“Exactly,” Stephen says, warming to that shared image, the rightness of it. “It’s— precise, which the way I tend to work with magic to begin with. Some of it is heart and soul and spirit, yes, but much of it was also brute memorisation and specific application of runes in a specific order. This is similar. Like how you can play a song on the piano by memory, pressing the keys in the same order, and the end result is a beautiful song.”

Or, used to be able to play the piano.

He closes the paralysis glyph and pinches it off, the magic flaring, ready for Julius to step in. He considers, and adds: “Besides. You’re cautious for good reason. It’s not how I did it, personally, but one could say that I’m far too reckless.” No, he’s definitely too reckless. “There’s a time and a place for either.”