during your adventures. asked Cleo. - Oh yes, responded Minalva with a big smile. She almost died only twice." - What? asked the both parents, their face becoming very pale. - Ha ha ha! Delphine was forcing herself to laugh. Don't listen to her she is joking. You know how the Wood Elves are." She turned and gave a look at her elf friends that was saying: "Why have you said that?!". Her friend seem to have understood she said something wrong, because she took a contrite expression. Decided to change the subject fast once again, Delphine presented Romatzo and Sigrid. As a Mountains Dwarf, Romatzo was very sensitive to the presence of magical stones and since they arrived at the university, his senses were tingling all over. In the presence of Delphine's mother, he almost felt dizzy. But he managed to keep a decent stature. After that, Delphine thought the presentations were over, when she remembered somebody who had stayed quiet all along. " Hello, said Delphine, bending to talk to the little girl who was hidding behind Cleo. You must be Sophie. Sophie was around 6 or 7 years old. Her hair were blond and her eyes blue. She was wearing a white dress with dark blue trims. She was looking at Delphine with big wide eyes. " Come on Sophie, don't be shy, say hello. said Delphine's mother. - Hello. she responded with a little voice." Sophie was daughter of peasants. At first nobody knew that the weird things that were happening in the farm were coming from the little girl, not even herself. But with the time passing and the manifestations becoming more and more common, her parents and siblings understood where it came from. Her uneducated parents began to be more and more afraid by her and started to mistreat the child. False and distorted rumors sprayed in the close village and it was just a matter of time before the Inquisitors of the Church of The Supreme were told about it. Fortunately, the local bonesetters/healer, who was not as stupid and superstitious than the others villagers, have heard that a magician was traveling in their region. He was understanding what was going on with Sophie and he made all his possible to get in contact with the mage. When the magician reached them, it didn't took long for him to see the potential of Sophie and to conviced her parents to entrust their daughter to him. They were more than happy to get rid of this troublesome child. Despite how she was treated at the farm, the separation had been very hard for the very young child. Luckily for Sophie, in addition of the traumatising separation, she didn't had to make a laborious trip of several weeks on road, the magician knowing how to invoke portals. The same day he took her, they arrived at the university. Due to their experience at raising a child gifted in magic, the charge of training and raising her had been given to Delphine's parents. A little more of one year after she arrived at Aubejolie, the trauma of the abandonment, of the beatings and maybe the biggest of all, the fear she had seen in the eyes of her parents and siblings when they were looking at her, were still there. But, in Cleo and Roland, she found caring and loving parents of substitution, that were always here for her. Sophie was now in front of what was basically her new big sister and if she was not a particularly shy child, she was actually very impressed by Delphine. She was the only child apprentice at the university and even among the other apprentice, very rare were those of the age of Delphine. Thus, Delphine was the youngest magician she had ever seen. Tall, beautiful, elegant and gracious, an impressive staff in her hand and a sword on her side, Delphine was for the little girl the personified vision of what she'll like to be growing up. "It's a beautiful wand you have here. said Delphine kneeling to be at the height of the child. Can I see it?" The little girl gave it to her. "It looks like the one I had when I was an apprentice myself. - Actually my dear, said her mother, it is yours. We thought it was better to have her use it, instead to have it taking the dust on a shelf." Delphine looked at the wand closer. " Oh, yes. I can see the dent I did on the gem the day I made my cauldron explode. she looked at her friends. Because of a failed spell. she gave back the wand the girl. Take care of it, Sophie. It's a good wand and it will serv you well if you do it." The girl took the wand and looked at it with bright new eyes. She already knew it had belonged to the daughter of her teachers, but now she had met her, it had taken another dimension to her eyes. " I'll take care of it, promiss. said the little apprentice, holding the wand against her heart." Delphine smiled and put a hand on her head and caressed her hair affectionately. When she stood up, facing her parents. "So, Delphine. said her father. You being here with your companions and seeing how you are all geared up, I suppose you are not just here to see us, your mother and me. What bring you here. -Well, in fact... __________________________________________ It took time, but I've finally finished to write this part. :) The render have been also hard to make, because with so many characters, DS was crashing a lot. I know what I want to do for my next picture, but it might be a little complicated to do and I want also to do one or two unrelated pictures I have in mind for a while, before doing it. So I don't know when it will be available to upload exactly. But I'll try to not take too long. :) I have hesitated to talk about Sophie backstory, but I think it helps to expand the univers a little and it was allowing me to introduce the religion of the Humans, even if it was just with an allusion. The Church of The Supreme, is, of course, not made of the Inquisition only. And if you found some powerful assholes in it, you have also people with the greatest heart. You might have come to this conclusion by yourself, but mage apprentices are using wands during their training years. The staffs being reserved to actual magicians, recognised as such by their peers. Delphine's mother is strict, but she is also a loving mother and she would be ready to nivel cities to the ground, if it was to save her "baby". :D