"Unexciting?" Solaris offered.
"A little," Frieda admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Good." Solaris stood smoothly, brushing off her trousers. "Powerful Fire Mages often become terrible at fundamentals because the massive explosions convince everyone that they are naturally talented."
Frieda rose after her, dusting off her own knees as Solaris continued her lecture. "You learned how to produce more before you ever learned how to produce precisely."
Frieda looked down, finding that incredibly difficult to argue with.
The next hour became painfully repetitive as Solaris walked her through agonizingly specific drills. They practiced isolating heat without ignition, then ignition without expansion.
They attempted a flame without internal pressure, and then built pressure without inadvertently increasing the size. Frieda failed every single stage several times over.
