Velatha did not immediately respond, or even make a move to put away her book.  Instead she simply wrote down several more lines of text while saying "Hm.... Short lived, short stature, and short temper... I'll keep that in mind."<br/><br/>That said, the elf closed her book and looked up at the halfling.  "I do not deny what you have to say."  She began.  "Yes people did grow overly dependent on magic and that was in fact a mistake, and no we can't ever allow ourselves to become so dependent on magic, should the world ever be returned to the way it was in the days of old.  I however believe that there is a healthy equilibrium.  I am a student of the old ways.  I have spent my whole life studying studying the arts: performance, martial, and yes the arcane as well."<br/><br/>"My name is Velatha and I follow the path of the spell dancers of old and while I may not have any personal experience in the forest, I know a great deal of what lies inside.  When you see a ruined kingdom, all you see is rubble but I know the cities name, it's character, and why it fell into ruin in the first place.  I hope that you learn to appreciate the importance of knowing the past, for without it there is no future."