[ as it becomes clear that stephen's actually listened to her, not just heard but listened, ness' smile grows. it's not that she's not used to an adult who actually pays attention or anything like that—she's just a consummate teacher's pet, and she loves an opportunity for a one-on-one with an educator who gives a shit. ]

That's right, [ of all mages here being sorcerers to her. ] And where I'm from, you and all the other sorcerers of your world would be considered wizards. I've never thought of wizardry that way, [ musing, a little taken with his clear affection for the practice, ] democratic. It's a somewhat prohibitive field to get into, in Faerûn, even if open to everyone in theory.

[prohibitive, and not a field she'd ever given much mind to, as she'd shown only the barest of aptitudes for it and never wanted to bother anyone questioning about it. if she'd shown an interest, there would have been no shortage of those in candlekeep who could have taught her, but without initiative of her own, no one was going to take time out of their schedules to force her.

kind of a shame now in hindsight, given the givens. ]

How did you come to its study? If you don't mind the question, I don't mean to pry.