"Under conservation of mass - that being the same amount of stuff principle - it could still start existing having not previously existed as long as it was made out of stuff that existed before. And grow, as long as the stuff comes from somewhere before being incorporated into it."

"I don't notice it doing any such incorporating, but if it did I don't see why Cindermount couldn't do the same?"

"It can and clearly it did! It's just notable to me."

Nod.

"Shall I continue reading about the battle?"

"Sorry for interrupting but it will happen again. Please go on."

"I don't mind." And a return to reading about the unsuccessful attempt to rescue an empowered duke who was swallowed whole by the beast.

"Did he have powers that would have let him survive that?"

"Many empowered could survive being swallowed by such a demon for at least a brief period of time, I expect. We tend to be very hardy."

"Dang. If I am swallowed by a lava demon don't bother, I'm not immune to extreme temperatures."

"Oh, I would have guessed that your ability to phase through objects would make you immune to physical harm as a general rule, is that not the case?"

"I still have to breathe, and I still experience ambient temperature."

Nod.

"Noted."

"What's the next one?"

A demon made out of metallic vegetation that could mutate living things into traps that incorporated a variety of poisons, most of them both painful and hallucinogenic in nature.

Spooky.

Especially spooky considering it can turn people into traps just like anything else alive.

"Were they distinguishable as having been thus transformed?"

"If I'm interpreting this line correctly, they weren't?" She can read that bit again.

"How long were people going around being secretly poison traps?"

"I believe there are instances of such traps being sprung years later mentioned in the records."

"Eugh."

"Quite."

"This was how long ago?"

"Nearly three centuries."

"So one may hope the remnants are all gone now."