Elf boy was caught by a tendril of shadow the moment before he hit the ground. The trader in the back of the room, Julian if she remembered correctly, had caught him. Apollo was still pulsing with an otherworldly light, not to mention the haunting melody that was emanating from his core.

The flames that surrounded Apollo seemed to swirl, not so much flickering as dancing around him. The colors ranged from a radiant yellow, almost gold, to a deep wine-red. The trader was not enthralled, or impressed. Elf boy was gently laid on the ground, and Julian strode towards the center of the room. Apollo redoubled his efforts, light and sound both reaching an almost painful crescendo.

Julian drew back his hood, letting it fall behind him. It revealed skin that was so pale it was almost white, and ears sharp enough to look like knives. But the elf's most distinct feature, were the almost crystalline orbs in place of his eyes. They looked like orbs of polished jet, letting no light escape their grasp.

"Nice try little one. But I have stared into the Abyss many a time."

He leaned down, placing his face inches from the miniature sun that was Apollo.

"It stares back."

Julian straightened his cloak, pulled his hood back on, and turned. Turned until he was staring directly at Lasair's viewpoint.

"Now, onto business. My unconscious friend over there brought me a few treasures of your making, and i'm very interested in acquiring more. Already paid the man two mithril from my own coffers! But they'll sell for far more in the capitol."

Apollo finally gave up on enthralling the man, letting his light dim and his symphony fade. Once again ready to play diplomat. Lasair had several questions, and the wisp even had a few of his own.

"You mentioned the capital. The capital of what? We don't exactly know where we are."

Julian seemed to perk up at that, beginning to wring his hands before answering.

"Ah, you've stumbled across a pastime of mine! Information is just as important as money in my opinion. To start, you are at the southern border of the Ir'gaaten Empire, within the world of Adtalani. The Bloodridge mountains to be exact. Between you and the border is the town of Willowdale, governed by Duke Willowdale. I believe you already met his son."

Robed bastard. Lasair mentally scowled at the reminder, and Apollo's flames turned a few shades closer to red.

"Next question."

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Apollo's next message to relay was, surprisingly, from Midas. The lizard was leaning over the edge of Mirage's nest, where the bird had carried him once elf boy had arrived. The core of the wisp he ate had disappeared into his hoard, but now he was eyeing Julian with just as much greed.

"Uhh... One of my fellow [LIEUTENANTS] says your mana is 'shiny'. Whatever that means."

Not that it was mentioned, Lasair saw it too. The mana under Julian's control had a slight discoloration to it, being tinged a few shades darker than it should have been.

"Good eye my friend! That would be a blessing of Nyx. Simply put, I occasionally act as an errand boy for the goddess of night, and she grants me greater control of my darkness. A good deal, if I do say so myself."

"Gods?"

Julian bellowed out a laugh, smiling as he gave yet another answer.

"I suppose you wouldn't know of their influence, not in a [DUNGEON]. Well, I think it will be easier to understand with some context first. Stop me if I start rambling."

"Imagine a five point scale, with good, slightly good, neutral, slightly bad, and bad. The gods are good, giving blessings and helping to shape the world. All natural creatures are the slightly good. They can be a bit violent, but ultimately, they are natural. It is simply the way of nature that commands them."

"Neutral would be any sentient and sapient being. Elves, dwarves, anything that can and does feel reason and emotion. Capable of destructive evil, or heroic good. A toss-up, in the end. The potential for either end of the scale."

"Slightly bad is [DUNGEONS], along within any dungeonborne or demonborne creature. Capable of reason and empathy, such as this one, but very, very rarely a force for good."

"Finally, the demons. They actively sow chaos and undermine the gods. In their wake they leave nothing but death and regret."

"Now, a closer look at the gods and demons. The gods come in pairs. For example, it doesn't matter as much that Sol is the god of sun or that Nyx is the goddess of night, as much as the two together bring balance. Two sides of the same coin. The demons then, are the exceptions. To match Sol and Nyx is the Legion of Eclipse. Each 'domain' that is a loophole within the gods power receives a legion."

"The demon legions are incredibly varied. Each legion needs to be strong enough to fight two gods, but by their nature they are fractured. The more 'prevalent' a domain is, the more demons the power is split to. The Legion of Eclipse only contains seven demons, each with a seventh of the power of the legion as a whole. Meanwhile, the Legion of Plagues contains hundreds, if not thousands of demons."

"All of this to withstanding, the affairs of gods and demons do not often worry the common man. Their wars rarely reach Adtalani, and even when they do, the blessed such as myself are those who bear the burden. Next question?"

Lasair was still reeling from his explanation. Gods, demons, and she was apparently supposed to be evil? What the fuck was up with that? She told Apollo to ask what he liked, and drifted back to her core room. She need to think.

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Midas crept across the floor, making sure not to be seen. He could distantly hear the shiny ball and the dark thing talking, but he didn't care. His prize was before him, waiting obediently in the corner of the room. That dark, delicious mana. And this mana, controlled by a 'blessed', was shiny. And so he crept forward, bared his fangs, and bit.

He felt as it gnashed between his teeth, the shiny fighting to return to its rightful master. But Midas held tight, and let his fangs do the talking until he felt the mana seep into his being. He squeaked, content.

Shiny is MINE.