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Iorlas nodded, taking it upon herself to answer for Earendil. "I would venture to say that most of the people alive now are only born, and not reborn. Rebirths are ... not rare, but not overly common, and bear in mind, elves live long naturally. Many of them simply have not died. If they have not died, they can't be reborn."

"But only elves are reborn, isn't that right?" Daeron asked, his tone serious.

Iorlas nodded at him. "That's correct."

Daeron looked down at Miyuki. "When humans die, their bodies are dead forever, but their soul lives on. They join our maker. But as only elves and humans are created by The One, only those two races have souls that keep living even if their body has died. The rest ... simply cease to exist. Dwarfs, gnomes, animals ..."

He trailed off, looking at Iorlas again.

She simply finished off his list. "Dragons."

Daeron smiled at Miyuki. "Yes, I should perhaps have added that Gaians might be different. But you and your mother have become so much a part of our world that it's sometimes easy to forget that you're not originally from here."

And he was still forgetting that Andarien, as much as he might look as though he belonged in Arda, was not from there.

Earendil was just as amused as Lin and Daeron. "It just goes to show how easy it is to get used to things that other people would consider strange."

They passed under the arches that marked the entrance to the castle and stepped through the large doors. Daeron and Iorlas headed off to rest, and Earendil turned to Lin.

"Should we take Andarien to see Shiro?" he asked her softly. "Or is there someone better to talk to? Lothiriel or someone?"

Earendil thought for a moment, considering where people might be at this time of day. It was the middle of the afternoon. He suspected that Lalwen might be in lessons (though from his understanding, she did not have the Sight, at least not yet); Maeglin ... was probably somewhere with River, the two girls had really seemed to hit it off ... but where would they be? He wasn't sure. Egleriad, being engaged, and a prince, was probably either in lessons, training, or with his fiancee; as for Celebrindor, Elia, and Amora ...

Well, he just didn't know where anyone was.

Pity.

"Ask some of the guards?" he suggested at long last. "Because I have no idea where anyone might be."

As it turned out, Amora and Elia were the only ones who were more or less free, though the two sisters were spending time together with Shiro and Kaito in the library. Earendil headed to the library with Lin, Miyuki and Andarien, and though they did have to stop a few times for directions, they made it there without too much difficulty.

As large as the library was, it was not difficult to find the four of them: they were seated around a large table near a window at the back of the library, except for Kaito, who was sprawled out on a pile of pillows nearby.

Andarien's eyes lit up when he saw Kaito and the pillows, and he ran forward so that he could lay down as well. He was tired after their excursion into the city.

Shiro was tapping away at his tablet, but Amora and Elia smiled at the others as they joined them.

"Not at all," Amora said warmly. She motioned to the chairs around the table. "Please, sit. We were just listening to Shiro's stories of traveling."

"Not that I have many," Shiro added, glancing up briefly. "Not compared to the three of you, at least." He grinned.

Earendil chuckled and pulled a chair out for Lin. "Well, we won't comment on that," he winked at Shiro.

Elia giggled at them, then turned to Lin. "So what brings you to us?" she asked brightly. "Did you have a good time in the city?"