She emerges some twelve hours later.

"Hello again."

"Hi. Have you been checking your gate?"

"No; I was distracted. Things are going to be somewhat complicated when I return home and I want to make sure I am appropriately prepared."

She goes to check for settling. It hasn't. "Complicated?"

"I am the heir to a world-spanning empire, and as far as I know I vanished from my own bed without a trace one night and have been gone for at least two years. My father, who is horrible, currently rules that empire, and now that I have the power to take it away from him it would be unconscionable not to; but he has a friend who is a powerful mage, and the moment she notices my return I'm sure she'll guess that I am now a threat to their comfortable lifestyle, and I don't know exactly what she will do at that point but it won't be good."

"Oh. What can she do?"

"She is a Wood mage; their domains of power are themselves, other people, and living things, and their basic power is lifeshaping. She in particular collects and tortures people as a hobby, and has powers suited to that lifestyle; she can selectively disconnect someone from their body and senses, or put a suicide ward on them so they are unable to kill themselves. I'm sure there's plenty more. In particular, I know she definitely has magical protections against at least some forms of possible attack but I don't know which ones."

"Did you very much want to have the gate stay open - I suppose you wouldn't want to give her name -"

"I would not need the gate if I wanted to return here, and no one other than me can operate my teleporting boat. You are welcome to close it immediately after I leave. As for giving her name... I've been considering it. I - couldn't think of a way to ask if you wanted to help. And I wasn't sure I could bring myself to interact with the vassalage system any further."

"If I have someone's name they can't hurt me."

"Reihar Nirue."

"Thank you."

"I want her to stop being able to hurt people. I want people to stop being hurt."

"Are you in a very big hurry because I'm - I - I might need a little while - I don't even know where to get paper around here -"

"...I am not in a very big hurry, no. I've waited several years already and it's more important to do this right than fast."

He creates a stack of paper and holds it out to her, then belatedly asks, "...what for?"

"Drawing."

Fountain pen. Pot of ink.

"I got very good at creating writing materials while I was working out how I was going to construct my immortality. Eventually I took a break to construct a mental notetaking power rather than continue sorting through piles of paper taller than I am."

"That sounds neat." She collects up the drawing things. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

...she draws. Trees with twisty branches covered in vines and mushrooms and leaves curled against the wind.

He sits in his boat with that face on.

"Are you okay?"

"...that depends what you mean by that."

"I don't know."