"How?" he asked, looking back at the housing. "How do you make the materials work with the inscription?"
A smug expression appeared on Yasmine's face.
The tired frown didn't disappear, her eyes brightening inexplicably.
"Well," she began, placing the housing down, "that depends on what you're trying to make."
She pulled a stool closer with her foot, sat down, and gestured towards another for Frost.
"Living beings aren't the only things that can make use of inscriptions. Under the right conditions, with suitable materials and the proper arrangement, you can create an object that holds a rune and allows someone to use its effect."
Frost sat almost without noticing.
"Like the information plates?"
"Exactly. Though those are relatively simple compared to some of the things we work on here. You also have to account for how the device receives essence, how much it can handle, and what happens when someone tries to make it do something it wasn't designed for."
