Speaker, he calls himself, and Jade wryly thinks that it is an apt title. He certainly does a lot of speaking, and the words flow out of him fluidly, with an ease that reminds him of the afternoons he had spent listening in on Peony's council meetings.

"Zakrian, then." He smiles, getting to his feet. "I'm Jade Curtiss."

It is not often that he introduces himself without his own titles, but Zakrian is correct when he says that they mean nothing. Nowhere to go but forward, as they say, and Jade intends to do exactly that.