Isaac hesitated for a moment as he thought through what she said--magical energy like that certainly<span style="font-style: italic">could</span>be transmuted from an object to a person, if someone knew what they were doing perhaps, or got an embryo during the fetal stage when it could still absorb all that energy... and there was precedent for use of a living spell battery, but...<br/><br/>"Can't be sure." he concluded, shrugging his bony shoulders slightly and fixing her in his gaze. It was disconcerting--he didn't blink as much as he should. "The blade only has channeling spells and spells linked to storage, and the spells on it are still configured for an object, but there are ways of transmuting the nature of a person in such a way that they can be treated as one. Not typically Scottish, but you never know. No way of telling until we find it."<br/><br/>We? He was actually letting himself get roped into this? As far as he could tell, the more rational part of his mind pointed out, his job was done. He'd done the diagnostic work.<br/><br/>"And secondly, legend doesn't say. No confirmed death as far as I'm aware, but my prior interest in the matter was limited, I'd need to look into it more seriously. Couldn't say if she's alive or dead, if she knows you've unearthed the sword, if she has the crown... too many variables for a legitimate conclusion to be reached."<br/><br/>"And Old Mandarin, yes. Modern Mandarin is a derivative of Old Mandarin and Middle Mandarin, but the ancient Chinese were excellent diagnosticians when it came to binding spells. Arabic counterparts of the Islamic caliphate were generally better at casting them, but breaking apart spells in Arabic is a much longer process."<br/><br/>Not to mention lengthy, rhythmic chants.<br/><br/>Isaac didn't sing unless he absolutely had to, and rhythmic chanting was dangerously close.