“Come over here and look at this,” said Thompson. He waved Alice and Elias over to the storage room where he held a book in one hand. “I’ve been taking some time to read through some of the old texts on prophecies and corruption. This wasn’t the first time that corruption has spread across the continent. Usually, they have been smaller in scale and are stamped out quickly with the cultists involved being killed. This book covers the prophecy relating to Alice in some detail but focuses on the time as a whole.”

“You see during that time many minor and even medium-sized prophecies were declared. They usually had to do with the kingdom and the smaller houses of the time. The grand prophecy, however, was the work of several seers who realized that they were having shared dreams of the destruction of their order. Afterward for almost a decade, they began work on writing down and understanding their visions until it became the prophecy we now know. Because of the time involved and many seers the prophecy as it is written is quite long and sometimes vague. Even until they fell over the decades and centuries, they had been trying to flesh out the details. This book gives an account of a sword master of the time recording his thoughts on the prophecy in the first years of its documentation.”

“What did he note about the prophecy?” asked Alice eagerly.

“He noted the importance of great quests requiring three members but wondered if it was truly necessary. His understanding that it seemed like only a Sword Master and an apprentice, the hero, would be required for the quest. Any other member or members of the quest were unnecessary. Even to the point of not needing the assistance of the Witch Coven. The hero would instead intuitively understand how to fight off the corruption and become its antithesis.”

“That is rather pretentious,” said Elias. He put a hand on Thompson’s shoulder. “You aren’t unnecessary or unimportant.”

“Thanks,” he responded quietly.

“What else does this ‘pretentious’ sword master suggest?” asked Alice.

“He suggested that the prophecy was deliberately obfuscated,” Thompson continued, flipping through the pages of the ancient tome. “He theorized that it was written in such a way to ensure only the true hero could unravel its meaning. According to him, anyone else trying to decipher it would find contradictions and ambiguities.”

Alice furrowed her brow. “So, it’s like a test? Only the hero can understand it fully?”

“Exactly,” Thompson nodded. “The sword master believed that this was a deliberate choice by the seers. They wanted to prevent the wrong person from misinterpreting the prophecy and causing more harm than good.”

Elias leaned against a shelf, deep in thought. “But if the prophecy is so cryptic, how did the sword master himself interpret it? Wasn’t he at risk of misinterpretation?”

“That’s the interesting part,” Thompson said, his eyes scanning the text. “He admits in his writings that he could only grasp fragments of its true meaning. He focused on training and preparing the Sword Temple for the future, rather than trying to solve the prophecy himself.”

“Then do you have a copy of the prophecy?” asked Alice. “Is it here?”

“I unfortunately do not have it. A written copy of the prophecy may be in this storeroom of documents, but I have not found it yet. I’ll keep searching for it.”

“You said that it had some information on corruption as well?” asked Elias.

“The topic comes up in his writings in the smaller prophecies and discussions on the corruption cultists. They seem to be a group that never really dies. He documented ways of dealing with the group and the smaller patches of corruption that are growing. The methods he mentioned, and the general ideas are still in use today. Mainly use detection devices to hunt down the nearest corruption spots and kill the people involved if in a populated area. Then if possible thoroughly till the soil and bring in alchemically treated fertilizer; the recipe for which is in another book over there,” he said pointing to one of the corners.

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“That is not as helpful but is nice to know. Did he cover what needs to be done about the current corruption spreading? Tilling a field is one thing but we can’t do that to half of the land mass of the kingdom,” said Elias.

“That is in another book. One moment,” Thompson closed his current book and grabbed another from his stack. “This account is from a former leader and sword master of the Sword Temple. He oversaw the temple when a relatively large outbreak of corrupted animals spread through the western region. In his time, he worked with the Temora Witches to fight the monsters and completely cleared the outbreak. After the main corrupted monsters were cleared and they were left with the aftermath, the witches took over. They performed a ritual of some kind that he didn’t go over in detail. The result of the magic was a lessening of general evilness in a quicker amount of time. Their magic was able to disperse it quicker than normal and made sure that the corruption couldn’t seep in or spread.”

“And is that ritual available to us?” asked Alice. “Perhaps I could use it.”

“There is an entire section of books written by and about the witches of Temora. I haven’t had a chance to delve into their writings on corruption or the prophecy, but I will get to it in the coming days. I will report back to you if I find anything. How is the final sword form training going?”

“It is slower than we would like,” answered Elias.

“It is bad,” answered Alice. “Do you have any suggestions or further reading for us? I feel like we have gone over a good portion of it already, but the contents of the main tome have eluded me for now.”

“I’ve continued to sort through the books. You are welcome to read through the ones that I have started to curate. You can also search through the shelves on your own. From my perusing, not many of the sword masters wrote about the final sword form. It was a hard thing to master and represented the line between sword masters and the grand masters above them. I’m not sure what suggestions I can give. Maybe try working on the first four moves again now that you know the final one better. The previous moves could give you some insight on the final moves.”

“Thanks, Thompson. We’ll keep at it,” Alice said, determination etched on her face.

Over the next week, the trio delved deeper into the mysteries of the Sword Temple's library. Alice and Elias continued to practice the final sword form, slowly inching closer to mastery. Meanwhile, Thompson immersed himself in the lore of prophecies and the history of corruption, seeking any clue that might aid their quest.

As time passed, Alice found herself growing more attuned to the subtleties of the Dance of the Dragon. Her movements became more fluid, and her understanding of the form deepened with each practice session. Elias, too, made significant progress, his mentorship evolving into a partnership as they both sought to perfect the ancient technique.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue over the courtyard, Thompson approached them with a look of excitement. "I've found something," he announced, holding up an old, weathered manuscript. "It's a diary of a grandmaster who mastered the Dance of the Dragon. It contains his insights and experiences with the form."

Eagerly, Alice and Elias gathered around him as he opened the diary. The pages were filled with intricate drawings and detailed descriptions of the sword form, along with the grandmaster's philosophical musings on the nature of combat and the responsibilities of a sword master.

"It's not just about the physical movements," Alice realized as she read through the passages. "It's about understanding the essence of the form, the spirit of the dragon."

"That's it," Elias agreed, his eyes lighting up. "We've been focusing too much on the physical aspect. We need to connect with the form on a deeper level."

Inspired by the grandmaster's writings, Alice and Elias returned to their practice with a renewed sense of purpose. They moved in harmony, their swords cutting through the air with grace and precision, the Dance of the Dragon coming alive in their movements.

Meanwhile, Thompson continued his research, uncovering more about the prophecy and the nature of the corruption. He discovered further references to the ancient ritual performed by the Temora Witches, a ritual that could potentially cleanse the land of corruption.