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He smiles. "No, I don't. I've occasionally consumed another's life energies—and these were willfully given, as any other form of currency might be. But eating brains? Let's say that's a metaphor, or a label assigned by those who have no actual knowledge of sorcery. Or both."

"Yes, I taught psychology for several years in Britain. I find it an interesting field, though it will never be my greatest passion. I suppose my study of psychology was a means to an end; as a young man, I was drawn to the academic lifestyle, the atmosphere of study, and parties, and the self-indulgence of students newly liberated from their parents' watchful gaze. Of course, those few institutions that encourage the formal study of magic are hidden away from the sight of the public at large, and they are hardly the gay, joyous environs I'd so set my heart on. So I studied psychology, a 'real' subject, in addition to sorcery. And it allowed me to live and learn amid the unenlightened flock." He grins. "I'm really a people person, you know."

"You weren't attracted to a career in medicine?" you ask.

"No. I am a sorcerer, first and foremost. And second, a businessman—because it grants me the capital to further develop my true craft."