"Yes... there's been a good deal of upheaval in this place, hasn't there?" It's mostly a rhetorical question. Trahearne keeps coming across references to it in his reading, and already has a mental list of those topics he'll have to look up later.

"Ah, the magic of Tyria isn't controlled by any sort of god - though the human gods have at various times used powerful objects to give magic to others or take it away. Tyria's magic is a natural resource, as much a part of the world as the sun and the rain. Everyone has some capacity to use magic. There are other powerful creatures in my world, but their function is to consume magic, not grant it." His expression isn't quite as pleasant anymore, his gaze gone distant. Trahearne is far, far too familiar with that part of his world's magic theory, and not all of those memories are pleasant.