"And how long has this neckce been in your family, again?"

  Professor Promell leaned over the stone workbench cluttered with gems and papers and brass tools, peering through an array of lenses suspended in midair to magnify the smallest details of my features. She examined me from every angle, plucking new lenses to add to the array, her magnified eye growing ever rger in my field of view. She turned me over in her bony fingers, tapping her long fingernails against my metal exterior. The elderly professor of relic studies motioned her hand next to the lenses, scattering them into an orbit above the workbench, exposing a stern, scrutinizing look upon her wrinkled face framed by curly white hair. Every word she spoke sounded like a door creaking open, making it hard for me to gauge her impression of this mysterious relic that she beheld.

  My presence worked wonders for Garitt, though. He held his composure in interviews with Professors Owlstone and Jaxler and Moongarden, but Promell's reputation for dashing the dreams of prospective students had Garitt's hands trembling when he first opened her office door. By handing me over to Promell, he'd managed to dey the line of questioning he feared the most, at least for the moment. "Uhh... a long time. My... great-great-grandfather said he caught a fish and found it inside, up in the mountains."

  The professor scoured her workspace and shelves for magical instruments to further probe me. Of all the offices we'd visited that day, this one was by far the rgest. Ancient bookshelves many times taller than the professor lined the marble walls to either side of the double doors, overloaded with old texts, many of them penned by Promell herself. Every nook of empty space had something jammed into it, whether it was a rge crystal or a spinning brass orrery or stacks of scrolls, no shelf space went untouched. With a gigantic hemispherical window behind her workbench, few offices in Berindal Academy had such a breathtaking view of the yers upon yers of the city surrounding the school.

  "Hm. I see" Professor Promell rubbed her chin and retreated to her chair, her fingers steepled in front of her face as she sifted through her thoughts. "And in all that time, your family has not observed any unusual behaviors or responses to stimuli? Your ancestors had not previously collected any documentation from a licensed artificer or appraiser of relics in all that time?"

  Garitt fidgeted in his seat, shrugging as he avoided eye contact with the professor. "Uhhh... well... It's like this, he had it kept somewhere safe, and, uh... oh! It's like you wrote in your book on studying enchanted objects, don't provoke unknown magics. Right? It could've been a disaster if we tried something and it, you know, blew up or something."

  A hint of a smile tugged at Promell's lips. "Good d. You're right at least that without a proper examination, trying to trigger a relic can be disastrous. Fools are the ones that take objects imbued with unknown magical power and try to coax their powers out by force without professional guidance and proper protective spells. Can you believe that some people give these things to children to carry around, with how dangerous that can be?"

  ...Well, that's not very fair! Everything worked out just fine for Janine and myself, a town is still standing because of us! I started to grow antsy waiting for the professor to provide some answers, especially since I was certain she recognized something about me the moment I entered her office.

  "So... you know what it is?"

  Professor Promell gave a slow nod. "I do, in fact. I can say with the utmost of confidence that this is an artifact known as a Silvaln Sphere, first forged over eight centuries ago, right before the city of Silval is said to have disappeared—if it ever existed in the first pce. It's in decent condition, but for a relic that's been in your family for so long, it's not dispying any of the characteristic behaviors that are consistent with the Silvaln Spheres we have in our museum. That probably expins how your family found it, a broken relic like this is probably no more useful than a fishing lure."

  "So... it's junk, is what you're saying." Garitt slumped in his seat at the news. "There's nothing special about it at all?"

  "Well, it's the first green one I'd seen, at least. I suppose you could say that's special." The professor rose from her seat, folding her arms into a sea of bck robes. "But even when functional, these augment-type relics aren't very useful these days, I'm afraid. They also never seem to be able to shut up, which is what makes yours so strange. It makes for ice decoration, but I have to conclude that it's—"

  I'd had enough. Nobody, not even the most respected professor in relic studies alive, was going to call me worthless! I decided to show the professor just how little she knew about this 'Silvaln Sphere', if that was even an accurate appraisal. My mist billowed out, and in an instant, my shape twisted into the bde I'd created for Janine, bathing the room in viridian light.

  "—remarkable."

  Both Garitt and the professor froze, stunned to silence by my sudden transformation. Professor Promell approached the workbench, bewildered by what I had just done, which in turn baffled me. Was it really so surprising for her to see a magic sword? She reached toward my handle, but I colpsed back within myself, tumbling to the workbench in my less-threatening shape. Swords are for champions, not professors who don't know what they're talking about. I'm sure she got the message.

  Promell cleared her throat, turning to the clock on her wall—barely ten minutes into the 'interview'. She tapped her fingers on the workbench, her eyes shining with an excitement that betrayed her stern demeanor. She scooped me into her hands, holding me like she didn't intend to let go.

  "Garitt, was it?" the professor said. "How long will you be in town for your exams?"

  "Three days, ma'am."

  "Good! Good." The professor's eyes shifted back and forth between me and Garitt, no longer able to temper the interest I'd ignited within her. "If you'd be so kind, I'd like to borrow your Silvaln Sphere for a while, to compare it to what we have on dispy. That sort of flux-metal transfiguration, it's not a behavior I've observed in the Spheres before, so it could be a valuable clue in my research. I need to get to work on this immediately."

  "What about the rest of the interview?" Garitt asked.

  "Ah, yes. Congratutions, Mr. Langmeyer, I think you'll be a perfect fit here at Berindal Academy. I'll let the admissions board know that we had a very enlightening discussion today."

  She didn't have to tell Garitt twice. One handshake ter, the future academy student vanished out of the office, leaving me in the sole custody of Professor Promell. The entire exchange left me feeling more confused than confident about whatever I am, but at least Promell's sudden enthusiasm for studying me gave me hope that my search for answers would end soon. Maybe I'd get a chance to demonstrate just how useful a Silvaln Sphere could be before I made my return trip to Quinn's Peak.

  Promell rushed out of her office to make the most out of her limited time with me, hurrying along a walkway toward another part of the academy campus. "Come now, little sphere," she said, "We need to consult the real experts."