"At times, yes. They need a gateway. In the war it was the rifts. Some fools summon them deliberately. Others...well, as I said, it's complicated. I've spent the majority of my life fighting them in one way or another." At times he misses the simplicity of black and white, right and wrong. But he can never return to a mindset of no nuance. That leads to evils of its own.

"Bugs. Insects?" He would never have suspected to hear such a thing, or that they could heal. Well...is it so different from the surgeon and her maggots and leeches? "They must be very different from the insects I've seen."

Still pondering what sorts of bugs could manage to heal or pick locks, he answers in turn. "It does. Certain people have the capacity to tap into the energy of the Fade. It usually shows up when they're eleven to fourteen, a rare few earlier, some later. They have to learn to control it. There are any number of things they can do with it, from fire, ice, and the like to dark necromancies and even blood magic." It's a distasteful topic, the latter, some of it showing in his expression.