“Amalgus,” said Senniesten with deliberation, “is the fourth planet from our star, Lyrus.” Archippus appreciated the diction and elocution with which the aged sage delivered each statement. Senniesten’s deep voice carried his convictions resolutely through his peppered goatee as he gushed on about their home planet’s significant position. “We’ve only begun to understand the stars among us, and the enchanted Orbs of Eömere have opened for us a plethora of questions and new avenues of exploration we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of.” At the mention of the Orbs, Archippus’ interest noticeably peeked, as his own father, the adventurer Banec Du Ferox, discovered these orbs in the ancient ruins of Eömere.
“You see, the orbs’ magic allows their user to peer telescopically beyond the clouds and see miles past the horizon even unto the stars themselves. As we’ve been studying the celestial bodies in our own, we have discovered what is currently being debated to be evidence of life and civilization on our moon, Mediocris. Further, we have discerned the stars Ionne, Creen, and “The Southern Eye” are in fact not stars at all, but fellow planets in an orbit around our star, Lyrus.” At this moment in the lecture, the sage’s eyes widened, and he side-shuffled over towards the thing at the center of the audience hall covered in a plain looking cloth tarp. Whatever it was, it was certainly large! It was oval in shape, at least 12 feet across from end to end and over 6 feet high. The structure was the dominating presence in the hall. Archippus could see varying-sized rounded humps or spheres across the top that the makeshift tarp was draped over.
“My fellow Archmages of the Council of Nine and I have studied with utmost diligence our neighboring planets. We’ve also consulted with the Schools of Divination, Alteration, and Enchantment to create this…” At this point, all eyes in the auditorium were on the Sage. The excitement and anticipation from the other students and faculty were palpable to Archippus. The deliberate pause in the speech at this point seemed to make the tension unbearable…and then with a flick of his left hand above his head, the mundane tarp slumped to the floor revealing the most ornate interconnection of spheres and more spheres around a large central sphere. “…this, The Orrey of Senniesten.”
First came a cacophony of amazed gasps and astonished sighs. Then that gave way to roaring applause along with the occasional cheer. Senniesten motioned regally with his two hands to quiet the group. Just before the sage could speak, one of the first year students awkwardly blurted out “What does it…do!?” Unfazed, Senniesten did not miss the moment, launching into an explanation that each sphere represented the four innermost planets and that the large central sphere was Lyrus, our own star at the center of our solar system. “Magical ingenuity and mechanical engineering have given birth to this device, and through it, we will be able to discern the alignments of the inner planets. This will enable us to refine the arcane equations by which we weave dimensional portals and gravitational lensing. This means more accurate teleportation and precise astral and etherial plane-shifting. We have collaboratively created the definitive sexton for the astral traveler.” – Journal of Archippus Du Ferox, Historian of Mid-Amalgus, Second Age, circa 780.
(This page is a work of fiction and is “campaign source material,” copyright, 2019, JMC)