[ Strange laughs, then — although Isaac hadn’t said anything particularly funny — but he’s reminded of other teachers, a pang of nostalgia. It’s been years, and he misses the Ancient One still. ]

Rest assured, that’s one thing that’s familiar. Magic, where I come from, it’s accompanied by sketching runes into the air with your hands. When I was first learning, I was convinced it was a physical thing: the precision of your fingers’ movement, the accuracy of the glyphs, the exact reproduction of the gestures, like pressing the right keys on the piano in the right order. Then I met a man without an arm who could outcast me in a heartbeat.

My mentor taught me that magic is more a state of mind than anything else. With thoughts, we focus the body.