What it says on the label.

It works because magic. 👍 I'm not explaining how any magic works, it just does. We have historically avoided answering this question specifically because we want players to get creative and have always wanted people to decide how their magic presents on their own. Different mages may have different methods! Does your magic only work with touch? Do you need an item like a wand or staff to channel it through? Do you eyes or hands glow when you cast or are you a silent caster? Can you induce effects through singing? That's all up to the player. As long as you are asking permission of other players before magicking their characters, exactly how you go about using the magic is up to you within the FAQ-stated limitations. The exceptions would be for more powerful magics (so he couldn't do more than one person at once for example) that would require rituals to cause larger scale effects.

Go for it on future use, it's fine. It may just take a lot of practice to get it right at first through, so expect some disasters. 👍