Even as he spoke, and offered up the simple explanation, the Professor reached out with a touch of his own power. Causing that brass kettle to become transparent, so that his guest could see that water within swirl about. And causing a tiny balloon to appear now attached to the spout of the kettle. Oh it was a illusion, yet for the sake of the example it would do in a pinch. "Now in order to get the water hot enough he needed to take in energy from another source. The ley line to be precious. Yet for this little demonstration the ley line will be represented by the fire of a stove." With a nod to the table Kieran could see it become a stove top, and the burner directly beneath the kettle sprang to life with a little flame.
"This extra energy, or 'heat', worked just fine. Causing the kettle to grow hotter, and in turn helping that water bubble up too. Yet without another bit of help that balloon would continue to fill and fill with the hot steam and air, until it burst. So we used the focal item I crafted to act as something like a string. One that would tie the balloon at the moment it reached it's full capacity." A bit of golden glowing yarn like string appeared around the base of the balloon as steam filled it. And when the balloon was filled at last, and bound with the yarn, it began to float up to the ceiling. "However even with this done, we still needed a way to give the balloon a push in the right direction, and that was where Kristoff and Jack came in." Beneath the string a little lead dart shaped weight appeared attached to it. Serving as a tiny anchor that caused the balloon to lower back down a bit more. Until it was simply floating a foot off the ground, but not moving or rising to the ceiling again. "Jack the used the dart to send us in the right direction...though his aim was a little off in the end."
With a wave of his hand the illusions faded away completely, and James sat back down in his favorite chair. Giving his guest a moment to process the offered explanation. "How it all affects Jack, that's a bit tricky to say. After all, tapping into that much energy causes a strain, as does trying to also use it in conjunction with two other sources over power too. However, safety precautions were put in place to act as buffer of sorts. Still there are risks, even for a Magi, yet we did the best we could to minimize them."