Carelle Scandiberrie is an 11-year-old Hursian girl. Orphaned in infancy, she has only a vague recollection of her parents. After a few tumultuous years, she has finally grown into a resourceful child who has lived since the age of six in her trusty den built by her own humble hands, close to the banks of the river of Galite. And about Galite, everyone in the village knows of Carelle’s existence, but very few villagers have tried to approach her.

Carelle having met Cassandra shortly after her arrival in Galite, the two Hursians have become great friends, and consider themselves twin sisters (especially as they were born on the same day). If Cassandra brings wisdom to almost wild child, conversely, Carelle brings a rebellious spirit to the wise child as Cassandra. In short, the two are a perfect pair! That’s why Cassandra’s departure for Nievicila will be a heartbreaker for Carelle, who thus returns to the solitude of the years preceding her arrival at Galite. That said, Carelle is not the kind of Hursian who gives up easily. She’ll be bold enough to write a new page in her life, and even, why not, to follow Cassandra to Nievicila…

Cassandra Kalabrio is an 11-year-old Hursian girl. The daughter of a maid and an unknown father, her mother’s suicide drove her into the arms of her uncle Kena (her mother’s brother), an innkeeper by profession. Cassandra had a quiet childhood despite her unusual family situation, and was known throughout the village as “the little girl from the inn” until she left for boarding school at the Nievicila secondary school, the year she turned 11.

Because of her youth and the good upbringing she received from her uncle, whom she loved and considered a father, she brimming with candor and curiosity, refusing to be pushed around. Surrounded by friends, whether in her native village with her best friend Carelle whom she considers the sister she never had, or even in secondary school with her new classmates, Louise, Basile, Adelaide and Magalie, it’s clear that Cassandra is not the lonely type. Her Uncle Kena has instilled in her a fighting spirit and unfailing determination. Faced with her teacher, Miss Timveci, and the Blemalia ideology that is the only one tolerated in Sartovia, Cassandra doesn’t give up. She refuses to be underestimated because of her rural background, defying the prejudices of the school staff (led by Miss Timveci) who see her as a difficult girl who needs to be re-educated and put back on the straight and narrow.