The way all of Qifrey's signature spells aren't just water, they're water formed into sculptures, flowers and creatures and creations. The way his most signature spell, the water dragon, is a spell he crafted for Beldaruit, a spell that does nothing at all. It just looks pretty. The way Agott is fascinated with the old creature glyphs, because they dont serve a purpose, they don't need to, they just make a spell more beautiful. How freeing she finds that idea, of not needing to be useful. Her sharing the glyphs with Coco and asking her to just make magic for herself. Olruggio burning himself out creating contraptions, and not finding drive again until he heads up on the roof and weaves creatures of light that do absolutely nothing.
"A gentler kind of magic" indeed. It's art. It's art all the way down.
