Fesha blinked, then nodded. "Well...every mage has a certain set of powers. They're usually carried on family lines--every mage who has children, their children will be mages. But if they've mixed with another mage-line, they might have children with different powers. There are eight different threads--earth, water, lightning, air, metal, sound, fire, and blood. Mages can manipulate and control whatever their thread is. Earth-mages are most common, and I live in a port town, which is why I mostly see earth- and water-mages. But I've met mages of all the other threads except blood. And I hope I never meet a blood-mage." She shivered.