Arcane Sampler

Arcane samplers are incredibly expensive devices used to capture a "snapshot" of arcane energy from almost any source, usually to reserve and save for future reference or study. Made by a select few talented crafters in Virias, they are hard to come by and very expensive due to their delicate nature and complicated structure.

Appearance

From the outside, an arcane sampler may look like a pocket watch to the untrained eye. Usually made to fit into one hand and attached to a chain for safety, they can be made to be discreet and subtle to use, like many Verdian devices surrounding magic. The subtle watch or mirror style design was originally a security measure to prevent them from being stolen or closely investigated, and the trend has remained despite some newer, advanced samplers being much too large to be mistaken as a watch. Often cased in a precious metal or porcelain, decorated with stones and engraved with intricate designs, they can be very beautiful to look at.
They usually open with a small button clasp, which reveals one flat internal face with a gold thread and a delicate rotating metal shutter, usually accompanied by a metre used to read values. This inner face is usually plain and unadorned, but some craftsmen do fashion them with details as well depending on their tastes. The design specifics can vary wildly depending on what and who the sampler was made for, and can be seen with additional buttons, switches, metres or lights. Depending on how complex the sampler is, it can be as small as a modest pocketwatch, or large enough to require a box or case to carry it easily.

Function

Arcane samplers draw out and store fragments of magical energy, known as "snapshots". They do this by holding the energy in a cylindrical core of magical conductor, usually a piece of quality O'lessi antler or irrotium surrounded in a net of thousands of incredibly fine gold filaments. The filled core then activates a killswitch that engages one of two tiny red Flux crystals that power the golden threads, creating a web of arcane energy. The flux output of the device is changeable depending on the energy type and strength it is collecting. The device can self-detect through the exposed thread on the face, or be carefully tuned to select and single out certain frequencies.
The device is then studied either through spells by trained wizards, or through an analyzer- a machine that discharges the energy in the core and is able to give detailed information and data based on the energy released. Discharging the energy in this way releases it permanently and it cannot be recovered.
Due to their size and delicate nature, as well as the wide energy range that radiates from fluxfluid, samplers are not able to convert to fluxfluid power and remain tied to a legacy flux system. The device has two very small flux crystals, that require a certain hue and conical cut to function as intended. There are two crystals so that the user can swap out a near-depleted crystal without the device being unpowered, the active crystal being easily selected by the user with the flick of a small internal switch. Thankfully, the device recycles flux quite effectively and is very slow to deplete, therefore not requiring regular crystal changes.

Manufacture and variations

Arcane samplers are incredibly rare. Taking up to 3 years to make one sampler by hand, they are usually commissioned by wealthy or important institutions, such as arcane academies or research facilities, police forces, or governments. There are 23 recorded samplers in existence as of 13,020SA, and each varies greatly in detail, capabilities and design. Texora Academy is the main manufacturer of arcane samplers to this day. Invented there for the first time in 12,101SA, there are currently two craftspeople trained to create the devices and one apprentice.
There are speculations that there are reverse-engineered samplers in existence modelled off of the two lost samplers, as well as by students or ex-employees of companies who used the samplers during their studies or work and have attempted to make their own.

Lost Sampler 001

The first arcane sampler was created in Texora Academy, Virias. Model 001 was a particularly volatile model, made after only a few test prototypes and largely as an experiment. It was able to capture energy in frequencies and types well outside of the range of what is now considered safe to store in a small core in your pocket; this original model was more versatile in its range than more recent samplers, but much less stable and much more difficult to read. It had no metre on its face, and a very rudimentary capture device with exposed workings and parts.
This model was stolen by a group of students and a young researcher following an experimental disaster in the research and development facility of the academy which destroyed an entire wing of laboritories. The group took what they could carry and fled the country, the researcher among them being the only one with access to the locked case where the sampler was stored. It is believed that the sampler is now located somewhere in Sedia, but its condition or current holder is unknown.

Lost Sampler 012

The second Sampler lost to time was owned by Veridian mining company Veltia. Commissioned to measure information from strange minerals during mining digs, it was a very simplistic, broad-range sampler very suited for investigating entirely unknown energy signals. It was lost when an airship carrying the sampler was shot down by apparent pirates and the carcass of the ship looted. The whereabouts of the device is unknown to this day, but is thought to have been sold and shipped overseas.

by spooktacular

A Veridian-made arcane sampler (no.006), showing the decorated external shell compared to the simple and functional internal face.