For anyone who wants an explanation on how Artificial magic works, there's an explanation at the bottom of this chapter. It'll also be explained in another chapter when talking to another character.

You can read now or in the future, your choice.

Enjoy.

xxXxx

Emery sighed as he sat on a chair in his workshop. He was just told he could be killed soon for nothing but a grudge.

He noticed a familiar book on his desk and slowly picked it up. It was a book titled "The Basics of Artificial Magic."

It was a book he wrote himself. There were only two copies in the castle, one with Emery and the other in the library and they were very valuable.

"Guess i can't die yet." Said Emery to himself before putting the book inside a bag.

Emery looked through his workshop for items that may help him survive the next few days away from the castle.

A notebook, a chunky sci fi pistol looking weapon, a robot hamster toy, an artificial sun magic lamp and a lot of spare parts all entered the bag.

"Hmm, maybe i should check the library for some books about survival." Said Emery checking his bag with a frown on his face. "Maybe I've read too many novels or watched too many movies, but it wouldn't hurt to have something if i end up stranded somehow."

And so, with a nod, Emery headed towards the royal library to borrow some stuff.

xxXxx

"So you're an assassin who can't kill?" Said a short haired 14 year old female skywing elf with a slender figure, two large black wings on her back and silver colored elf tattoos on her face and arms (and a skin tone similar to Nyx and Ibis). "That's new. What else do you have in that bag of tricks?"

The skywing was talking to none other than Rayla who failed to kill for the mission.

"Nefeli, stop." It was Runaan, the leader of this misson's moonshadow assassins.

"Aww, c'mon, I'm not trying to hurt anyone. Wait, does this mean I'm gonna join the killer group? Causing I'm not ready for that kind of commitment." Said the skywing elf whose hair was black with silver tips

"No. You'll stick your original mission as a thief." Said Runaan in a stern tone. "You'll steal any books you can in that castle related to artificial magic."

"Youuuu got it!" Replied Nefeli with a smirk."I'm the greatest thief in the world after all."

"You've said that four times already." Replied one of the other assassins.

"I just like reminding everyone." Said Nefeli with a smug expression as she hung upside down on the tree. "It's not everyday you get to brag about being the greatest thief in the world without, y'know, being chased around for it."

Her only reply was silence as all the moonshadow elf assassins ignored her. She then saw Runaan talking to Rayla and decided to eavesdrop a little.

"If we're not back by sunrise, go home." Said Runaan with a deep frown.

All Rayla could do was sit down and sulk as Runaan walked away. But it didn't stay that way for long. Her eyes turned to the castle where their targets lived and they were filled with determination.

"I can fix this."

Nefeli broke into a grin as she decided that her might have to start a little early.

xxXxx

"Ah, Emery, what a coincidence." Said Katolis's high mage, Viren. "I've been looking for you."

"High mage Viren, what a pleasant surprise." Replied Emerick calmly.

Although on the surface this looks like a high ranking official talking to an assistant, the truth was that the two are of equal rank. Neither could afford to disrespect the other.

"I know we have our differences, but would you please hear me out and...deliver the message to the head Artificer?" Asked Viren protecting Emery's identity from any spying ears.

Emery nodded and Viren smiled.

"I assume you've heard the news of our visitors?" Asked Viren and Emery quietly hummed in affirmation. "Well, i have a plan to save his majesty, but he just won't cooperate. The head Artificer knows well how effective dark magic can be-"

"It has it's downsides and sometimes those downsides make it the less viable a solution." Said Emery robotically, having said this many times.

"But this time, artificial magic can't save the day. We need dark magic to save us from this plight!" Exclaimed Viren. "I believe the head Artificer could convince him. If you'd please pass on the message, we could save the king!"

Emery went silent. He frowned and thought about it. He was a supporter of dark magic, but as a last resort. He believed that if it's needed, it must be used and if it's not needed, it mustn't be used.

In this scenario, he would've supported Viren's plan. But a part of him felt uneasy to hear that Harrow refused the spell.

In his inner turmoil, he failed to notice Culann entering the picture and giving Viren a very painful slap on the back that caused Viren to groan in pain.

