"I do make sure beginner classes include some general spells that will be helpful for everyday life. A light spell for dark rooms or corridors, fire for warmth or for candles, minor healing and defense."

It's all very pragmatic. Istredd can teach far more complicated spells and he knows many of them here, but he assumes newcomers need to know the basics, and also knowing things that will actually be useful to them in the day-to-day are important. So far it's been helpful. He normally would have offered it to John on his first day here, but the timing was bad, as he already knows.

"I've been here about eight or nine months." Istredd doesn't know down to the day so it's probably in between those exactly. "My partner was here two months before me, but the oldest Summoned will be here for two years this summer." There is only a small number of those people left.