"I've been in a lake," he explains simply. "And I had....freedom. True, real, earnest freedom to do what I wanted, to create what I wanted. I could make things, I could unmake things, I could shift things here and there in the Dark Place. It was a dangerous place, but I was safe. I knew I was safe."

A small, sad smile tinges his face.

"I loved it. Even if I sometimes wanted to leave sometimes, I loved it."