Well, why not. Sunshine sits. The ground here isn't the most comfortable, but standing indefinitely wouldn't be comfortable, either. She looks down at her knife and gives it a little mental nudge - maybe just a bit more? - and when it obliges her, she sets it on the ground between herself and Castor, like a tiny campfire. Its glow might be weaker than a real fire, but at least it's constant.
It's weird, listening to Castor describe his universe's version of magic-handling. Utility seems to be the big difference. The big magic-handling families tend to be rich back home, too, but the correlation is reversed: they've earned more because they can do more - and because they go back umpteen generations in a relatively straight line. Money tends to flow through the same carefully controlled channels as genetic predispositions. The end result of that more literal inbreeding tends to be diminished skill (go figure), but the point is rarely - if ever - something as straightforward as pyrotechnics. And even if the general competence level takes a dive, it's arguably worth it if it means avoiding a bad cross. A third-cousin who can barely twist a charm is less embarrassing than a third-cousin who went on a homicidal spree.
"So, hang on," she says as Dom trundles down her arm and into her palms, "what is it you're doing with magic? Aside from light shows. Ward-cutting? Charms?" Transmutation is comparatively unmarketable, but at least it has practical applications.
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It's weird, listening to Castor describe his universe's version of magic-handling. Utility seems to be the big difference. The big magic-handling families tend to be rich back home, too, but the correlation is reversed: they've earned more because they can do more - and because they go back umpteen generations in a relatively straight line. Money tends to flow through the same carefully controlled channels as genetic predispositions. The end result of that more literal inbreeding tends to be diminished skill (go figure), but the point is rarely - if ever - something as straightforward as pyrotechnics. And even if the general competence level takes a dive, it's arguably worth it if it means avoiding a bad cross. A third-cousin who can barely twist a charm is less embarrassing than a third-cousin who went on a homicidal spree.
"So, hang on," she says as Dom trundles down her arm and into her palms, "what is it you're doing with magic? Aside from light shows. Ward-cutting? Charms?" Transmutation is comparatively unmarketable, but at least it has practical applications.