Valence chose not to answer the question about the cleric. There really was not need to answer - what did it matter why he hated holy beings? One of the answers was obvious, of course. He wore the black robe, he was a dark mage, but then there were dark clerics as well. And he hated them almost as much as he hated the clerics of light. No, it had little to do with his class - mostly, it was a personal choice. He hated clerics. He hated their softness, how clueless they tended to be, how gentle they were. He hated their pity, most of all. Valence had always hated to be pitied...
"I know many magi," Valence answered evenly, not sounding nearly so hostile as he had been at the start. "And I know how to track them. The trail was easy to find."
He sighed then, shaking his head.
"But yes, it is a trail I recognize. This man... I knew him when we were children."
(sorry it's so short but i can't used Everen until the others answer or i'm sure they're gone)