"Well enough to understand when I am in the midst of a mage's constructed world. What goes into such a place tells you much about a person. If he prefers to keep people unsettled, then that tells me he likes to be in control, and one may assume he may gravitate towards being feared over being loved."

Basic observations about people's behavior. Humans, mages, servants, gods - if one understood their enemy, then they knew where to direct a crippling blow, when the time came. What happens next is the realm of fate.