I also wonder if/when Hades was an Azem. He's used the Azem summoning powers a few times (Warrior of Light, Endsinger Trials). A friend and I reckon that the order was Venat, Hades, and then us. Just because we were her protege (so to speak) doesn't mean we haven't also been friends with Venat for a long time. Or that we haven't been doing things before that. You have to have a traveler's spirit and ability to counsel to be an Azem, after all.