It means more to him than she might guess. He has a lot to live up to, back home, if he ever makes it there again — and if he can't teach, how can he truly lead?

"I didn't think that far ahead," he says, and it's more honest than he'd care to be most of the time. "It was the job of others to instruct the novices, and our mentor — the man who led and taught us all — seemed as though he would live forever. I was content to do my job well by myself."

Many things have changed since then. He's changed. The Assassins, too, will need to change.