I hummed at the translation dictionary that I had gotten from the library, tracing the words on the covers of all my books.

They were all written in Elven Hieroglyphs, which meant I needed to be fluent in this language to study them.

The oddest one was the thinnest one from the stack of books that Riviera had given me. It simply read, according to my dictionary, 'Read Me'.

I sighed and flipped it open, wondering what could possibly be inside it.

It was filled with more Elven Hieroglyphs, grouped together oddly, like bullet points on another list, almost.

The symbols swam off the page immediately, and not in a Dyslexic way, they literally came off the page, burning themselves into my eyes.

I flinched, and looked back down at the book, to find that it now had directions, written in English.

'This Grimoire will have taught you the Elvish Language, both spoken and written. It will assist you in sorting your new Hoard of Magical Grimoire's. I salute you, by the way, for managing to twist the Chief Scribe's arm into giving you a reward such as you did. Well done.

Moving on: Don't read any of the grimoire's yet. You must think very carefully. Most people, besides Elves, can only master Three Spells. As someone turned into an Elf, I want to make sure you don't fall into that category; If you , I want your Three Spells to be something that can help you in the Dungeon.

So: Find the Two Grimoire's labeled '' and '', then take one grimoire with an element that speaks to you, and set those aside for now. You can sort the rest onto your bookshelf, afterwards, if you like, it doesn't matter.'

I hummed and shrugged, following the instructions. I noticed that I had second copies of three of the Tomes, one fire spell, one Aegis Shield spell, and two Lightning Spells, even with the one I'd set aside.

My chuckle sounded throughout the empty room, and I put the copies aside for Johnny, then the third Lightning spell aside for sale, I guess.

The notes continued. 'Next, now that you know what you have, make sure your choice is final, and then read the Grimoire's one by one. Remember, Grimoire's are sentient, and will question what you want from them, then customize the spell accordingly; so before you read the Grimoire, be absolutely that you .'

I chuckled. "Good advice, I suppose, even out of context. Make sure you know what you want, huh? Hmph." I picked up the Aegis book, and breathed deeply to center myself, before opening it.

---

'Hmmm... where am I?'

"?" A deep voice chuckled.

"Hope is for the weak. It is, itself, a weakness." I growled.

"?"

"Those who can think for themselves understand that Hoping something will happen doesn't actually make it happen. That's pure Naïveté, thinking that hope can actually, physically help you."

"?"

"Themselves and Their family. That's all. That's all that's able to be trusted. Gods play games with our lives, friends betray us for better choices. Only Family and Self can be trusted."

"."

"Don't you Sass me, Grimoire." I snapped.

A rumbling laugh shook the space around me. "?"

"Something to hide behind. Something that protects you from things your body can't handle. Something, that when people finally do see, when the hiding ends, they feel Terror unlike any other, because they know what's behind the Shield." I answered concisely.

"?"

"A , '." I grinned.

---

I woke up swiftly, and shook myself. "Brr it's cold..."

I set down the blank Grimoire, and picked up the next one, the Healing Spell.

I opened it, and smiled as the words shimmered, and I passed out.

---

"?" I distinctly feminine voice asked.

"I want to learn your Medical Spell. I don't want any of my allies to die, while I can help them... I don't want to rely on others to heal me, and I never want to have to rely on another Healer to save my friend."

"?"

I blinked. "Magic... is... Magic is Scraps of 'Divinity', Shed from the Presence of the Gods. It is Highly Advanced Electrochemical Stimulation from Higher Evolved Beings that we call Gods, and we use it to affect the Fabric of the Universe, using Natural Reactions and Physics to create Advantageous Effects and Affects in the Environment around the Castor." I answered as analytically as possible.

I felt the air shake as she laughed. "."

---

I woke up again, and shivered. "Wow, it's seriously cold in here now, no joke... alright, Next one."

I picked up the last book, one I'd selected carefully.

I was a Speed and Agility fighter. That meant that if I could use magic to Heighten my Movements, I was damned well going to.

Therefore, I'd Selected Air, a spell labeled 'Tempest'. It was, according to the inscription on the back, a very rare magic, and allowed the user to, without a chant, (which was apparently a huge deal,) affect the Wind around their body. Either dispelling it to neutralize an enemy's air-attack, or using to to create foot-holds in the sky, the uses were relatively endless, when coupled with an intellect such as mine.

I paused. "Wow... I'm kind of an ass when I think about myself... I need to work on my Ego." I shook my head and opened the book.

---

My mind, this time, was different. Instead of a calm swath of darkness, lacking in anything except flashes of emotion, it was now a simple sea.

I floated underwater, my breath bubbling towards an endless surface, with a solid bottom just under me.

I set my feet down, and then realized something.

I could no longer breath.

I closed off my throat, and started swimming frantically, powerful strokes propelling me upwards, but no matter how fast or hard I swam. Even my bubbles were outpacing me.

"." A very pissed off female voice ripped into me, tossing me effortlessly against the rocky bottom, and holding me there.

"" The Sky, as she called herself, slung me around like a rag doll, ripping the air out of my lungs effortlessly.

