I uncork the vial. As soon as the air touches it, the liquid transforms to a shade of blue exactly the same as the Loralite stones. It’s only a brief reaction, though, the blue quickly fading back to the clear water. I drag my finger down the side of the vial and a trail of bright blue appears in the liquid, then fades as I lift my finger away. I notice little tendrils of blue swirling about beneath the tips of my fingers where I’m holding the vial.

“Do you see that?” I exclaim.

“It’s like the liquid can feel your touch through the glass,” says John.

“May I?” asks Malcolm.

I hand it over to Malcolm. When he holds the vial, the color of the liquid doesn’t change. “Hmm,” he says, and holds the vial out to John. “You try.”

As soon as John takes the vial from Malcolm, the liquid again flashes the brilliant cobalt shade of Loralite. We all watch as it slowly fades away, except where John is touching it. The way the liquid pulses, it’s like it wants out of the vial, like it’s eager to be in contact with us.

“So, it detects Loric,” Eight says, “but what good is that if we’re the only ones left?”

“I’m going to try something,” I say, taking the vial back from John. Carefully, I tip the vial so that just a single drop spills into the palm of my hand. The liquid turns blue and a tickling sensation spreads across my palm. Then, the single droplet quivers and expands, gaining mass and density until I’m holding in my hand a smooth nugget of Loralite.

“Whoa,” Eight says, taking the stone out of my hand and turning it over, examining it.

“Whoa, indeed.” Malcolm bends down, gazing in amazement at the stone. “Whatever that material is, it defies the laws of physics.”

“So we can create Loralite with that,” John muses. “Nine and I both have something that looks like it could be used for farming or planting, and Eight has an object that can summon Chimæra. Doesn’t it seem like that’s the stuff that can help us jumpstart Lorien?”

“It does indeed,” says Malcolm.

I put the stopper back into the vial, not wanting to waste any more of our precious liquid Loralite.

The inventorying goes on for a little while longer with Malcolm taking really meticulous notes. We’re all eager to learn as much as we can about our Inheritances—well, except for Nine. He keeps gazing towards the door of the Lecture Hall. He makes us promise to train with him after we’re done with all “the brainy stuff.” In truth, I’m looking forward to another session in there myself. I feel like I’ve got a lot of catching up to do before I’m at the same level of combat readiness as the others.