Lasair floating in her core room. The crimson glow from the gem that was her body was soothing. It helped to distract her. Distract her from things like gods and demons being very much real and quite happy to interact with the world. She was proud of herself for not having a full panic attack. Or it could just be shock. Yeah, probably just shock, the panic attack was being saved for later.

"Mama? Are you alright?"

Apollo drifted into the room, his flame flickering with concern.

Yes little one, I'm fine for now. How's the meeting going?

"That trader guy is probably challenging Mirage for [THE CIRCLE OF LIFE]. Should be fun to watch."

Lasair hastily flew back to the Aviary. She wanted to see how Julian fought, and how Mirage would use the upgrade to her [LIEUTENANT] ability. The fight seemed to have been quite one-sided so far. Of the forty-five [FIRE-BIRDS] that were previously housed in the Aviary, only twenty remained.

Twenty which were hurriedly returning to their nests. Mirage had decided to cut her losses and finish this herself. More than half of the birds were dead, but Julian didn't have a scratch on him. That was about to change.

Mirage slowly strutted forward until she was perched on the edge of her crevice. The sparks littering her feathers went out, slowly sinking into her body. A thin layer of frost spread from her talons, fractals covering the stone as every degree of heat that Mirage could manage was absorbed. And converted into beautiful, deadly, and pure speed.

She shot from the ledge like a bullet, heading directly for Julian's neck. The elf's eyes widened with shock, and he twisted to the side just a moment too slow to evade the blow. A thin red line was drawn across his check, and blood began to drip down his face.

Mirage was still hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds, now with her destination set as the floor. Just a moment before she hit the stone, ethereal wings of flame spread from her real ones. Mirage stopped on a dime as all her momentum poured into the flames.

Said flames were then quickly funneled back into the [LIEUTENANT]'s wings, and she once again shot straight for Julian. This time he was prepared for the charge, gracefully dodging out of the way. He was not prepared for the fire.

As Mirage passed him, she bled a sliver of her speed into heat, and sent it as a blade strait for the elf. The haze blade made it look like the very air was rippling, and caught Julian right in the shoulder. As Mirage repeated her turning trick, he finally managed to come away unscathed.

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What followed was a game of cat and mouse, with Mirage too fast to catch and Julian too nimble to hit. As the trader evaded Lasair's bird for what had to have been the twentieth time, she noticed something.

Where the elf dodged and dived out of the way, he left a slight, almost unnoticeable trail. Small ropes of grey smoke were strung throughout the room, at least fifty of them. Each time Julian let Mirage pass by, a few more strings joined in.

Suddenly, the elf snapped his fingers. As the noise echoed through the room, the ropes of grey smoke condensed into impossibly thin strands of pure shadow. Mirage was now caught in a spider's web of darkness, with no obvious means of escape.

Julian walked to face Mirage, confident in his shadows. With her speed removed, Mirage was almost helpless. Keyword being almost.

"Well little bird, it seems I wi-"

A lance of fire shot from Mirage's beak, so hot that it burned a radiant white. The flame stopped just a centimeter from Julian's heart, perfectly contained. This was the product of [FLAMING ACCELERATION]'s bank, giving Mirage a perfect ace up her sleeve. One that had granted her victory.

"Seems I won't be getting that [ARTIFACT], will I?"

Apollo took his cue, chuckling out a reply.

"With Mirage guarding it? Not a snowball's chance in Hell."

...

Apollo, who taught you to curse.

"Albert did it."

Albert has done nothing but sit in the corner and eat rocks all day.

The wisp quickly attempted to change the subject.

"So, Julian, question for you. Why did you make a web instead of just spikes or something? Wouldn't that have been easier?"

The elf finally released his hold on the web of darkness that filled the room, allowing Mirage to fly back up to her nest.

"Ah, I suppose there are still some things that you don't know about magic. Above all, intent is paramount. Those [ARTIFACTS] that I'm planning on selling are weapons. They were designed as such, so it is their purpose."

"If you were to use them for that purpose, they would shine. They would likely preform exactly as the core intended when creating them, with the power to match. But if they were used, say, to start a campfire, that power would be significantly reduced."

"This intent is even visible among the different types of mana. Those with life or nature affinities use the same type of mana, but achieve entirely different results. Each type also has something that it excels in. Dark mana's purpose is to ensnare, while fire mana's is to consume or destroy."

Interesting. Maybe this would finally let her make a functional [ARTIFACT] ability? She could try after the elves left.

As if on cue, elf boy started twitching. His first moments in the waking world were interrupted by a certain magnificent beast covering his face in drool.

"Wha- Albert get off!"

Elf boy stood up, holding his beast at arms length. Julian strode over to the two, grabbing elf boy's arm and dragging him towards the exit. The trader waved and shouted a goodbye over elf boy's protests, and Lasair's halls were empty once more.

She had a week or two before they returned. Once again, it was practice time.