Cyclescope
A cyclescope is an instrument used to determine the age of objects through the use of magically infused lenses and enchantments. Most cyclescopes are tabletop machines made up by a metal sphere with a tube going through it, either powered by sunlight from the top or a flame from below. The inside is a complex puzzle of lenses, mirrors and enchantments that absorb the light source and send a concentrated beam through the lenses and onto the object. Someone then looks through the eyepiece and reads the age based on the objects aura.
Invented by archeologist and historian Aya Bastet, the cyclescope was originally a tool to aid her research and documenting artifacts. Bastet created multiple variants of the instrument throughout her career, and gifted them to colleagues, universities, and archives.
Originally the cyclescope used various elemental crystals instead of lenses. It was expensive and impractical, especially for field use. Bastet, retired, approached the Domāt Institute in Ilohne for help in developing the machine. A group of artificers, professors, students, alumni and mages, known as the Bastet Guild, dedicated nearly half a decade on the cyclescope. They focused on a single element of the machine at a time, dissecting each piece of metal and enchantment, before beginning to experiment. They discovered that swapping out the crystals for lenses coated in a liquid solution able to hold enchantments, they could infuse each lense with similar properties of the different elemental crystals.
Since the most common version is quite small, it's limited in the size of objects it can read. This is due to the light input and the space for energy build up the sphere needs to get an accurate reading. If an object is too large small pieces are usually removed, like a jewel from a necklace or a thread from fabric. If a small piece can't be removed for reading, there are a handful of large cyclescopes owned by universities, museuns, libraries and archives. They are usually stationary and rarely moved. For even larger items, such as statues or remains, there are two giant cyclescopes in the world, in Māšu Mits'a and Ilohne. These are both built into the buildings hosting them, with spheres large enough to walk around inside.
Today the usage is much more varied. It's a common sight in many establishments, especially shops, and even homes. Solicitors and banks validate heirlooms, private investigators identify and confirm lost items, and shops can prove to customers their magical items aren't considered an Artifact.
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