Verin could not help the yawn that escaped his lips as he listened to Ender teach him. It wasn't that he found the subject dull - to the contrary, he was as interested as when he had first properly met the strange Familiar. Yet he was tired after a long few bells of working. He apologised quickly to the Familiar, in case the creature got the wrong idea from the motion, and he leaned in closer as he watched and listened to the explanation given. Some of it, Verin already knew, but other things were news to him, for instance the concept of an "aura". From the context, he could attempt to work out what it meant, and guessed that it had something to do with the Djed stored in each and every life form in Mizahar. But beyond that, he didn't question further, as he got the impression that it wasn't strictly essential to what he was learning about Hypnotism from Ender.
He was well aware of the power of words, even utterances which weren't laced with Djed. Anyone who speaks is constantly making a choice of words, as there were infinite amounts of ways to phrase any one idea. Even if that choice was entirely subconscious, the choice was still being made. Hagglers in the street who were trying to lower or raise prices of items, politicians who were trying to persuade, even drunkards in taverns sharing a particularly crude tale of their night with a prostitute... each of these people were passively, subconsciously constructing a specific identity to the rest of the world. All of this done with simple words. Hypnotism was arguably just a more extreme, conscious version of this process, that he agreed with Ender on, and he shared all of these thoughts with the Irylid.
And with these thoughts, he added another hypothesis, “Would you consider Hypnotism to just be a more powerful way of conveying what you want to? More powerful in that it is harder for someone to ignore what you are saying, or dismiss it?” It was a curious concept, and it put the magic in a whole new light for Verin. It wasn't offensive, as magicks went, merely a tool, something to assist the user. Verin had always viewed it as an 'insurance policy' of sorts, a subtle means of controlling his surroundings more than he otherwise might.
He thought of the need Verin had to maintain eye contact with a subject in order for the magic to work, which, as he mused on Ender's words, was a sure sign that the physical nature of the magic user was also very important for certain ways of using the art. “Do all those methods of Hypnotism that you just mentioned require eye contact? I would imagine that sometimes it isn't the most subtle way of manipulation... if it alerts the subject, then won't the magic, however powerful the caster, possibly be less effective?”
As Ender continued, his head nodded at each new point and break in the teachings. To be adept at Hypnotism, it seemed, there were a number of other prerequisites that he must also become proficient in. His knowledge of other magics was sparse, but he had always received the impression that mostly it came down to the user's Djed and that alone. Venser's Maledidtion seemed to need more than just that too, it required skill in physical craft, as well as even creativity or memory. “So one might argue that one poorly used word might affect the manifestation of the suggestion, or emotion-” he yawned again, “Sorry, emotional response in the subject?”
There was a lot stated on Hypnotism.
