A Sphere of Autumn Light

I slipped back inside from the chill night avenues and glided to the dark cherry desk in the study. There, settled within a shallow brass tray, rested a smooth sphere of translucent amber glass. Setting my gnarled staff against the desk's edge, I extended a skeletal finger to nudge the orb onto the forest-green leather blotter. It rolled in a slow, hypnotic arc, capturing my lantern’s flickering beam until its core flared like a trapped harvest moon. I gently arrested its path against my knuckles, letting the fiery refraction bathe the dark wood. A low, thoroughly contented chuckle rumbled beneath my cowl; the nocturnal study has claimed its finest ember.