Crossing through the living room, I spotted Lavinia playing a board game with one of the servants. She looked very into it, displaying a serious face of concentration. Not recognising the game, or being able to see the servant's face, I couldn't tell if it was because she was good or close to losing.
The door to the library was incredibly undistinguished. If I hadn't already known what was behind the door, I would have thought it was a small closet. It was a single wooden door, big enough for only one person to walk through. Which was in large contrast to the rest of the doors on this floor.
The light was already on, indicating that someone was in here recently and forgot to turn it off. Which was of good convenience considering I still have no idea how to turn on any lights in the estate.
The library room wasn't very wide, at least not compared to most other open space libraries. But where it lacked in width, it had in length. With the opposite end wall well over 20 meters. The rows of shelves were short, but plentiful. Each section was carefully sorted into a defining genre or topic. Of course, some sections shared multiple selections of topics depending on their complexity or lack of variety.
Perusing the aisles, I carefully read each section searching for what I was looking for.
"Oston Culture, Kingdoms and Their Culture, History (Ancient and Modern), Nature Survival, Torture Methods, Will Beasts, Will Manipulation…"
There!
Finding the aisle I was looking for, I perused the book titles.
After the carriage ride up here with Leo and Asher, the conversation we had left me curious about one specific topic. Asher said that researchers aren't sure as to why and how some people have come to Master their Will.
Many books might have covered this topic, but most of them here would be general information. What I need is something specific…
"Will Mastery, Research Notes of Fran Dothleir."
An actual researcher. I didn't think there would be something this specific here.
Taking the thin book off the shelf, it was a miracle I even spotted it. It may be a researcher's journal, but it was thinner than five bronze zen stacked together. I would have expected something… thicker, with more information.
Skimming through the few pages, I glanced over the words searching for information most accurate to what I was looking for.
"… The Mastery of one's Will continues to evade our understanding. As far as we know, humans were never meant to Bond with Beasts' Wills. This is apparent when you understand that Beasts are not even of this world. The Integration one goes through is a mystical metamorphosis that the Will forces one into. Changing and altering our physical components on a molecular level. Over time, we have begun to understand these biological changes enough so that we no longer consider the process 'mystical'. That said, the reason the process is described as painful is that it was never meant to happen in the first place. The Integration is the Will's way of testing one's physicality, gauging its potential for a suitable host after being ripped from the core of the previous host. What eludes us further is the fact that all like-attribute Masters are given the same ability upon Mastery over their Will. You will never see a Master with different abilities from the rest if they share the same attribute. Which is an unusual reaction as the whole process is unnatural.
The reason we do not understand how some Holders can 'Master' a Will is because it's an evolutionary change that the Will has gone through. Which is why some can Master their Will while others cannot. Though this hypothesis has not been proven. Some believe –including myself– that the compatibility between Host and Will is a uniqueness that comes with this unnatural Bond in the first place. That is why you never hear of a Beast that has 'Mastered' its Will, because it does not grow stronger by Bonding with a more powerful one. The Will of most Beasts grows naturally through age, or is inherited from a strong lineage. Like the growth of muscles in older people, or nature's filter through natural selection…
…A multitude of tests have been done in an attempt to recognize patterns in Host/Will compatibility. All of which have been futile. There is no clear answer to understanding what Will attribute a Host can Bond with for successful Mastery. However, upon Integration, an aptitude test can be done on the Hosts' blood. Essentially calculating the compatibility between Host and Will. Though whether this correlates to Mastery is a tricky conclusion. The conditions required to even bring about Mastery evade us further. Whether it is related to Integration Tier, Rank, or situational enlightenments is unclear. All 'Masters' up to date have stated that they were 'hit' with a wave of insight and understanding, furthering the connection of their Will. To my regret, all controlled tests to repeat these circumstances have failed…"
Great, so it seems that everything is up to chance. Being special is merely a convenience of heritage or the subtlety of luck. Mastery… is one and the same.
With an annoyed click of my tongue, I closed the book and went to put it back on the shelf. Before I did, however, the title of another book caught my eye. I picked it up, holding it overtop the journal on Will Mastery. Opting to keep the research journal for later, instead of having to find it again.
This…
"Everything We Know About Domains, Research Notes ofFran Dothleir."
The same person…? Curious.
