Kestrel thanked Ugbard and left the mountain. Then, she studied every duelist she could find. She watched footwork in public tournaments. She memorized timing from mercenary captains, knights, noble heirs, and anyone who claimed to know the blade better than she did.
She traveled away from Crescent City to other Cities where she cleared Dungeons, slaughtered Demons and stopped Demon Breaks.
She sought out stronger swordsmen with the kind of single-minded devotion most people reserved for religion. If someone had a reputation, she wanted to test it. If someone had a title, she wanted to strip it away. If someone had never lost, she wanted to be the one who changed that.
Kestrel was obsessed.
She wanted to defeat every swordsmaster in the world. It wasn't that she hated them.
She only loved the thrill, the yearning. Every time she held the blade and her life was on the line, she felt herself drift away from the protected life of a princess she once lived.
