That gets a raised eyebrow out of her, but she continues. "Mages are people who have the ability to use magic, to control and shape it to different effect. Healing spells, zapping someone with lightning, freezing them in place...that's all magic, and it all stems from the Fade. You know, that place you stepped out of to get here? So, we channel energy from the Fade and make it work for us. It's an inborn trait that shows up sooner or later, usually around puberty. And once you're a mage, for better or worse -usually worse- Thedas won't see you as anything else. We're not exactly popular, since the southern Chantry has taught people to hate us for what we are. A lot of the bullshit politics you'll hear around Skyhold are because of that."