<span style="font-style: italic">I was supposed to be a researcher.</span>Sabine thought to herself as she huffed heavily running at even pace and filled with a slight sense of frustration that grew every day.  It wasn't that she was opposed to the occasional jog but usually when she did so she found herself going a lot further than nowhere for her effort.  Plodding in the large wheel as it moved beneath her feet, she looked over at her master, Ruminare De'Angelon who seemed firmly focused on the object in front of the large spinning wheel that contained her.  In all appearance he was completely oblivious to her presence in the room.  Ruminare seemed to be around Sabine's age, perhaps a four or five years older.  It was somewhat hard for her to tell.  The spindly mage, with his brown hair shortly cropped and rather patchy beard, looked almost sickly from how pale he was.  Though from what she observed the pallor seemed like it was due to his affinity for staying indoor than any sort of malady.  The somewhat contradictory effects made him seem both younger and older at the same time.<br/><br/>She blamed her parents for this.  They had always told her not to allow her particular gift in magic to define who she was or limit her opportunities.  "If a good job comes along and you think you can do it, don't take no for an answer.  Convince whomever may hire you that you can get the job done no matter what it takes."  Her mother had repeatedly instructed her while she was looking for work.  Granted following her mother's advice to the letter is what got her in this situation but only a seer could have foretold the unexpected results.  It had sounded perfect when she had first interviewed with Master De'Angelon.  He claimed that he was working on a 'thinking machine'.  The idea sounded somewhat absurd and she had no idea how it could possibly be accomplished but how could her insight into the human mind not help in such an endeavour.  One of the first questions asked was Sabine's specialization in magic.  Master De'Angelon insisted that water or wind or perhaps even lightning would ideal.  But persistent woman that she was Sabine railed against his protests that the design he had in mind would not work with emotion magic.<br/><br/>It had taken nearly a week of fabrication before the machine was complete and Sabine finally realized the nature of Master De'Angelon's concern.  She had been outright defiant the first time he suggested she get in the wheel and run.  It had taken nearly twenty minutes of arguing to convince her to finally do it but in the end she had to admit that she promised to do whatever the project required.  She had no idea how the machine properly worked.  She knew that Master De'Angelon poured his energy into the machine, apparently to facilitate its 'thinking'.  Her part in all this was that the machine needed more than spiritual energy.  Physical energy was required to make various gears turn so the machine could actually 'communicate'.  Apparently burning conventional fuels to provide energy had proven too volatile for this particular application which is why this incarnation of the machine had taken its current form.<br/><br/>As Sabine continued to run she asked herself how much more she could take.  But letting what she had experienced over the past few week go through her head, she knew it wasn't the paltry wage that was keeping her here.  It was curiosity that drove her to keep running.  A fascination that was growing and easily outstripping the frustration and humiliation she currently felt.