Inside the Mirror Dimension, The Ancient One and Mordo watched everything Banner did.
The Ancient One asked Mordo, "Do you think he can succeed?"
Mordo was taken aback, then replied, "How could he? This is his first attempt—he's never practiced before. No matter how talented he is, he can't succeed on his first try. I bet he could practice all night and still not summon a single Ember."
The Ancient One neither agreed nor disagreed. She simply watched quietly as Banner began to practice.
To Mordo's astonishment, the moment Banner began the first movement, a bright line of fire appeared between his hands.
This was the first step: drawing energy from another dimension and forming it into fire. Next, he had to shape that energy into the structure of a magic circle.
Yet countless people got stuck at this first step, unable to make a breakthrough for years.
"This... How is this possible?!" Mordo was utterly stunned.
When the Ancient One had personally instructed him, it had taken him several weeks to get past that first, introductory step.
Still, he found some small comfort in the fact that Banner, despite successfully creating a line of fire, failed when he tried to rotate and expand it into a magic circle.
The line of fire turned only ninety degrees before collapsing, and all the sparks of energy scattered.
Then Banner stopped moving. He didn't attempt it a second time.
Mordo sighed again. "He may be exceptionally talented, but he gave up after failing just once. With that kind of temperament, it'll be hard for him to master magic. What a shame. His talent is one in ten thousand, but without perseverance, he'll accomplish nothing, no matter what he does."
The Ancient One didn't comment on Banner's talent. She simply told Mordo, "Pay