"Hey, black eyes, you shouldn't pressure a kid into our problems." Said Culann as Viren rubbed his back. "Emery, you have a trip to catch. The king even prepared the nicest carriage. If you have anything you want to pick up, do it now."

Trusting Culann's judgment, Emery passed Viren and headed to the library much to the mage's dismay.

And so, Emery quickly made it to the library and checked for books on wild plants and berries.

It wasn't long before he found them, but as he was looking for more books his eyes drifted to the other copy of "The Basics of Artificial Magic."

Even though he knew about this copy, it was always odd to see his name on the cover.

It was distracting enough that he didn't notice a figure staring him down until a single oversized black feather fell down right on top of his head.

He took the oversized feather and stared at it with confusion for a second before he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.

"Hey"

He turned around immediately to see a female elf roughly his age with two large black wings, silver tipped black hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a black and silver sleeveless turtle neck top with silver wristbands as well as black leggings.

Emery didn't have a chance to scream before the girl circled around him and blocked his mouth with her slender arms that had more power than you'd expect. It was so fast, he could've blinked and missed it.

His heart started beating faster as he began to panic.

"No need to get anyone involved, I'm just taking a quick gander. It's not every day you get to take a tour of a castle" Said the elf in a cheeky tone as she drew magic rune right in front of Emery. Once she finished, lighting sparked at her finger tips. "Goodnight, friend. Boop!"

He couldn't even struggle before the elf tapped him with her lightning covered hand, rendering him unconscious from the shock.

xxXxx

Nefeli stared as the random human's body hit the floor with a smile on her face as the lighting faded from her hand.

She whistled as she saw a book on artificial magic in the shelf right next to her. "Luck~y!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the book and put it in her bag.

As she was about to leave, she noticed that the boy she knocked out had a bag and as a thief, she couldn't resist taking a look inside.

After opening the bag, she found too much to pass up.

"Looks like you're related to that artificer guy...in some way." Whispered Nefeli with a smile before she pulled out some rope and a tape like object. "Guess i gotta steal you too."

She tied up the boy to the point that she began to wonder if it would be uncomfortable, but she shrugged it off and finished it by taping the boy's mouth shut so he couldn't call for help when he wakes up.

She then looked around the library for any more books on artificial magic. Much to her surprise, she didn't find a single other book. This was because most of them were about mechanics, physics etc, and not explicitly artificial magic.

"Alright, let's get you out of here." Said Nefeli as she picked up the boy with some trouble. "Yeesh, cooperate here. I don't usually fly with anyone else."

Of course, Emery was unconscious and couldn't reply at all. Rolling her eyes, Nefeli drew a rune in the air in front of her and chanted.

"[Omnia Pervideo]" the spell took place and Nefeli was able to see the whole castle's layout and guard locations as well as Rayla's location. "Oh, hey, the renegade's still here. Should i check on her? Eh, I'm sure she's fine."

And with her mind cleared, Nefeli took a deep breath before flying out of a nearby window out of the librarian's sight.

As she flew away, Nefeli realized how different it was to fly with someone than alone. This became a problem when she realized the boy slipped out of her grasp.

She immediately dashed to catch the boy and thankfully succeeded before quickly dropping him on land.

"And you slept through all of that? I'm never kidnap flying again." Deadpanned Nefeli before noticing that it was night time and there was a ruckus in the castle.

Nefeli stared at the castle with a tired expression.

"Eh, not my problem."

xxXxx

I'm planning an Emery x Nefeli, tell me if it's bad.

Now, for artificial magic explanations (skip if you want) : how it works is that it uses a machine to replicate the conditions of a primal at high power. Like, the sky primal draws energy from the movement of the winds (and the power thunderstorms). So a fan blowing air into a short tube at high speed will lead to more sky primal energy. This acts like a primal stone, but no human can actually use it because it's inside an isolated tube. This is where the computers come in. They use a predetermined spell using the "primal stone" of the device.

Other types of magic require different conditions for the primal stone to work.

For sun magic, the most efficient way is a laser but other ways exist.

Tell me how i did. Leave a review. Tell me what you think of the ship.

Toodles.