[ He almost feels a bit sorry for the man for landing in Thorne, and not for the usual reasons. Dion's isn't a perspective he hears often. It's only Wanda who Kahlil thinks truly understands the cost of arcane powers. Others, like Viktor, come from worlds where the cost isn't readily apparent, or possibly even negligible. People come from worlds where it is only a boon, an intangible and renewable supply of power, not a source of destruction, as difficult as that is to believe at times.

Or maybe this isn't at all what Dion is speaking about, and he's only projecting. ]

Here, they say everyone is born capable of using magic. They say the Singularity is the source not only for this world, but all worlds. Some will even say it is the birthplace of all gods. [ He watches the small ripples in the wake of a frog swimming the surface. ]

In my world, there was once an entire kingdom of witches. They warred with my people, who used God's power to destroy their kingdom so completely that nothing grows in those lands anymore. [ He traces a circle in the liquid-like pool, watching it slowly expand until it fades. ] I was born with power. I was sent to train at a monastery with other boys and men who received god's blessing - there were never more than maybe eighty of us at any one time. If you were a woman, you were lucky to burn. That's how greatly they still feared witches, even after so long. [ There were much worse fates for witches in Basawar. He says all this in a detached manner, then peers at Dion almost self-consciously before his features smooth over again: ]

These factions use us as pawns. They don't care about the powers or burdens we came here with, only our connection to the Singularity. No one will force you to learn, but you'll have a difficult time avoiding magic completely, if that's what you hope.

[ Look at the Nether, where it is like life's blood to this land. ]