Damia had met with Grandmaster Niklaus on a daily basis to practice her swordplay. They had attempted to alternate between swordplay one day and magic training the next, but Damia had reverted back to her inability to use her powers, beyond the basic abilities so they focused on swordplay.
During each practice, she seemed to have rapidly improved from the previous practice and the Grandmaster felt that as extraordinary as her learning capabilities might be, no novice should have progressed as quickly, especially when she had never before even held a sword. This experience had been more like rehabilitating an expert swordsman than teaching an amateur.
After the third practice, they had stopped using the wooden replicas and switched to actual blades. Not once did she complain of the weight or lose her balance. Her movements were all flawless and precise. Not a single wasted step.
"I'm afraid we may have exhausted the extent of my knowledge for training you, Princess. There is nothing more I can teach you with a sword alone. My suggestion would be for you to find the trigger for unleashing your powers, but without losing control. A sword will help protect you in close combat, but nothing can protect you more than your own powers. I wish I could be of greater assistance to you in this matter, but my magic is of the reinforcement class of humans. And unfortunately, there are no other shifters that can teach you. Have you done any research in the library?"
"No, Grandmaster, but I'll head there now and see if I find anything of use. I am truly grateful to you for all that you have taught me."
"You are most welcome, Princess. I'll take my leave now."
The Grandmaster bowed to Damia and departed from the courtyard where they had been practicing.
Prince Elric had been unable to make today's session so Damia turned to Adi, who sat on a bench near the courtyard entrance, waiting for her practice to conclude.
"Will you be joining me in the library, Adi?"
"I shall follow you anywhere, milady." Adi mocked.
Damia gave him a disapproving look and then laughed. "You dare mock your, Princess? I fear you're becoming too bold my dear companion. I should stop spoiling you so much."
Adi returned her laugh and followed her lead, but then asked, "Don't you think the King would be cross with you for wearing this outfit when you're no longer training with the Grandmaster? Even the Prince has voiced his disdain when he's seen you in passing after a session concludes."
"I loathe the fact that you are always right about the most trivial matters." Damia huffed. "Fine, I'll go change and you go on ahead to the library without me. See if you can find any books on magic so we can read through them."
"Alright, but hurry. You know how I hate books. I can't be held responsible if I leave before you return."
Damia looked at Adi as if to say "you wouldn't dare" and rushed off to her room to change.
Adi made his way through the castle, towards the library. The castle walls heading towards the library were adorned with tapestries and paintings that he rarely took the time to admire. Having the spare time today, he decided to spend some admiring them. He recognized a few to be portraits of former royals, ancestors to the King, with a few being ancestors to the late Queen. As he approached the library, he noticed one painting of a faceless woman with a halo behind her head. She held an infant in her arm, covered by her shade. Beside her lay a child in the light, appearing to be asleep.
Though Adi didn't spend much time looking at the paintings, this one was an exception. He always seemed to be drawn to it whenever he would walk by. He did not recognize the style, so he didn't know who created the painting, but the late Queen had been known to take great interests in the arts so he assumed this was a piece she obtained through supporting an amateur artist. He didn't know the story behind the painting, but he often liked to pretend that it was a portrait of the late Queen holding Damia, and he was the infant beside her.
Adi stood in front of the painting a moment longer and then entered the library. He looked around the room and instantly felt overwhelmed.
The library was the largest room in the entire castle, housing all the history of the kingdom, and works from authors dating as far back as the Great War. Many works prior to that time had been lost in the fire from one of the battles, but just as many still survived, and the collection had increased significantly since then as well. To make matters more difficult, there was no organization to the books in this room so he had no idea where to start looking for clues.
"Damia must be taking her sweet time because she knows just how impossible a task she has given me and wants me to suffer."
Adi decided that he would start with the bookshelf along the left wall since it was the closest, and work his way around.
He came across books about the tax histories, recipe books, and even some children's fairytales. He kept looking through the shelves and grabbed whatever looked useful. Once he had gathered a stack of about twenty books, he stopped and set them on a table since that would be enough to keep both he and Damia busy for the remainder of the day.
Damia still hadn't arrived so he decided to start reading on his own, starting with a book titled "History of Magic." Flipping through the first few pages, he didn't think that it would contain anything they could use to help Damia with her powers. The book was divided into sections, each one describing the different races in the world and what they generally held dominion over. He came across a section about dragons, which was intriguing as, even in their world of magic, dragons were considered to be a myth, yet this book spoke of them as though they had actually existed during the lifespan of the author. He set the book aside deeming it to be a work of fiction.
Just as he picked up the next book, Damia joined him at the table.
"What took you so long, Princess."
"Do you ask because I was missed?" She teased.
"No, I ask because a moment longer I would have decided to work on my magic and disappear."
"Ha... Ha... Ha... how funny, Adi. I'm pleased to know your sense of humor remains intact. If you must know, I was held up by Prince Elric."
"Oh, that man again." Adi returned his attention to the books, not wanting to hear more.
"Yes, but anyway, have you found anything worthwhile yet?" She grabbed the book he had just discarded.
"No, the book in your hand is a fiction book though, so I wouldn't bother with it."
Damia didn't listen and flipped through the ending chapters, stopping on the section of the goddess race, the word "oracle" catching her eye.