If you’ve spent any time in the world of The One Who Listened, you’ve probably heard two names:

Vane Global Cybernetics.

And Raven Division.

One is a global cybersecurity company.

The other?

Well… that requires a little more explanation.

Because while they both belong to the world Elias Vane built, they serve two very different purposes.

And only one of them is the kind of organization you put on a business card.

First, Meet Vane Global Cybernetics

Vane Global Cybernetics is Elias Vane’s company.

Elias built his cybersecurity empire at twenty-two, and Vane Global grew into the legitimate, public-facing side of the world he created.

Cybersecurity. Technology. Global operations.

The polished corporate world of executives, offices, meetings, and people who probably prefer not to know exactly what their CEO is capable of when he leaves the boardroom.

Vane Global is legitimate.

Raven Division is something else entirely.

So, What Is the Raven Division?

Raven Division operates under the Vane Global umbrella, but calling it another department would be… misleading.

You’re not going to wander through Vane Global looking for a door labeled:

RAVEN DIVISION

Morally Questionable Activities, Third Floor

Although I admit I would enjoy that immensely.

Raven Division is Elias’s covert team.

They handle situations that go beyond what an ordinary cybersecurity company can—or should—handle.

The dangerous ones and complicated ones.

The ones where information on a screen can become a very real threat to a very real person.

Vane Global gives Elias access to technology, information, infrastructure, and resources on a global scale.

Raven Division is what happens when information alone isn’t enough.

Who Are the Ravens?

There are six men at the center of Raven Division:

Elias Vane. Callum. Corwin. Merrick. Alfie. Tavish.

Elias is their commander.

Callum is his second-in-command.

And the others?

I’m going to leave a few things for the books.

What I can tell you is that I never wanted Raven Division to feel like a collection of interchangeable men in tactical gear standing behind Elias looking intimidating.

Even if, admittedly, they are very good at that part.

Each Raven has his own personality. His own relationship with Elias. His own way of responding when things go wrong.

And they do go wrong.

Frequently.

Corwin, for example, somehow developed the ability to bring sarcasm into situations where a reasonable person might decide silence was the safer option.

It’s a gift.

Probably.

Why Does Elias Need Raven Division?

This is where Elias becomes particularly interesting to me.

He is a cybersecurity CEO.

He is also a man who understands that sometimes knowing where the danger is doesn't make the danger disappear.

Raven Division exists in that space.

When a threat moves beyond a computer screen, Elias has people he trusts beside him.

Not employees waiting for instructions from their CEO.

A team.

Men who know what they're walking into.

Men who know exactly who Elias is.

And men who follow him anyway.

That distinction matters.

Because Raven Division isn't simply Vane Global's secret muscle.

It is built on trust.

And for a man like Elias Vane, trust is not given easily.

The Two Sides of Elias Vane

I love the contrast between Vane Global and Raven Division because, in many ways, they represent the two sides of the man who created them.

Vane Global is controlled.

Professional.

Strategic.

It's the empire Elias built with his intelligence and his understanding of technology.

Raven Division is quieter.

Hidden.

Far more dangerous.

It's the part of his world that exists for the moments when strategy requires action.

But neither side is fake.

The man sitting at the head of Vane Global Cybernetics and the man leading Raven Division are both Elias.

One simply operates where the world can see him.

The other doesn't.

And Then Came Hollow Grove

Without wandering into spoiler territory, The One Who Listened changes things.

What begins with Elias becomes something that eventually reaches beyond him.

Beyond a screen.

Beyond Vane Global.

And all the way to a small town in Tennessee where Raven Division suddenly becomes a lot more important than I originally intended when I created them.

Which, if you've read my previous thoughts about these men, should surprise absolutely no one.

They were supposed to be supporting characters.

They did not cooperate.

This Is Only the Beginning

Vane Global Cybernetics may be the empire Elias Vane built.

But Raven Division is made up of the men he trusts to stand beside him when that empire isn't enough.

Callum, Corwin, Merrick, Alfie, and Tavish.

Five men who walked into The One Who Listened as Elias's team and somehow became something much bigger.

There are things about Raven Division I haven't told you yet.

Things about the men themselves I haven't told you yet.

And, perhaps most dangerously…

Things about them I haven't even written yet.

So, for now, consider this your introduction.

Vane Global handles what happens behind the screen.

When the danger steps out from behind it?

Send in the Ravens.

— Auren Rose