Mat settles in, listening closely. He'll take any instruction he can.

The academic spell is mostly ignored - he knows some spells and he's capable of doing academic magic, but it's not what comes naturally to him. He wants to master his form of magic, channeling.

But he is not inclined to it. He frowns thoughtfully as he listens, trying to wrap his head around what Istredd's saying. It does sound like what little he's overheard from Moiraine giving instruction. Nodding, he takes a deep breath.

Alright. He can do this. He's clever and apparently quite powerful, this should be easy.

But it isn't. He moves his hands, he tries to feel a weight, but it's...ephemeral. He almost feels something but then it's gone, like water flowing around his fingers and washing away. It brings a spike of frustration that doesn't help.

"Blood and ashes..." the curse slips out under his breath and he throws his hands up. "Harder than it looks."