The miners lingered around the ridge long after the shaft had been sealed again.
Most of them were curious.
A few were simply enjoying the rare sight of academy students demonstrating their control over the earth.
Professor Halvek, however, had already moved on to something else.
He placed a small ceramic platform on a flat section of stone near the edge of the camp.
Dr. Solen opened a narrow case and carefully removed a smooth stone sphere about the size of a melon.
The stone was dark gray and perfectly round, its surface etched with faint circular runes.
Several miners leaned closer.
"What's that?" one of them asked.
"A resonance stone," Halvek replied calmly.
He placed the sphere carefully onto the ceramic cradle.
"It measures elemental affinity."
Darius folded his arms.
"Standard academy entrance test."
Garrick glanced toward Kael.
"Looks like you're about to prove me right."
Halvek raised a hand slightly.
"Before we begin, a demonstration."
He looked toward the group of miners.
"You there," he said, pointing toward one of the older workers standing nearby. "Would you assist us for a moment?"
The miner looked surprised but stepped forward.
Halvek gestured toward the sphere.
"Place your hand above the stone. Do not touch it."
The miner held his palm over the sphere.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the stone began to turn.
Slowly.
The sphere rotated gently within the ceramic cradle, making a quiet grinding sound as it spun.
After several seconds Halvek nodded.
"That will do."
The miner stepped back as the stone gradually slowed to a stop.
Halvek turned to the onlookers.
"Most miners possess a modest earth affinity," he explained. "Enough to assist with their work."
He gestured toward the sphere.
"A slow rotation."
The miners nodded.
That was familiar.
Halvek then turned slightly.
"Aria."
Aria Valen stepped forward.
She raised her hand above the stone.
The reaction was immediate.
The sphere spun rapidly within the cradle, rotating several times faster than it had before.
The runes along its surface glowed faintly as it accelerated.
After a few seconds Halvek nodded again.
"Enough."
Aria lowered her hand and the stone slowed to a stop.
Halvek folded his hands behind his back.
"Academy students are trained to strengthen their resonance with their element."
Darius smirked slightly.
"Some more than others."
Halvek ignored the comment.
He turned toward Kael.
"Your turn."
Kael stepped forward.
His thoughts were racing.
If the stone reacted too strongly—
He had no idea what might happen.
Halvek gestured toward the sphere.
"Place your hand over the stone. Do not touch it. Simply hold your palm above it."
Kael raised his hand slowly and held it over the sphere.
The entire camp seemed quieter now.
For several seconds…
Nothing happened.
The stone remained completely still.
Kael felt relief wash through him.
Good.
Maybe it really wouldn't react.
Behind him, Darius gave a small shrug.
"Groundless."
Garrick nodded once.
"Told you."
Kael exhaled slightly and let his shoulders relax.
Then he felt it.
A faint whisper through the soles of his boots.
The earth.
The quiet, familiar sensation he had come to recognize over the past few days.
The ground beneath the ridge responded to him as it always did now—steady, patient, listening.
But the sphere in front of him felt… wrong.
Even without touching it, Kael could sense the difference.
The earth beneath his feet felt deep and ancient.
Natural.
The sphere did not.
It felt hollow.
Structured.
As if the stone had been forced into shape rather than grown from the mountain.
Artificial.
Halvek leaned forward slightly.
"Interesting," the professor murmured.
Kael frowned.
"What?"
Halvek pointed at the stone.
The surface had begun to change.
At first the movement was so subtle that Kael almost didn't notice it.
Tiny ripples spread across the sphere's surface.
Like water disturbed by a falling drop.
The smooth stone began to soften.
The runes etched into its surface blurred slightly.
Darius straightened immediately.
"What the—"
The ripples grew stronger.
The stone sagged slightly within the ceramic cradle.
Its surface shifting and flowing as if the solid rock had suddenly forgotten how to remain stone.
Kael pulled his hand back instinctively.
The sphere collapsed inward.
The entire surface dissolved into fine gray powder that spilled across the ceramic platform.
Silence fell across the ridge.
No one spoke.
Darius stared at the remains of the stone.
"That's… not possible."
Dr. Solen crouched beside the platform, examining the powder with clear surprise.
Halvek remained perfectly still.
His eyes moved slowly from the ruined stone to Kael.
"That… should not happen," he said quietly.
He brushed a small amount of the powder between his fingers, studying it carefully.
"The stone measures resonance through rotational response," he continued calmly. "It is not designed to… disintegrate."
The miners around them began murmuring among themselves.
Garrick looked between the ruined stone and his son with visible confusion.
Halvek finally straightened.
"Well," he said thoughtfully.
"That certainly answers one question."
He looked directly at Kael.
"You are most definitely not Groundless."