"I was discussing the essence and definition of magic not long ago, with another person here." Not that Adia is a magical scholar, so far as he can tell, but she has some experience with encountering it, for sure, and is pleasant to bounce ideas off of. "I know my own talents quite well, but how they might apply to other universes is a different matter. One I am currently studying."

But this is a good reaction. He likes how he can see the wheels turning, the implications being weighed, almost as much as he likes being recognized. His smile is charming and aggressively smug, but lately he's been catching more flies with honey than with vinegar, so he gives a gentle, encouraging nod alongside it.

"Even he," he says. "Though perhaps I do not perfectly match the picture painted of me in every world's folkloric tradition."