"Yes."

"We don't have a way to get to other worlds and would give very much for one."

"How many people do magic?"

"All the elementals, but we don't know how many there are. Most humans my age or younger."

"What is your age?"

"I'm seventeen. ...twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. Eighteen nineteen twenty."

"I'm eighteen."

"...okay..."

"Do humans and elementals age the same -"

"Elementals don't age."

" - how do new elementals start?"

"They - coalesce - they don't have parents."

"How interesting. Humans have parents?"

"Yeah, we do."

"And humans age and be parents and die?"

"Yes."

"Amentans also. We live four tens years."

"Forty. That's not very long."

Shrug. "If we had more worlds people would want longer."

"They don't want longer now?"

"This world has - as many people as it can feed. Wanting longer now is like wanting to fly."

"Wow."

"Your world does not have as many people as it can feed?"

"I don't think very many people go hungry..."