"Mark is a wizard, having had the kind of gawdawful dragged-out Ordeal that becomes legend; Miles isn't. No one is really sure how that works, but it unnerves Miles. And Mark.
Gregor had the Oath following him around for about two years in adolescence and refused to take it, because he was afraid of what he'd turn into with that kind of power; eventually, Cordelia (who isn't a wizard, but they're sane about that kind of thing on Beta Colony) sat him down and told him that refusing the capacity to make Barrayar a better place was just as selfish as deliberately making it a worse one.
Re: Barrayarans
"Mark is a wizard, having had the kind of gawdawful dragged-out Ordeal that becomes legend; Miles isn't. No one is really sure how that works, but it unnerves Miles. And Mark.
Gregor had the Oath following him around for about two years in adolescence and refused to take it, because he was afraid of what he'd turn into with that kind of power; eventually, Cordelia (who isn't a wizard, but they're sane about that kind of thing on Beta Colony) sat him down and told him that refusing the capacity to make Barrayar a better place was just as selfish as deliberately making it a worse one.
Alys is the Senior for Barrayar."