Sphere

The sphere is a personal item carried by some avout inside a math. It behaves like a resilient ball whose size can be adjusted by touch; at least one example shrinks when counterclockwise circles are traced on its surface. Avout use spheres as portable stools, for balance practice, and to carry when reduced to hand size.

First noted use

While hurrying through the cloistered walk ahead of Provener, Fraa Erasmas reduced his sphere from a stool to something he could palm by tracing counterclockwise circles on it. Nearby, Fraa Lio balanced on his own sphere, which he had made about the size of his head. When Erasmas tossed Lio’s sphere back to him, it bounced and was easily caught, indicating a springy, durable construction.

Usage and behavior

• Size adjustment by fingertip motion (explicitly: shrinking via counterclockwise circles)
• Functions as a seat when enlarged and as a hand-held object when reduced
• Resilient bounce when thrown or dropped

Associations

• Observed in everyday use by avout within the math; specific examples include those of Fraa Erasmas and Fraa Lio.
• Commonly cited with the bolt and the chord as one of the three personal items; during a library conversation with an artisan, an elder avout enumerates “the bolt, the chord, and the sphere” and indicates the sphere beneath him as a seat.

Current status

In active, practical use within the mathic community as observed to date.