[ He gives a lazy wave his hand as he leans back. ]

Then make me understand.

I come from a place where magic, while frowned upon in some less civilized places, need not be sequestered away like a shameful family secret. If I am to be here any longer than a day, I would certainly like to know why it is that my gift -- and I should say it is quite the gift -- should be feared.

Small, petty minds, perhaps? Religious reasons? Did a mage set a man's coattails on fire, perhaps, eons ago, and since then the populace has been out for magical blood?