Free Balancer (Advent Mage Cycle) by Honor Raconteur

There was nothing enjoyable about it.
    Regardless, the worst was over. Nothing else could be worse than this evening.
    Or at least, I hoped not.
    ~*~
    Perhaps Ries did feel some pity for me after subjecting me to the Domess as the next person that I had dinner with couldn’t have cared less about my political standing, marriage prospects, or reputation.
    I’d always known that Habbick Province had a slightly different view of magic than the rest of Chahir. They’d been bending or skirting around the anti-magical laws for years while doing trade with Hain. But until that night, I hadn’t realized just how much of that attitude resulted from encouragement by the Dom himself.
    Boscarenoen, Dom of Habbick, was a magical fanatic.
    The evening had started out very similarly to the previous political-oriented dinner I’d done the previous week. I’d shown up at the Dom’s mansion, been ushered into the very opulent dining room, and been introduced to the Dom. The room was just as large as the Domess’s, although thankfully not overdone with gilt edging. Instead, it had a more masculine feel with dark wood paneling and tasteful landscapes. I felt more at ease here, despite the echoing quality of my footsteps.
    The Dom himself, also very fortunately, did not share one similar feature with the Domess aside from rank. He had a portly frame, balding head, and a very formal suit of dark blue velvet that had been cut to make him look trimmer. At first glance, he looked like a man of power. Then he spotted me coming through the door and his eyes lit up like a child expecting a new present. My initial impression of “stodgy” evaporated in that moment.
    He’d enthusiastically ushered me into the room, sat me down, and then started asking questions so quickly that I could barely manage a bite, much less get a word in edgewise. Most of his questions revolved around potions and various charms that could be purchased, none of which I knew a thing about. When I admitted as much, he started rattling off what he knew about them.
    I smiled, nodded in the right moments, and kept eating. I feel like I’m at the Academy again and should be taking notes, I observed to Night and Ries.
    “ I think he actually does know enough to give a lecture at the Academy.” Night clearly found all of this amusing. “ Is he even breathing?”
    Not that I’ve noticed, no.
    “But Magus, you are the first Mage that I’ve ever had a chance to speak with,” Boscarenoen said, taking a moment to gulp in air. “You must tell me, how does your magic work?”
    Well, at least he finally asked a question that I could answer. I gave him the most concise summary I could of how Earth Magic operated, but half way through he started shaking his head.
    “No, Magus, forgive me. I wasn’t clear enough. What are the things that you can do with your magic? How do you do them? That is what I wish to know.”
    Oh. He wanted specifics . “Well, I can create anything out of stone. Buildings, bridges, islands, roadways. As long as I have a specific idea of what needs to be done, the magic within me heeds that call and the earth responds to my will.”
    His eyes lit up, and he leaned closer to me, the food in front of him ignored. “Please, do go on. Have you actually built all of these things? Are you limited to creating structures?”
    This was perhaps the first time that a non-magical person had been so interested in the gritty details of how Earth Magic worked. I couldn’t help but be flattered by it. Smiling, I started to delve into more detail, giving examples from things that I actually had done in the past. He asked numerous questions, which in turn propelled me to try to explain even more. It became a lively conversation. Better, the topic was something that I knew well and didn’t mind talking about at great length. I couldn’t think of a conversation that I had enjoyed more with someone I had just met.
    With his pro-magical mindset, I didn’t expect to find