I choked on water that tasted of Hopelessness and Apathy, and made the connection, freezing in place.

"This is still my mind." I spoke clearly.

"" She screeched, and started attacking me again.

" are not in here. In mind, am , and you will respect ." I stood, breathing easily now that I'd gotten my bearings.

She created a body, a giant Eagle, made of air, and I leapt onto its back, wrestling it to the ground as the water rushed away at my command, leaving us on an Island.

After what felt like hours, she submitted, and laid on her back as a female elf. "?"

"A Tempest is a Massive, Indescribably powerful storm. A Force of Nature. The Wrath of Mother Nature herself, Come Down upon us to show just how puny and insignificant we are to her. A Tempest is a Reminder, plain and simple, that Nature could wipe us all out in a matter of days, should she choose to." I leaned back against a palm tree I made.

She growled softly. ""

---

I breathed a deep gasp, clutching my chest, and shivered. "What's the problem with the AC? Oh... right. I wonder how they monitor heat in a Castle this size?" I hummed, and looked around. An icy sheet covered the entire room, and the door was vibrating.

I set the three now-empty grimoire's on the bookshelf, and gripped the door handle, yanking it open.

Johnny and Finn fell in, and glared at me in sync. "What the were you thinking?" Finn snapped.

I blinked slowly. "I have, not even a single clue as to what you're talking about."

He sat up, sighing in annoyance. "When you learn Spells from a Grimoire, you leech all the magic surrounding you, in the air... in a way, this Castle is the best place to learn magic, because it's the permanent home of a Goddess. , when you leech magic, it takes the heat away as well. That means that you could kill yourself if you don't take breaks in between sessions... why aren't you dying?"

I grinned. "I'm wearing Undine Fabric, it's in my armor." I chuckled.

He grunted, still annoyed. "Great. Well, at least you thought that far ahead. Whatever, just... don't get yourself killed. I don't want to be the one to burn your body."

I nodded, then saluted sarcastically. "Taken under advisement, Sir!!!"

He grumbled and walked away, muttering under his breath.

Johnny sighed. "You're going right back to it, aren't you?"

"A-yep." I nodded.

He shrugged. "I'll be at the bar, come get me if you need me." He snagged his sword, breaking the ice on the handle, and walked out.

I grabbed the Instruction Grimoire, then a few others, and headed out, sneaking into Loki's office, where she spent the most time, and therefore would have left the most magic.

I sat on one of the couches, as the place was empty, and started reading.

'Now that you've mastered those three spells, try with another one. I gave you a second Lightning, so use that one as a burner. If you read the grimoire, and don't learn the spell, the grimoire will still turn blank, wasting it, so don't use a different Grimoire for this step.'

I took the Third Lightning out of my satchel. "Ahh, you had a use after all..."

I opened it, and grinned when my vision darkened.

---

"" A loud, high-pitched male voice laughed nearby.

"Lightning is a culmination of negative Electrons in the air. It connects to a positive source, usually the ground, and then sends its extra electrons down through the air, creating Ozone along its path." I said easily.

"?" He sighed, clearly thinking I was no fun.

"In Battle, it is best used against Metallic Enemies or Large Numbers of low level enemies, as a Smiter, or against Large Numbers of strong enemies as a distraction or slow damage that adds up eventually." I grinned.

""

"It is also possible to be used in Medicine, to cure certain ElectroChemical diseases and conditions, and even Brain-Dead Patients or patients suffering from Cardiac Arrest can benefit from varying degrees of Electrical treatment." I nodded.

He sighed. "" He grumbled, flicking his fingers at me dismissively.

---

"That is one Weird Mama-Jamma." I shook my head.

"Says the man randomly sitting in my office, putting out my fire?" Loki sat at her desk suddenly.

I noticed the room was barely even a degree colder, meaning I hadn't drained the magic from it in the slightest, though the fire was out.

I smiled and pointed at the fire, centered myself, then whispered my lightning spell. "Rain Down Fire, Fulmine."

A spark of lightning struck the wood, and then set it ablaze easily.

Loki grinned. "Ahhh, you've stumbled upon the true nature of Magic, hmm? Good job. Continue learning Spells, Dorian. I like my Children to be Well-Equipped."

I nodded and looked down at the instructions. 'If you've managed to learn Lightning, good, continue, if not, halt, and bring me the rest of these Grimoire's. I'll get a good price for them, or share them amongst the Familia members who haven't mastered three spells.'

"Hmph. As if. Let's continue..." I muttered.

'As you've managed to learn four spells, that means you have all of an Elf's Natural Gifts. Good, that makes this easier. I want you to learn every single grimoire you have, systematically. Find places of high magic concentration, and then, whilst making sure you're guarded, begin reading. Once you've learned every spell in those grimoire's, practice casting them in the Training Room. Then, once you're sure you can cast them all, come find me, and we'll take the next step in your training.'

I groaned. "A tall order, Missy, all of them, really? I have to wrestle with every freakin' !!! Sigh... well, let's get started, I guess."