"That seems so odd from my perspective, magic as something that can be present or absent..." River gently tips herself backwards and flops onto her back, still gently cradling the materials. Though she's about to dump some worldbuilding, her tone is one of wonder, even reverence, as she says, "The basic law of all sorcery as I know it - kinesis, smithing, enchanting, necromancy, and more - is usually called sympathy. Everything is in some way like something else. But my master, Robert, he said it a different way: nothing can influence creation without being part of it. To touch is to be touched, to hear is to be heard, to light a candle is to cast a shadow. Necromancy deals in life and death, but it's not doing anything unnatural. How can it be?"