Cassian Powers

Lord Cassian Powers, the Avenger of Cressgard, is a member of the Imperial Council and the oldest surviving officer in the Sollan Empire to have fought the Cielcin -- widely regarded as perhaps the greatest Cielcin hunter in history and a leading authority on the xenobites. He led the punitive expedition to Cressgard after first contact and holds the Council seat the Emperor intends to give Hadrian.

Powers is a very old man who avoids public ceremony, preferring private candor to banquets and triumphs. He speaks frankly to Hadrian about the burdens of legend and the cynical conservatism of the Lions, warning him not to believe in his own myth. When Hadrian's confrontation with Augustin Bourbon plays out in the palace hallway, Powers is present alongside Lord Haren Bulsara as a silent witness. He offers Hadrian only a sad salute and an apology before departing -- a gesture that conveys both sympathy and powerlessness within the Council's politics.