At the time of the Grey Folk, magic was difficult to control, because magic was controlled by thinking, and not speaking the words. A stray thought while conducting magic could be devastating. One of the magic users nearly destroyed all of Alagaësia with magic because of this problem. The surviving Grey Folk used their language, the Ancient Language, to bind magic so that it was controlled by speech. The powerful language also prevented the speaker from lying. It is not known how they completed the spell, but many of them contributed to ensure success. Because of this enormous change in the nature of magic, the energy toll was great, and the Grey Folk were consequently diminished as a people. In addition, they (whether on purpose or accident is not clear) left a method of altering magic an