"I meant like your species."

'Yes.'

"...you're a species called artists?"

'Yes.  Why do you think this would not be so.'

"I'm used to art being a variable talent within species."

They don't react to that for a moment, their hair drifting slightly in a nonexistent breeze.

'Artists make and are made of art.  I met creative humans but there are none of them in our realm to need a collective name for.'

"How are you made of art?"

'Humans are sustained by food and drink and grow stronger by exercise and practice; artists are sustained by their projects and grow stronger when reality is in line with their visions.'

"...huh. What kind of projects do you do?"

'Myself alone or the species entirely?'

"...both."

'Most artists do woodworking, masonry, metalsmithing, weaving, embroidery, pottery, gardening, implementing natural design, and things in that vein.  I have undertaken those projects as well of late but do not prefer to.  Previously I made a magic system.'

"- you can do that?"

'If I could I would not be making doors.  But perhaps someday, again, and perhaps sooner than I thought, now that I am no longer trapped with only other artists.'

"- can you tell me about how you made a magic system?"

'I selected some humans who seemed amenable and with their input decided how it should function.  There were several minor missteps in the implementation but it seemed like the project would be immensely successful until one of them killed the other five.'  They take a sip of their drink.  'This was not in accord with my vision.'

"Sounds like the sort of thing you don't want your art project doing, yeah. What's the magic system like?"

'People who are mine can drink others' blood and have both parties gain magic.  People who are not already mine can use their gains to gradually become so, or for their own uses.  Magic allows people to make temporary or permanent improvements to themselves or others, generally, or do instant effects on living things.  The first interaction with magic a person has gains them a soul.'

"When you say someone is 'yours' and mention 'souls' what is it that you mean?"

'Unaltered humans are made up of only physical matter, and die when that matter is disrupted.  Interacting with magic gives them a hook of sorts, which things might catch on.'  Sip.  'I will eventually be able to retrieve the five.  But not any of the billion who would have received one and did not.'

"Oh. Can't make a new magic system that has resurrection built in?"

'In the event that somebody else has gone there and spread their own version, I would be able to use those for my purposes.  But not if there is nothing left of the person but atoms.'

"What about people who weren't made of atoms to begin with?"

'Those are accessible.'

"There're about a million dead ones in the world I just came through and I really want them to be alive again."