Fifth Series - Emma Derage

Emma Derage is everything the Human rebels could ask for. She's an orphan, she's angry, and she hates Mages. As something of a local legend, there are naturally a whole host of rumours surrounding her, tantamount among them, that she killed a Mage. Whether or not all the rumours are true, the teenage girl does have a worryingly close relationship with knives and is often remarkably cold.

The only person who can reason with her and who she in return, shows any pleasantness, is her grandmother and guardian – Eleanor Derage. She is very protective of her grandmother, her being the only kind of parent Emma has ever known.

When she eventually winds up with Jack and Mark, she treats the two of them with utter annoyance, seeing them as little more than meddlesome children – even though they're the same age. Tad is another matter though. As he's a Mage (and a whiny, insulting brat as well) she hates him with a passion.

When it came to Emma as a person, the thing I wanted to concentrate on is her anger. She is a little ball of fury who just wants to get even with a world that she feels owes her something. But at the same time, I felt it apt to show her relationship with her grandmother, in order to show a softer side to an otherwise uncompromising and perhaps even vicious character.