"If everything about him is destined to happen, then why are you trying to stop me from helping him, Ancient One?"
Ryan immediately spotted the hole in her argument.
This woman had lived far too long and could spin a story without blinking. Scheming came as naturally to her as eating and drinking. He had to be careful.
Faced with Ryan's wariness, the Ancient One smiled instead. "You're someone I didn't foresee. I can't see your future, so naturally you can change the future to some extent."
She laid out her concern: she wanted the future under her control, not left for Ryan to change.
Put so bluntly, it was a heavy thing to hear. Seeing that Ryan's mood had soured, the Ancient One changed the subject. "How is your magic coming along?"
"How is it coming along?"
"Magic is a kind of science, too. Spatial transformation, elemental manipulation, drawing power from infinite space—these sometimes follow fixed formulas and principles."
"Mm." Ryan understood at once that the Sorcerer Supreme was in the mood to teach.
Ryan liked learning something from anyone he could.
He listened closely as the Ancient One said, "Control of the Mirror Dimension can be transferred or seized. Whoever controls it can reshape the battlefield."
"Could I directly manipulate matter in the Mirror Dimension to attack someone?" Ryan asked.
The Ancient One paused. "It's possible, but it would require a very deep understanding of the Mirror Dimension."
When it came to understanding the Mirror Dimension, the Ancient One claimed first place, and no one in Kamar-Taj dared dispute it.
Beside Ryan, she held nothing back, sharing her insights into the Mirror Dimension with him.
Much of what she told him could not be found even in the books at the Spell House.
Ryan learned a great deal.