Chapter 1
There was a nervous knock at the door of the Magicians' Guild.
Across the main hall, the woman's face lit up with joy and she rushed to open the door, immediately ambushing the girl at the door with a hug. "Cassandra, it's so good to see you! You got so big!"
"It's good to see you too, Auntie Ametha," said the visitor, ineffectually trying to loosen the mage's grip around her torso. She only managed to wiggle free when Ametha let go.
Ametha smiled at her and brushed back her purple bangs, now shot through with silver. "You have no idea how excited everyone was for you to come. I honestly believe they would worship you like a goddess, given the chance."
Cassandra brushed her off. "Aw, come on, Auntie. That's a major lie and you know it."
Ametha shook her head with mock shame. "Guilty as charged, sweetie. But you do know how happy your parents are to see you, right?"
"Ametha," boomed a voice from the far end of the hall, "I think she knows. Now, if you could kindly let a pair of mages say hello to their daughter?"
Two mages emerged from the corridor, a woman and a man. The woman wore green robes that complemented her emerald eyes and her silver-streaked green hair. Her husband wore white, with creamy white-blond hair. His left eye was a pale gold, while the other eye was replaced by a curious magical device that acted like a small camera. Cassandra joyfully launched herself at them, enveloping them both in a long-armed hug. "Mom! Dad!"
"Cassie, you look beautiful, as always," said her mother, holding her at arm's length. It was true; Cassandra had always been a pretty child. She had extraordinarily long blond hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks with a slim and muscular figure. Now, at eighteen, there was a certain ruggedness about her and her face that could be explained due to the fact that she spent all her time outside - her hair was a paler blond, bleached by the sun; her face and forehead were sunburnt more often than not, and her lips were always chapped. Nowadays, Cassandra always wore a set of molten hellstone armor interwoven with lava and carried a massive, flaming war hammer, but she had had the decency to remove it before entering the Guild (with all the wood and fabric, she didn't want to burn anything).
"Blue skies and sunshine, that's my secret," laughed Cassandra. "Never fails!"
"Come on, Cassandra. All our old friends are here, waiting to say hello to you," said her father, the glass lens of his camera eye twinkling with laughter.
Cassandra turned and was about to follow her parents into the corridor when something strange caught her eye from outside the window.
Underneath one of the trees behind the Guild was a strange woman, looking at Cassandra with murder in her eyes. She was clothed in a dappled material that helped her camouflage with the trees; only her bright blond hair and sharp green eyes gave her away. She clutched a long staff like a walking stick, which was serving as the perch for a massive black raven. Cassandra blinked and shook her head, and when she looked back, the woman was gone.
"Cassie?" Her mother inquired around the corner. "Are you feeling all right? Come on, we're waiting for you."
Cassandra dismissed the vision of the woman under the tree as a trick of the light, shook her head again and followed her parents into the corridor.
