“It varies too much,” Strange agrees. “It all depends on when their magical aptitude is noticed by the right person to bring them here, or when life conspires to have their paths intersect with the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Some novices are children—” and there’s a gaggle of them passing by in their tidy white robes, rambunctious despite the gravitas of the surroundings,

“and others, like me, were older. Practically middle-aged by the time we opened this particular chapter of our lives. I first heard about this place from a man who came here in his thirties as well.”

And then, with those students within view, Strange starts ticking off the ranks on his hands, easy with the remembrance: “Novice training starts with hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, and meditation. Quite normal and not arcane at all. Once you become an apprentice, that’s when they start adding mystical arts, weaponry, and magic to the curriculum. Full-fledged masters are those who have, well, mastered the above.”