It seems that he wrote this journal on his research of Domains, a few years after his failed study of Will Integration. After giving up his studies to better understand how Bonding with Wills impacts the human body, he passed down his research to his juniors and moved on to another widely speculated topic.
"…Most of what is understood about Domains is widely speculation. And the little that we do know leaves more questions than answers. To call this journal 'research' is a bit of an understatement. All reported accounts of Domains are given by high-ranking Holders who have survived an encounter with a Lord Beast. Not only that, the small list of survivors grows even smaller when taking into account the ones who would even speak on the matter. Most annoyingly, say, 'pray you never have to find out.' Which is infuriating to my research! I have never had the pleasure of encountering a Lord Beast myself, and subsequently been transported into a Domain, hence this journal is more of a report…
… If I were to tell you that there exist worlds beyond this one, and I don't mean beyond the stars, would you believe me? Probably not. But everything I have learned about Domains has led me to this conclusion. It wouldn't make sense otherwise. The proof of this is clear. The only on-field test that has ever been done with Domains was completely foolish, but by the Monarchs, am I glad they did. The first thing that needs to be understood is that Domains are not a 'pocket dimension', which has already been achieved through the use of Spatial Wills. Those researchers performed two tests. The first used two Holders, one Spatial and one Mind. The Mind Holder created a link with a test subject, and when the Spatial Holder brought the test subject into their personal pocket dimension, the set link was held. However, when the same test was done with a Domain in place of a pocket dimension, the link was broken as soon as the test subject was pulled away. Unfortunately, the test subject never made it back and couldn't report on their findings. Those researchers were insane, nonetheless. Speculation on why the link was held in the pocket dimension, but not the Domain, was concluded to be that the pocket dimension is still linked with this plane. The laws of this world must be maintained in order for a stable pocket dimension to exist. Consequently, an open 'doorway' of sorts must be created, with free two-way travel, to link the pocket dimension. Domains, however, do not…
…Domains are not of this world, existing on another plane entirely. From the few reports I have, they always described them as 'other-worldly'. The laws and physics of this world do not seem to apply in the Domain. The Beasts were capable of creating their own rules and laws that suited their attributes best. While Lord Beasts are the only known Beasts capable of creating Domains, each one seems to have a limit of how much they can control/change the rules of their Domain. The reason why however, is unknown…
…The conclusion of my findings and reports: Domains are not of this world. And should not be treated as such."
The journal didn't go into much detail about what the surviving Holders found in the Domains, but this seems to be an introduction notebook to a larger, more in-depth version. This library doesn't seem to have it, though.
I supported the two books under my arm, saving them to read more thoroughly later. In the meantime, since no one seemed to need me, I continued my search for interesting books and journals. Satiating my curiosity for research.
By the end of my perusing, I found a few interesting books that will help with adapting to my stay in the Grimwald estate. Some were on different aspects of Oston noble culture, but the most interesting one was on the war with the Shadow Beasts: The Dark Long Night. The breakfast topic that got Lavinia riled up.
Just as I was about to leave, someone came barging through the library doors with a somewhat unfriendly attitude.
"Rin! Come here, now!" It was Lavinia.
Walking out from behind one of the aisles, putting myself in view of the door, and associatively, Lavinia, I responded. "I was just about to leave."
I walked closer, now face-to-face with her, holding a stack of books. She looked down at the stack and read the top one, then glanced back up at me curiously. "Is Mastering your Will a goal of yours?"
"Since I have a stronger one now, why not?" I said with a shrug of my shoulders, being careful not to let the stack of books topple over.
She looked at me silently for an uncomfortably long time before speaking again. "I've looked through that book over a dozen times. I have plenty of better ones in my room." As if remembering to hate me, she continued with a more strained voice, "You're… free to borrow some… if you'd like?"
"Thanks. I take an interest in anything with research."
Failing to not sound too excited, she continued with a lighter tone in her voice, "The books here are very surface level. Merely a starting place for more detailed research journals. Despite what the titles may tell you. This place is…"
Cutting herself off and clearing her throat, "Sorry… The reason I was looking for you was to let you know that there has been a change in plans. My father met with a Royal envoy, and he is heading for the Royal Estate earlier than expected. He canceled all other non-required meetings for the day. He would like to see you now."