"Iron is a metal of man. It is harmful to the peri most of all, and to a lesser extent us. It is also harmful to the div, who are perhaps even slightly more vulnerable than us. It is a somewhat sturdier metal than bronze, but not by a lot.

"The div philosophy is that a sword will cut you regardless of the metal it is forged of. This is a fine military way of thinking, save for one thing: Dust. Part of sharpening a sword is removing excess material, and some of that material becomes airborne.

"Over time this is problematic for the div and the djinn, and absolutely deadly to the peri. Div and djinn who regularly care for the blades develop a cough after a year or two, at which point their state progresses quickly towards unavoidable death. Even so, the duty can be traded out, which is the way of the div; each is harmed a little, but they can persist.

"This works for them for two reasons; firstly, they are a nomadic people, who live outside. Were we to try something like that here, the air of our very halls would become poison to us over time. Secondly, they do not have loop-bound, who would become gradually weakened over time by exposure to iron.

"You have three weaknesses, Soha. You have now named yourself after two of them." Harabi smiled, then. "I appreciate that, I must say."

Soha slowly nodded, minding Efre's instruction to use body language to convey internal state, in this case one of contemplation. It was a deliberate effort, but Efre had indicated it would become habit over time, and would help ease others around Soha.

Today's lesson had been about how to fight in a siege, and Soha had approached Harabi upon its conclusion to ask about iron.

"And magic?" Harabi leaned against the lectern at the front of the hall, looking towards the ceiling.

"The magic of the peri will break upon iron, ours is only weakened. You'll get lessons in the use of magic. We - loop-bound, I mean - have something of an advantage there, compared to other djinn, like in many things. I believe it is less to do with what we are, however, than that we lack certain ... ideas, about how the world is."

"Ideas ..." Soha paused, then. Perhaps it would be best not to ask what ideas about the world would impair the use of magic. Harabi smiled, perhaps guessing at the thought. A different question, then. "So magic is defined by how we think?"

Harabi nodded again, gaze again drifting up. "Indeed. Peri magic is structured, rule-bound. Like the geis. Div magic is primal and wild, utilizing the raw elements of the world; fire and lightning in war, but I understand they also have an affinity for plants and nature. We utilize community, among other things; a hundred of us can work together to create great things that a single individual could not, like the creation of the loop-bound. I suspect, but do not know, that the peri are capable of something like that as well.

"Our magic draws from our sense of duty, primarily. A hunter can use magic to find animals, to guide their arrows. Setareh can scry, to see distant events, can communicate at great distances. I am a warrior, and a commander; my magic can aid in combat, or lend strength to others. A healer can help djinn recover faster than they otherwise would.

"We are both more and less limited than others in our magic; less, because we can use it to most any purpose, in most any way. More, because any given individual is considerably more constrained."

Soha nodded slowly again. Silence filled the hall for a time, thoughts moving slowly, for they were larger than the thoughts Soha was accustomed to working with, more complex. Something was there, again, that couldn't quite be grasped. Harabi spoke again after a time.

"We - the loop-bound, I mean - are, in a sense, magic in ourselves. We don't expect to be hurt by a sword striking us, so, unless it is iron that can harm our magic, we cannot be. We don't expect to fall to the earth, so until we get accustomed to the idea that the earth binds us, we do not. The older we get, to some extent, the less power we hold."

The older loop-bound's face tightened somewhat, eyes closing, in an expression Soha recognized as concentration, before lifting off the ground, hovering a few feet in the air. Harabi spoke again, eyes still closed. "I have grown so accustomed to walking that this now takes an effort." Harabi settled back to the ground, eyes opening again. "And I doubt I could ever take a concept from another's mind, or render their minds apart, as you have done; that was magic, if you are curious, and one which I find rather unsettling, for it does not comport with my understanding of the world."

"They're just vibrations," Soha responded, confused by this, "No different from the vibrations of my own mind. Or yours."

"Vibrations? I can see that, I think. But they are somebody else's mind; I think of others as physical things, encased in flesh. No, nevermind, let us not argue this. That is a potent weapon, one I would not wish to talk you out of, if even I could. I would rather not take the risk of disarming you of something that could be valuable."

Soha left the hall some time later, feeling ... uncertain. Harabi had become increasingly reluctant to talk about magic, insisting that explaining it was likely to limit the actual ability to use it, particularly for a loop-bound. The lesson had ended with a suggestion to schedule training in magic sooner, rather than later.

Soha searched; finding the Efre in the djinn's assigned sleeping quarters, after first checking the training facility, although there was a delay. Efre was engaged in sex with another djinn, and Soha had come to understand that it was polite not to interrupt this activity, so waited a polite distance away from the door, so as not to overhear too much of the activity.

"Greetings, Self. You have a request?" Efre was dressing at a full-length mirror, watching the door in a reflection; Soha had waited a few minutes after the other djinn had left, on the expectation that this activity would have been completed already.

"Greetings, Efre. It is Soha now." Efre's hands froze momentarily, in the act of tying a sash around a plain blue tabard, before continuing.

"An interesting choice. Greetings, Soha." There was an etiquette there, which Efre had, surprisingly, bent a little bit. "Your request?"

"Harabi recommended I begin lessons in magic sooner, as I have started asking particular questions." Efre again froze for a moment, turning away from the mirror to look directly at Soha.

"This is sooner than ... yes, I will arrange it. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, thank you, Efre. I will be going now, if it pleases you." Soha departed, Efre's polite response following.

Efre's behavior was somewhat unusual. Perhaps next time it would be better to wait longer, if Soha found Efre to be engaged in sex. Soha was reasonably certain that had been the reason, but wasn't entirely certain if that was the case.

Soha walked to the dining hall, currently empty, and sat down. It would still be a few minutes before the meal began, and the hall was quiet, rows of tables and chairs empty and devoid of life, although they'd soon be filled with the conversations of many.

This had been an odd day, and Soha was looking forward to Fan and Sidou's chatter, or Fan's chatter and Sidou's occasional addition. It had become part of each day, as lessons were; they were both comfortable to be around, in a way that, Soha was starting to realize, the others were not.

They were young. Not as young as Soha, perhaps, at least in most respects, but it was comfortable to be around those who also didn't already understand everything about the world. Maybe Sidou knew as much as Efre, but Soha suspected that the djinn mostly just kept quiet unless there was some specific knowledge related to the conversation to add.

They didn't already know everything, either way. Indeed, Fan could almost certainly use Efre's instructions in etiquette again; there had been more than one event in which Fan had outright broken some of the rules, and bent them on an hourly basis, if not more frequently. It was relaxing.

The contemplations had begun to turn to why it was relaxing, considering again the heavy weight of duty - a weight Fan didn't seem to experience at all - when the crowds begun filtering in, shortly before a bell announced the meal. Soha rose, to find the two djinn and join them when they arrived, and to greet them with a new name.