It is.

[ he nods emphatically. ]

Unfortunately, that means people get lost in both protecting their craft and families trying to one-up each other. Honestly, the Mage's Association is just a den of vipers, and the only ones who thrive in it are the old, powerful families while us laymen mages are fated to disappear under the sands of time.

[ with a shrug and a sarcastic smile, he adds: ]

I suppose that's why they chose to add that to my "dislikes".