So. Where were we?

Even in Israfil's world, sorcery isn't something everyone can do, and not all sorcerers can do the same things. Those on the path can learn some tricks from those who've come before, but there's an art to figuring out how to make it work for you. Imitating others can only take you so far. It's a personal journey.

That said, there are some rules that the sorcerers of Stolen/Future understand to be universal.

Sorcery requires drawing sigil diagrams.

For best results, most recommend ink, chalk, or markers, and a suitable solid surface. In a pinch, you can trace sigils in the air with your finger, but it's easy to make mistakes, and you have to go fast or the threads holding the spell together will unravel before you can complete the sigil.

Technically, there are other options, but they tend to creep people out, so we won't get into them.

Sorcery is affected by "circumstances."

Where you are on the planet, the weather, the phase of the moon, being angry, hungry, tired, excited...any and all of these things can alter the outcome of an attempt at sorcery. If you've done something before, and you have all day to get it right, you can probably do it again. But if your life depends on being able to replicate it in the next minute? Way dicier.

Some sorcerers find their abilities are more "reliable" than others. But everyone deals with ups and downs. And everyone explains the inability to "perform" consistently a little differently, depending on their personal understanding of magic.

Getting back to Israfil...

Israfil's sorcery is frustratingly unreliable. But then, his brain is frustratingly unreliable. Some days are fine. Other days, he finds himself staring at the ceiling, or scrolling through forum posts on his phone, even though he wishes he could do something else. It's not enough to want something, or even to know he needs to do something. Turning the key in the ignition a hundred times does nothing if the car's gas tank is empty. That's just how it is.

He pictures it like a deck of cards.

You can only play the hand you're dealt. Work around what you have. And that means working a job where he can dictate his own hours...even if it sucks. Because at least he knows he can do it. He just shuts his app off when he can't work.

Better than nothing, right? Perhaps he should be grateful to have a job at all, you say.

If that's how you see things, we're just going to have to disagree.

Next time, we'll meet one of Israfil's friends.