That sounds... somewhat different from my world, but also similar too. [There were two sources of power Sabriel knew of, and they required completely different methods of casting.]

But it sounds as though you're aware of the supernatural, but didn't make a serious study of it. Can you sense magic at all? [Most mages starting out their studies had at least a vague sense of it- if magic here was closer to what it was like where this woman was from, then perhaps she could find something Sabriel had missed.]