"Wherever power's concentrated, there are countless grubbing hands reaching through that power. Some with negotiations, some with bribery, some with...more underhanded tactics. To have power is to be a target, and isolation is a necessary safeguard."

One he knows all too well, in fact.

"And secrecy is definitely a magic thing. Likely for the same reasons."

Oh, he's had more than enough of that for a lifetime. Yet here they are.