"Red kinda sounds like me, I think." 

Cas sorts through the mass of new information in his head for a question that's not about gender. "So, does 'royal' imply any sort of actual rulership, or is it just the word for the top tier of mage?" 

“I’m not in charge of anything in particular because I would turn into a quivery puddle within like two minutes and it’s slightly less expected of sorcerers, but the seven royal mages have, you know, countries? Tashalka- Arizvam mentioned that you met her, earlier, she’s very, um, herself- runs Shazligraia, Sashadon runs Haizdiraia, it’s all very tidy? And then noble mages rule over much smaller sub-sections of each country- the translation spell is providing the word ‘counties’?- and greater mages are mostly just ordinary citizens.”

"And in whose country have you built us a castle, if not your own?" 

“Lalvien’s- the country of Habifaraia, over the city of salt, to be precise. I believe that I introduced him as one of my boyfriends, earlier?”

"Must have gotten lost in translation," Jacob says cheerfully. 'One of'...so these people have a concept of polyamory, which means Kadlawen is unlikely to be offended by Jacob flirting when they both have boyfriends.

"He won't mind us being here, then?" 

“Not in the slightest- unless you all have hitherto unmentioned tendencies towards arson and cannibalism, I don’t see why he’d find reason to object to anything at all that you decided to do.”

"I'll keep that in mind." That was definitely subtext. Jacob is a fan of subtext. 

"Other than arson and cannibalism, are there any other local, national or planetary laws of which we ought to be aware?" 

“Um- don’t induce injury, paralysis, death, sensory deprivation, or similar without consent, don’t litter, don’t do anything with someone’s egg that they don’t want you to, don’t unnecessarily restrict someone’s freedom of movement, don’t steal, destroy or deface another person’s property, don’t use mind control without consent, don’t do- a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t really apply to you? I think that covers most things that you might potentially be inclined to do, and it’s pretty universally applicable.”

"Most of that list is standard across our part of the universe," Linden confirms. "The only unusual part is the - eggs?" 

“... when Ruwiens with applicable parts want to have a child, they arrange to become pregnant, and then they eventually lay an egg and cease to be pregnant, and then, six years later, if properly tended, the egg hatches and they have a child?”

"That's the information we were missing, yes. Not many intelligent species lay eggs where we come from. Plenty of animals do, though, so we have the concept." 

“It’d presumably fail to translate, otherwise! I’d be saying ‘sortoshen’ and you’d be staring in woeful bafflement. There would be an unfortunate series of comedic misunderstandings, resulting in everyone wearing potted plants as hats. It’d be charming.”

Walk walk walk, tour tour tour. 

Oh no he's funny. 

"Is there anything you want to know about our society? It might help us better spot gaps in communication like the one we just found." 

“I’m not really sure what to ask... um, what’s your magic system like?”

"Su-Jin would be a better person to ask if you're looking for detailed thaumatology—"

"He's looking for a basic introduction and you're a better teacher," Cas interrupts. "I should know." 

"If you say so." Linden smiles at Cas for a second.

"Alright." His manner changes slightly, voice becoming slower and more deliberate. "Magic—our type of magic—is threefold. By this, we mean both that it exists in three forms in the world, and that it is shaped and used in three ways. I will begin by explaining the forms."

(Cas, behind him, is trying not to laugh.)

"First, there is aether or ambient magic. Aether suffuses the air around habitable planets and the pathways between them. It is necessary for most forms of life. We're not sure where it comes from, or even whether that's a valid question, but it doesn't seem to run out."

Kadlawen nods: they pass by an exquisitely pretty ivory fountain, producing sparkling, opalescent water.

"Second, there is mana, a person's own magical energy. If aether is like air, then mana is like fuel. Everyone produces mana and can learn to use it, but different people generate different amounts. Casimir, for example, has far more than average, making him an unusually powerful mage."

"Specifically, I regenerate mana faster than most people, so I can use it faster and more often." Cas clarifies. "Linden gets the same effect with slower-than-average regeneration by having a ridiculously large capacity and being about four or five times my age, so he has bigger reserves to draw on." 

"Thank you, Cas." Linden resumes his explanation. "The third form of magic is the one commonly referred to as 'magic' by everyone but academics, although its proper name is 'dweomer'. This is shaped magic, crafted from aether and fueled by mana to produce some form of magical effect." 

He pauses. "Do you have any questions so far?" 

“Um- which sorts of magical effects are trivial, which are known to be possible but difficult, and which are outright impossible but nevertheless sought after?”

"I'm getting to that," Linden says, amused. 

"Dweomer is further divided, into three magical disciplines: perception, manipulation, and augmentation. Everyone is capable of all three, although most people tend to specialise. I myself am a perception specialist. If your system doesn't have an equivalent, it might be helpful to think of these as something like different areas of study for scholars, so that the difference between myself and an augmentation specialist is comparable to the difference between a linguist and a historian, for example."

Kadlawen is mildly puzzled by people who say ‘do you have any questions’ and then proceed to refrain from answer your questions. He supposes it might be a cultural thing, nods, and aims to look attentive.