"I know." Jae just has a lot of experience with repression, Shrieky, don't think too highly of his zen. (The last time he lost his temper he nearly ripped Hilmi's brain out of his head permanently - and before that, over a dozen people died. He tries not to go there.)

"It bothers me." He's quiet for a bit, thinking about how to explain it. "Thousands of years ago it was normal, for magic and different sorts of beings to be around. And over time, it started to become less and less common, until it seemed to go away forever. The people who still had it and knew about it stayed quiet because no one would believe them. And now the population's bigger but it's just a habit... because it would change the whole world, and nobody knows what could happen."