trying to provide for her family became a big factor in actually getting a job, it turned into becoming a tactician when she was back to travelling and had to assist a village in defending against bandits.
when she was turned from the military for not being a strong enough mage, she opted to just move from place to place and work harder at her craft. when she had stopped in a very small village, the people were in a bit of a panic because of the bandits who had come by to raid their food again. being left armed with a few bronze spears and swords, the occasional axe ( which was worn from use in wood cutting ) and only two clerics to heal the people, Marc had her work cut out for her when she had to direct the people to their stations. the bandits finally left them alone, the villagers commended Marc, and it wasn’t until the old man she was staying with suggested the idea to her ( quite literally he said: ‘even if your magic is terrible, you still have something in your noggin’ worthwhile’ ). since then, she’s been making up for lost time and pushing herself to the point of exhaustion to become a superior tactician.