Modern animetry has given us the notion of the Eight as if there is some fundamental division that defines them, but that is not the case. Certain souls have been tracked throughout history, and not all of them have merited inclusion in this august party.

Perhaps the most famous is the Star of Mendian, whom we term Stellar, as politics and the nature of the soul itself have conspired to ensure that it never passes long without notice when it changes bearers. History stretching back to myth has described the dueling pair of Sever and Sustain, or Sibyl’s watchful eye.

But Sobriquet? Spark? My own soul, for that matter, is suspect. None of us appear with regularity in histories or legendaria. Several souls attuned to Form and Light appear more frequently, in fact, despite their lowly status in the remainder. Why am I a member of the Eight, but the fearsome Khatun Beyiji does not pass muster?

I prattle on so, distinguished members of the Assembly, because every paper in Calmharbor has recently been trumpeting that we now have Three Of The Eight, with young master Kolbe claiming Sever. They speak as though this presages some golden era of history and a turn in the War.

Is this a triumph for Ardan science? Perhaps, but so was the phonograph. I submit that the pomp attached to our allocation from this invented species is instilling in us a false sense of surety, of superiority. It seems strange to me that we are so adroit in selecting exalted figures from our history, yet such poor students when the page turns to talk of hubris.

- Stanza’s Complaint to the Assembly (excerpt), 671.