[ It's his turn to smile, shaking his head. ] The learning process is the same for most, though some will just learn to like it to avoid correcting. I suppose I did enjoy teaching them. I like seeing others set up for success, and I liked seeing where they landed years later.

[ He liked...the almost family of it, though it was also nothing like family. A class moved on, and many he barely saw again.

He continues to eat as he listens, noting the vegetables are extremely well-cooked. Olivine had focused on perfecting this, and Basch finds that charming and admirable. ]

Mmm, the borders are more open now than they used to be, and understanding of magical properties is close enough to state intelligence to limit study from outsiders.

It does sound like essence and Mist have overlap. Mist is in everything living. Humans aren't sensitive to normal amounts, though Viera are, and Mist in concentrated forms is how our mages perform spells. They are more regimented than your magic, though I believe that's a long-standing choice and not innate. If there is a bad spill or artificial amplification, Mist can cause poisoning, or monster mutation. That's as much as know.

If your essence is too imbalanced, what are the symptoms? And...is there a point of no return?