Lori's first instinct was to build a stand to put the prototype on to satisfy her aesthetic impulses. However, in practical terms all she really needed was the prototype to conduct her tests and experiments. She weighed pragmatism and perfectionism, but eventually decided to build a stand for it after all, if only so she wouldn't have to keep holding it while experimenting.

The resulting stand was just a rock she had grabbed from the third level—pulled from the walls of one of the unfinished excavation tunnels—and stuck gold wire into, with a bone molded to keep up the end with the copper-sheathed sample.

"Rian, stop laughing," Lori sighed as she finished adjust they little spiral wire receptacle to her satisfaction. "Yes, I know it looks like a male pelvic organ. What exactly is so amusing about that?"

Rian didn't respond with anything more intelligent than slapping a hand over his mouth to try to stifle his laughter, turning away so he wasn't looking directly at the first prototype. Eventually, he got his laughter under control, though he still had on the stupidest smile on his face.

"Are you done acting juvenile?" Lori asked, her flat tone more unamused than usual.

"No, but I've stopped laughing and can still take notes," Rian said cheerfully, and there was the annoying tone that said he was doing it deliberately! "Go on, your Bindership. What are you doing now?"

Lori huffed impatiently. "Don't make so many mistakes this time."

"I can't promise that, sorry."

Shaking her head in annoyance, Lori pulled out a bead she had gotten on the way to the alcove, as well as a pair of metal calipers. "Take note, then. Beginning first experiments on first prototype. We will be using a wispbead that is—"

"Wait, let me do that," Rian interrupted. "You have that warming thing around you, remember?"

What… oh. Right. "Fine, you measure it," Lori said, handing him the metal calipers.

Rian measured the wispbead, doing it several times to be sure that the calipers were measuring the widest point of the bead. Finally, he set down the bead and calipers. "Bead is three yustri, three chiyustri wide," he said as he wrote down his measurements. "Finer than that, I can't really make out."

"Sufficient," Lori said. She reached out and laid a hand on the copper shell of the prototype, ignoring Rian's snickering at the gesture. Why did her lord act like a child about the strangest things? "Stifle it, Rian."

"Y-yes, your Bindership."

Shaking her head, Lori focused on her awareness of the wisps in her demesne. The metal shell was no impediment to it, and she could feel the airwisps and darkwisps around the white Iridescence and its setting. For a moment, she considered using them in her experiment… but no. Best to go on as she had planned.

She rubbed her hands until they grew hot, and claimed the firewisps that resulted from it, which she formed into a binding. "First experiment," Lori dictated, and Rian started writing. "Using a binding of firewisps to warm the external shell of the copper casing, and by extension the air within, to reveal the firewisps inside the casing. Firewisps in the space within the copper casing revealed. Proceeding to claim and bind the firewisps inside the casing. Anchoring binding inside the casing to the white iridescence sample mounted on the setting within the casing, taking time to ensure the binding is contacting the wire of the setting. Internal binding of firewisps currently generating a mild amount of heat." She hesitated. "Rian, hold out your hand and confirm that the binding of firewisps is active. "

Rian dutifully held out his hand, slowly moving it towards the copper shell, and stopped just short of touching it. "Yes, it's hot, though I'm not sure if that's a result of the firewisps you used first, or the firewisps inside it."

Ah. "I'm increasing the output," Lori said, during just that.

Rian hastily withdrew his hand. "Yup, it got hotter. What now?"

"Now, we wait for the imbuement to be consumed completely," Lori said. "In the meantime… continuing first experiment. Wisps are currently anchored to the white Iridescence. White Iridescence is secured onto a wire setting. First experiment, testing whether this configuration is more resistant to the effects of violent physical agitation."

Lori picked up the first prototype by the weighty stone base and then, after considering the prototype, took hold of it in both hands and began to shake it up and down.

"Rian, if you somehow manage to choke yourself on your own spit, I'm not having Shanalorre heal you," Lori lied to threaten as her lord apparently found this gesture uproariously funny for some reason.

"S-sorry…" he managed to say, as he slowly took proper hold of himself, the childish laughter… well, he was trying to keep his lips squeezed shut, even as a too-wide smile stretched across his face and his shoulders continued to shake. "Just… keeping talking, I'll write…" He squeezed his lips shut once more, cutting off his words as more shaking came over his shoulders.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Lori considered kicking him, but given the way he was holding the bone tablet with their notes, she didn't want to risk it. Sighing, she continued dictating. "Experiment successful. Compared to the control, the mounted sample of white Iridescence was not displaced, and the wisps anchored to it remain in place. The setting seems to have sufficiently secured the sample such that the sample did not fragment because of the agitation. At the very least, the prototype has proven to be an effective design to prevent the anchored wisps from being displaced."

"That's what we were trying to go for, right?" Rian said.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter if it will limit us to only one kind of binding," Lori said. "The uses of firewisps in this demesne is limited."

