Gale disappeared after astral plane act 3 scene?

I just got back from the astral plane scene where the emperor tells me to evolve or not, came back to the camp and Gale disappeared out of nowhere. His tent is there but when I tried to send him an item he doesn’t show up on the list of companions. He wasn’t in my party to clarify things, but would like to know if this is a bug or if it is important that he is in my party prior to talking with the emperor.