Brother Valerius had long told the others that Elias would be summoned by the Commander, and the quick celebration was because they did not know when Elias would be returning, and so they needed to show the boy a hint of warmth before he headed into whatever role he was meant to play by the higher-ups.
They left ten minutes before the tenth hour, as it was better to always be early than on time.
Before Elias left with Brother Valerius, Kaelen had held him by the shoulder and pulled him a bit closer, and whispered,
"You are a soldier now, but you are also more than that… whatever comes for you ahead, follow your heart and your head."
Elias smiled and nodded, and he turned around to follow Brother Valerius. He did not know how to say he did not fully trust his heart or his head to make a decision for him. After all, the only thing it wanted him to do was to kill everyone here.
