As Elias kept his head down, his mind went back to the last ten years of his life and how these people had all been an indispensable part of it. Forget his intellect, he knew the only reason he was not long dead in a ditch or consumed by his appetites was everyone here on this table.
Brother Valerius for Elias had been the leader of the Order because Commander Yseult had not spoken to him once until the day he became an Ascendant Candidate. He had taught him strategy, history, and the weight of legacy, although he rarely taught Elias, barely speaking with him a dozen times in a year, there were many lessons he had learned from him.
His second was Sister Lanthe, and she was the one whom Elias had spent most of his time learning from; she was a herbalist as well as a lore-mistress, but Elias had not fully understood the meaning of the second role.
