Daja shook her head. "I don't understand how you could ever get anything done when your rulers are a committee," she said.

"I am a smith mage - my magic is rooted in fire, and metal. In my world, we call it Ambient magic, and it is the kind of magic that is rooted in ordinary, natural things. We have less range and flexibility than Academic mages, but our magic tends to be stronger and more focused."