Help the way Sophos literally saves Gen in A Conspiracy of Kings...
The way in which the thief in Eugenides didn't necessarily die, but the way in which Attolis slowly, excruciatingly strangled him and buried him alive because he thought Gen could never see the light of day again after he'd promised to be king...
The way Gen believed he would never get the chance to be his true, most favorite self again because he couldn't afford it... that he thought he could never laugh carefree because he'd have to be ruthless like Attolia and measured like a ruler at all times...
The way he was so afraid that he hardened himself against his former friends and family, in case he'd have to wage war against them in the future... the way Eugenides was dying unhappily, fading away, deeply withdrawing into a shell, and only the husk of Attolis remained.
In comes Sophos and calls him what he knows he is. "Gen". Just Gen.
It's Sophos who proves that one can trust some people in one's life, not Eugenides, despite the latter's efforts to restore people to himself earlier, such as Relius, Costis and Teleus, because he despises killing. But Eugenides isn't good with trust either. He's good with isolation, trickery and mistrust. His relationship with Attolia still seems fickle because they're both not used to trust. Their relationship is a thin, fragile fabric of an exception.
Sophos, however, trusts blindly. The conversation at the end of ACoK shows it. Eugenides is like "how did you know my reinforcements would be there?" and Sophos is like "because we're friends and I trusted what you said."
And Gen is surprised. Humbled. Eugenides might be the glue that keeps the triumvirat together, but Sophos becomes their rock, their reassurance of everyone's generally good intentions. Sophos is the opposite of a backstabber, and every ruler of the Little Peninsula needs his naive, kind, and innocent presence as their friend to keep believing that there's something good left in this world of theirs where they have to form a never-before-seen alliance against the Mede.
They need someone safe who they can all rely on, and that rock is Sophos. My heart weeps for Gen. He really doesn't have it easy, and he is so, so alone without someone who knows his full heart.
Without Sophos turned Sounis, Eugenides could not have been the proper king everyone needed him to be in the later books. Godgenides would have brought terror on the land because he would have lost his connection to where he came from and who his friends were. Eddis sold him. It was important to have someone else from his past there who meant well. It's also beautiful to see how Sophos causes Eddis and Attolia to slowly open up to one another, and how relaxed Attolia gets when the burden of wariness falls off her shoulders. They all shed some serious armor around Sophos.
So yes, Sophos saves Gen - him, but what's more, he saves all of them - and it's the most important thing.
"Maybe the real treasure is the friends we made along the way" but threatening as in "if we are not friends, our kingdoms will tumble" - what a twist to that trope...
