"In the approximately 400 years since Ivorys was last visited by the Eldarin, some progress appears to have been made with respect to magic use. It appears to be heavily based on limniforms tattooed onto the body of the magic user, hence "patterners" is a common name for them. However, tattoos alone are insufficient. The secret is heavily controlled by an authority known as the Hidden Shield. Despite that, evidence suggests hidden patterners do exist. Further research -" Inric stops writing when the door slams open. Kelyn lunges for the table and he snatches up his paper, his hat and pencil knocked sideways as she scrambles across it, aiming for the jumble of blankets on the bench on the far side. She crouches over it, dragging something clear, and then recoils in shock. "What? But -"