Three days later, Staria was in Ellesmera for the fifth time in her life. Ellesmera, the capital of Du Weldenvarden, where the elves live, was in the middle of a dense forest. But here, on the Crags of Telinair, it was peaceful and had only a few trees. So this is where Eragon and Saphira were mentored, Staria commented to Adura. The dragon, now about five feet long, peered around interestedly.
"I need to test your abilities, Staria," said Shaiku on her first morning of training. "First do this: make lightning follow you for one minute, and then make it stop and go back into the clouds. This is very advanced, so if you can't do it, don't worry."
Staria chose her words carefully. "Kveykva!" Lightning flashed and in that instant she said "Kveykva, iet tauthr!" The lightning came to her and, as she moved in a circle, followed her. "Kveykva, letta! Kveykva, ganga audr!" The lightning stopped and went into the clouds, disappearing in. Staria swayed. She clutched at a nearby tree branch for support.
"Very good. Here, drink this." He handed her faelnirv, which restored some of her strength. "I see. You are able to cast many arduous spells and have extraordinary knowledge of the Ancient Language. Have you done the Rimgar before?"
"Yes, I'm on level four."
"That is good. It will save time. Now Shulblaka, I would like to know your abilities as well. Do the poses represented by Sinta." Sinta then did a number of complex poses that contorted every foot of her sinuous length. Only a few things exceeded Adura's ability, such as flying backward for 400 meters, belly up, and executing a backward loop while corkscrewing through the air.
"Good," Shaiku announced when they were finished. "Now I know where to start. Eragon informed me that you had beaten Orik in sword fighting, something most people could barely do, if they could do it at all. We will start practicing soon."
One week later Shaiku said it was time to start practicing sword fighting. He took Staria to see Rhunion. She had been released from her oath (to never make swords again, after the Forsworn used them to almost eradicate the dragons) by all the spellcasters, Riders, and magicians working together. Rhunion tapped Adura's scales and set to work melting the brightsteel. Brightsteel was very rare, and it is even stronger than steel, but is more flexible, in a way that lets it absorb the shock from a blow. All the Riders were taking shifts on "Brightsteel Duty" trying to find it.
In one week, the sword was finished. Staria had been excused from training for most of the day to watch Rhunion work. She had even helped with the process. In the evenings, Staria went back to Shaiku to resume memorizing an Ancient Language dictionary. This time, however, she had permission to skip the memorizing because her sword would be finished that night. As soon as it was, Staria went to name it. She had thought long and hard to think an appropriate name for the sword. After much debating and consulting with Adura, she had picked what shaped her life most. At Rhunion's house, she placed her hand upon the sword's smooth surface, and took a deep breath.
"Sword, I name thee Wydra!" she said.
Fate, Rhunion mused. It was worthy of the sword. She uttered some indistinct words in the Ancient Language and the symbol for Fate appeared on the scabbard and on both sides of the sword itself.
"Thank you, Rhunion-elda," Staria said. She took the sword in its scabbard and fit it into the belt Eragon had shaped for her. My own sword and scabbard! Staria thought to Adura. I can't believe it!