"As someone who can feel the cold, I'm perfectly fine with if all the prototypes can do is use firewisps, but I can see your point," Rian said.

"The experiments aren't finished yet," Lori said. "Once the imbuement is fully consumed, we need to conduct the physical displacement test agai—Rian, stop laughing!"

––––––––––––––––––

Once the wisps were no longer imbued, Lori repeated violently shaking the prototype after she made Rian stand outside of the alcove to listen to her dictation. The result was the same, thankfully. With the sample of white Iridescence being all one piece and secured in its setting, and the copper shell as added protection, any binding of wisps anchored to the sample wouldn't be disturbed. While Lori still wanted to use glass, and suspected there was probably a very good reason for it, at the moment it would do for her purposes.

"Test three," she said from where she sat next to the door so Rian could hear her. "With the imbuement expended, I am placing a wispbead on the bead receptacle to test the effectiveness of the prototype as a bound tool. Rian, if you can stop yourself from laughing, you may come inside to assess the current temperature of the bound tool."

"I'll be good…" Rian's voice floated in.

She doubted that would last long.

Still, except for a small, annoying smile, he didn't react as he held out his hand to the copper shell on the end of the bound tool. "A bit warm," he said, "but not as hot as when it was imbued previously."

Lori nodded. "All right, out with you, then."

"But I'll be good…!"

Lori gave him a flat look. "The next time you laugh childishly, I'm kicking you."

"…fine, that's fair."

She placed the bead on the receptacle of spiraling wire as she dictated what she was doing to Rian. Even though she wasn't touching the metal, through her awareness of the demesne's wisps, she was able to perceive the metal seeping magic from the beads, and imbuing it to the binding anchored to the sample of white Iridescence. Rian was able to confirm the heat after a few moments, then again confirmed that heat was no longer being produced a few moments after she removed the bead from the receptacle.

"No visible reduction to the dimensions of the bead as yet," Rian reported as he measured the bead again with calipers.

Lori nodded, and handed him the tablet and stylus again. "Beginning test four, then. Reconfiguring the binding of firewisps to include firewisps both inside the copper casing and firewisps in the metal of the casing." She already knew the result of this, but she needed to be methodical about the testing procedure. It was how this worked, after all. "Firewisps in the metal casing have been successfully integrated into the binding. Placing bead in receptacle to imbue binding." A pause. "Seepage has been initiated. Binding is being imbued and functioning. Rian, confirm that heat is being generated."

"Binding is hot, your Bindership."

The bead is removed from the receptable.

"Beginning test five. Reconfiguring the binding of firewisps to include firewisps inside the copper casing, firewisps in the metal of the casing, and firewisps in the air outside of the metal casing." A pause. "Firewisps in the air around the metal casing have been successfully integrated into the binding. Placing bead in receptacle to imbue binding." Another pause. "Seepage has been initiated. Binding is being imbued and functioning. Rian, confirm that heat is being generated."

"Binding is hot, your Bindership."

Lori removed the bead from the receptable.

"Beginning test six. Reconfiguring the binding of firewisps to include firewisps inside the copper casing, firewisps in the metal of the casing, and lightwisps in the air outside of the metal casing."

Rian looked up from the bone tablet, the annoying smile finally wiped off his face. "Wait, you can do that?"

Rolled her eyes at the interruption. "Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it." Then she conscientiously added, "We are confirming that current prototype can imbue the binding in this arrangement. If successful, it will increase my options when constructing bound tools."

"You have a glorious gift for understatement, your Bindership."

Lori rolled her eyes. "Lightwisps in the air around the metal casing have been successfully integrated into the binding. Placing bead in receptacle to imbue binding."

The air around the copper case began to glow with a pale white light.

"Seepage has been initiated. Binding is being imbued and functioning."

"And we have light…" Rian said, voice hushed as if reverent. It was a tone that clashed with the wide grin on his face.

"Rian, confirm that heat is being generated."

"Huh? Ah, right, right. Um, binding is hot, your Bindership. Uh, is it supposed to be?"

"Of course, Rian. There are still firewisps anchored to the white Iridescence, as well as in the copper shell, and those are also being imbued." Lori reached out and removed the bead. The light around the copper shell of the prototype vanished.

"Beginning test seven. Reconfiguring the binding to reduce the heat output of the firewisps inside the copper casing, and the firewisps in the metal of the casing. Lightwisps that have been incorporated into the binding will remain unaltered." A pause. "Placing bead in receptacle to imbue binding. Output of lightwisps remains unchanged. Rian, confirm whether or not heat is being generated "

"Uh… it doesn't feel as warm as it did last time, your Bindership."

Lori removed the bead from the receptable.

"Beginning test eight. Reconfiguring the binding of firewisps to include firewisps inside the copper casing, firewisps in the metal of the casing, and airwisps in the air outside of the metal casing…"

"Wait, wait, I'm running out of room to write!"