Alexander's smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. His gaze returned to the strange symbol carved into the stone well, his expression unreadable. "The complexity isn't just about raw power, Isabelle. It's about understanding the language of magic itself. Tenshi can manipulate fire, but that's instinctual, not learned."
He tapped the stone, tracing one of the interlocking circles. "This... is a different kind of magic entirely. More like... poetry. Or architecture. There are rules, structures, patterns. It's not just about creating something out of nothing, but about manipulating the existing framework of the world. A spell to make it rain, for instance, isn't about creating water. It's about convincing the sky that it's already full of water."
