Jack [i]did[/i] have standards for a child raised by him. That was true, but Annika was a child no less. She was not meant to be a mirror to the things he did, even if she learned every single mystic technique he ever invented. Jack peered down at the page, and recognized what Annika was looking for: A simple conjuring. Nothing particularly difficult, in fact, manifesting things from the shadows was something of a foundation for Umbramancy. Jack waved his hand, and the shadows cast by his fingers became something solid. Along the page manifested a black bookmark, and he turned a few pages towards the back of the book.

He recalled writing down methods in the back of it, once. 

[color=6644ff]"To create things is to develop influence over the shadows,"[/color] Jack began. [color=6644ff]"The dark is often regarded as having no substance, yet for you and I, there is something within that we may reach for. Once you have that something in your grasp, your methods will determine how you shape it, to what length you see it as an extension of yourself."[/color]

He pointed at a page where he'd scribbled down precise shapes, and outlined how he'd hew them out of shadows. [color=6644ff]"Think of a simple, mundane object you are familiar with. A pencil, or perhaps a knife. Treat the dark as if it were that object, and cut it away until the shape becomes clear. Once you have this shape, the trick is to give it substance."[/color]

To demonstrate, he held out a hand that was itself made of shadows. He had never told Annika how that came to be. In the palm of his hand, there formed a rose black as oil. He held it out for her, and let her hold the solidified shape between her fingers.

[color=6644ff]"To make it [i]real."[/i][/color]