Respecting Lilly's decision, Loiava lead the two youngsters into the library.
A special smell of hand-crafted books filled the silent air. Despite a few windows all the walls were lined with shelves containing thick books.
Lilly looked around, reading a few titles. She had to hold herself back from immediately reaching for books like 'About the size of the universe', or 'Movement of Mana'. Maybe she could take a few books with her before she left. The butterfly beasts surely wouldn't miss them…
Sighing lightly Lilly followed after Loiava. They reached the center of the room, where a spiraled staircase led them to the second floor. Naturally it was only Lilly who had to use the stairs. The two butterflies simple flew upwards since the second floor's center was an open hole.
Atop the stairs four paths led towards the walls, where shelves filled with books waited for Lilly to discover. The young woman took the left path where Loiava and Mihva waited for her.
"This half of the room", explained the older beast, "contains all the books relevant for life and death magic. Since this was what the Dagorinn were best at, a fourth of the library is designated to it."
Lilly studied the books in awe. Coincidentally a ray of light just fell on a group of books. Lilly followed it with her eyes, but she suddenly noticed that she wasn't able to read the language.
Noticing Lilly's gaze, Loiava explained:
"Many of the older books are written in the Dagorinn's language. Only the newer ones have a translation in the human language…
"Human language?", interrupted Lilly in surprise.
"Hmm? Of course. What else?"
"I… I thought we are speaking some universal language."
"That's what the human language more or less became after the God of Light's emergence."
"Is he really this powerful? Because of the God of Light, the human language became the common language?"
"Of course. Down here we don't get too much information about the outside world, but everyone knows that the God of Light is the most powerful being in existence. I personally don't know what he is thinking. With his help it wouldn't be impossible to wipe out the Malohcras."
Lilly shuddered lightly. She had been skeptical about the man who was worshipped as a god. But if even beasts respected and dreaded him so much, than maybe he deserved this title.
"Maybe he doesn't even regard the Malohcras highly? He thinks they aren't worth his time?"
"Who knows?", answered Loiava noncommittal. Even for her the God of Light was too far away. Who knows what such a being was thinking. Their Two Sovereign Butterfly race was a pretty young intelligent race after all. They hadn't even been around during the universal wars. Even their contact with the Malohcras was not much.
Noticing that Lilly's mouth opened for another question, Loiava chuckled slightly.
"Let's not talk about something so far away for now.", interrupted the older beast.
"Let's get back on topic. Life magic and death magic is more than enough to learn for now, trust me."
Lilly was slightly annoyed, but she still complied.
"Ok then. Where should we start?"
"As you might know; theoretical knowledge can boost you a lot at lower levels. For life magic and death magic this effect is even more apparent. Since the main usage of your magic at the early levels in essence is strengthening or weakening life forms.
Thus, what you will be doing for a while will be learning about all kinds of live forms. Get to know varieties of plants, beasts, and intelligent races. Learn their characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.
During a fight you will mostly weaken your enemy with death magic and control them with plants, taking a supportive role."
But if have already weakened them and controlled them, I might as well stab them to death with my sword.
Lilly didn't speak those words out loud, but she was determined not to be some pretty support. She wanted to be independent. One day she would be like her mother, killing enemies with a single word.
Not knowing what was going on in Lilly's head, Loiava turned towards Mihva.
The young beast was lying on the ground, counting specks of dust. Sighing lightly, Loiava asked:
"Mihva. Can you be so nice and get me the 'Atlas of a thousand lives'?"
The young butterfly's cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment. She opened her mouth but quickly shut it again. She knew better than to argue with her aunty when she was in teaching mode.
Not having much if a choice, Mihva jumped up and fluttered towards the ceiling.
The shelves were about four meters in height and Mihva knew that those beginner books were at the top.
From below Loiava watched her niece with expectant eyes. She hoped Mihva passed her small test. The book she wanted was written in the Dagorinn language, but Mihva should know enough by now to find it.
After a few seconds a smile formed on Loiava's mouth. Mihva came gliding down with a proud expression. She had found the right book!
"Well done. Thank you.", praised the older beast.
Only now did Lilly understand. She raised her eyebrow, asking:
"Dagorinn language?"
"Language, language. That's right.", chirped Mihva.
"Then… how are we going to learn?"
"That's what I'm here for, right? I will read it to you.", said Loiava.
"What? Aren't we wasting your time?"
"It's ok. Raising your life and death magic is of the highest priority right now. And I'm the best teacher around!"
Mihva skeptically looked at her aunty. She always found the older beast's teaching rather boring. Learning from her father was way more exciting. But naturally the young butterfly kept her thoughts to herself as she nodded enthusiastically.
Lilly was slightly embarrassed but she could only accept the situation.
"Ok then… how about we sit in one of the pavilions outside?"
"Sure.", answered Loiava.
Grabbing a few more books with a wave of her hand, Loiava flew down again.
Mihva looked at Lilly, her big eyes blinking.
"Book, book. Why did I have to grab that book if aunty just needs to wave her hand?"
Watching her friend's cute face, Lilly only giggled lightly.
"Let's go."
Shaking her head Mihva followed Lilly outside. Taking in the fresh air the two young women's minds instantly cleared. It felt like the perfect atmosphere for learning.
Letting her eyes roam over the peaceful scenery, Lilly couldn't imagine that this place might be engulfed in a war soon. Her motivation to improve her skills rose. She wouldn't only do so for herself but also to protect this paradise.
With newfound determination Lilly walked towards one of the white pavilions. Loiava was already waiting for her students.
The older beast waited until Lilly and Mihva took their seats on some smooth stone chairs before opening the book before her. Accompanied by the soothing gurgling of a small stream of water, Loiava began her lessons:
"Ok let's begin. What I say today is meant to lay the foundation for Lilly's life magic and death magic. Mihva, you might already know a lot of what I have to say. If you get bored, please leave quietly."
The young butterfly was slightly taken aback before she pouted unhappily.
"Bored, bored. I won't get bored. I won't leave!"
"Good.", chuckled Loiava. Maybe her niece could finally find some motivation now that a friend of hers was here.
"Then I'll take your word for it.
Let me start by explaining the need for knowledge. Life magic and death magic are meant to manipulate living beings. The more you know about the life in the universe, the better your spells can target a specific enemy or ally.
For example, as a branch of life magic, healing magic has vastly different requirements if you want to heal a human or a race with five hearts."
Seeing Lilly already raising her hand, Loiava smiled lightly.
"Yes, Lilly?"
"Aunty. I have learned healing magic before life magic, but from what I read later normally the other way around is correct. Why is this so?"
"That's only natural. There are certain skills which have requirements. For example, advanced swordsmanship can only be learned after basic swordsmanship is trained to its max level, 10. But other skill, mostly magic, can be trained from level 1 to 100. Those skills are called (Ex).
But then amongst magical skills are many types which are considered a branch of others. Your healing magic is also using 'life'-attributed mana and runes. Therefore, it is considered a branch of life magic.
Now, if you want to learn both healing and life magic, it is naturally easier to start with life magic. By starting with healing magic, you are basically skipping a link."
Loiava waited for a few seconds, letting her words sink in. She appeared gratified when she noticed the contemplating expressions on Lilly's and Mihva's faces. It was the first time her niece didn't just refute her words by saying 'Why do I need to learn this theory. I just cast my spells by instinct.'
"If you don't have any more questions for now, let's start with an introduction to the human race."