"Yes; I'm focused particularly on that one because even the Valar mostly can't break it except with pure information."

"Conservation of mass and energy is the most egregious case, naturally."

"The Valar can do that one!"

"I confess, it's hard to imagine a form of magic that couldn't."

"Purely informational magic," she suggests.

"Perhaps," he acknowledges.

"How long would it take to determine if your magic is limited to your species?" she wonders.

"Oh--that depends on your pain tolerances, I'm afraid."

"Oh?"

"Did Odette mention the existing telepathy to you?"

"Yes."

"Did she mention why she was dissatisfied with it?"

"She explained that it is difficult to make it verifiably not some other sort of mental magic."

"Ah. That's not a problem with the extant form of telepathy; that's a problem with developing a new kind. The problem with the extant kind is that it causes pain to the recipient as well as the caster."

"Ah. How much."

"About on the order of a broken bone, but very brief."

"And why is this necessary?"

"It isn't strictly necessary, just faster. There are qualia associated with doing magic that can't be naively derived from nonmagical qualia; once you have them you can use them, and the swiftest way to acquire them is directly, but being around a large amount of magic being used will eventually cause it to be transferred that way."

"...how does being around magic do that?"

"That's a matter of some debate amongst magic theorists, if not a great deal thereof."

"Well. I don't know how much of a habit I wish to make of magic, but that is more a matter of the mental effects. I can tolerate a brief bone-breaking amount of discomfort."

"Alright. Give me a moment to compose what exactly to send."

"Take your time."

He tips his head back and closes his eyes and after a few minutes says, "Say when."

"When."