Location: City Veymont, in Southern Asterra, mariens council
Time: Morning
Lady Marien stood on the balcony of House Veymont's council building, the morning sun painting the brass rail warm beneath her hand. Below her, City Veymont stirred to life, as it basked in hissing steams from technological vents in buildings, gear wagons driving around neatly, men, women and children marched to their respective workplaces and schools in neat veymont uniforms, the streets filled with quiet, and purposeful motion. City veymont felt like a civilized country on its own, every thing was in place, there were no errors, just technological perfection.
Then Lady Marien's, returns into her council building, after basking in the wonderful view of the city she controlled. Then she made her way to the council meeting chambers, to meet with her loyal nobles.
The chamber was a masterpiece of iron and glass, it stood tall, designed in clean advanced technology with luxurious lighting.
Veymont soldiers stood along the chambers, their navy-blue coats trimmed with silver, rifles upright at their sides. Above them hung the dark-blue banner of House Veymont, with its silver stag sigil crested onto it.
At the center of the hall sat the great council table — an oval slab of dark oak. Maps of Asterra were spread across its surface, flanked by ledgers, crystal decanters with alcoholic wine sitting within them, and steaming cups of spiced tea.
Three veymont loyal nobles and council members were already seated.
One is Lady Cerys, her ash-gray hair swept into a dignified coil, wearing her deep blue military Veymont vest.
Beside her sat Lady Orlissa with her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, wearing her luxurious veymont coat, with stitiches of technological equipments attached to her waist and collar.
To the end was Master Covern, a bald 52 year old man. His bronze nose ring glinting as he turned his head. His veymont vest was bristling with gadgets as well, a ticking pocket stopwatch, and a set of lenses strapped to his left arm.
Lady Marien crossed the chambers— taking her seat in front of all the council members present, as the leather chair whispered beneath her.
"High Councilor" Lady orlissa called out to marien. " you have carried the interest of our house— House Veymont with grace," Orlissa said, her voice calm and steady. "But you look troubled today. What bothers you? Does Lord Marric of Solherene put pressure on you?"
Marien was quiet for a moment, her expression dull.
Then Lady Cerys leaned forward.
"You know as well as I do, leading this house can be a heavy burden," Cerys said, with a compassionate tone "That is why we have a council. Share the weight with us, marien. Let us face it together. Is Marric the problem?"
Marien finally exhaled, breaking her silence.
"Marric has been calm," she said, her tone measured. "Surprisingly, he has not bullied us with the debts House Veymont still owes Solherene." Her hand gestured to the maps, her eyes narrowing. "But there are far greater concerns, my fellow nobles… one that goes beyond Marric."
"As we all know," Marien began, her voice steady but sharp, "the elections are forth-coming. Yet something feels… wrong. Veynars movements are posses great risks to us. From what I've seen, he will do anything—anything—to take the sovereign's seat. And we all know the dread that comes with that."
"Veynar?" Lady Cerys snorted. "That slippery bastard?"
"What troubles you about him, High Councilor?" Lady Orlissa asked, her tone calm but curious. Master Covern remained silent, as the females before him spoke.
Marien's expression darkened.
"On the very day Marric announced the date of the elections, Veynar hovered around him like gulls to a fishing boat. You could see him pacing behind marric, wanting to look like a saint before those stupid mid and low nobles. He was practically endorsing himself before asterra… and that is not good, giving where asterra stands now "
"That slithering snake," Orlissa said with disdain. "Did he attempt any tricks to turn them against you?"
"He wouldn't dare!" Marien snapped. "I'd bury him faster than they buried Eryndor."
Her teeth clenched, her fist tightening on the table. Immediately, a veymont soldier nearby offered her a ration bar; she took it without a word, biting down hard. Steam hissed softly from her lips as she chewed, and then her tense expression finally eased.
"Eryndor was weak," Cerys said coldly. "He stripped the high nobles of their strength, cut off our influence, and tried to feed the starving. What sort of fool rules like that?"
"A fool who met the end he deserved," Orlissa replied. The two women laughed, sharp and humorless, before Orlissa added, "At least he truly died for them, as he claimed."
Cerys tilted her head to marien again. "High Councilor, I trust House Veymont was not present at eryndors execution? We southerners pledged to have no interest in his deatg. Because we believed a lifetime in prison would have been more fitting for a man like that."
"I was absent," Marien said coldly. "So were Marric and Veynar. It was that mad dog Kael who carried out the sentence."
She leaned forward, her voice lowering. "From what I've gathered through my informants, Marric is quietly endorsing Veynar to the mid and low nobles. And you all know the influence House Solherene has across Asterra. If Veynar becomes sovereign… House Veymont will suffer, we would bleed and not know where the bullet comes from"
Then Lady Cerys' teeths clenched in anger "I cannot imagine why Marric would throw his weight behind that snake, is he in some alliance with him? A Calvasset rule will change Asterra beyond recognition. What game are they playing?"
"The best course," Orlissa suggested, "is to win over those mid and low nobles. Find what drives them—crowns, weapons, women, and promise them what they want in exchange for their votes. But the problem is, we have little time."
"I have tried," Marien admitted. "But to openly solicit votes now would make us look desperate. Desperation is blood in the water, and those low and mid nobles would turn against us faster than you think."
Cerys's eyes narrowed. "Then should we paint a negative picture of Veynar and House Calvasset? Undermine their image before the vote?"
"We can't risk it," Marien said with a disapproving nod. "Everyone would smell the scheme on us. Yes, we control the whisperers and inciters in Asterra, but they're better suited to stirring commoners—not manipulating nobles."
"Then what do we do?" Cerys pressed.
Silence finally loomed across the councils.
Marien tapped her fingers lightly against the oak table, her thoughts racing. Lady Orlissa and lady Cerys exchanged glances, their expressions locked in between worry and calculation.
Then a voice rang out.
"Lady Marien…" Master Covern finally spoke, his voice calm but steady.
Orlissa waved a hand dismissively, her lips curling in disgust.
"Careful, Master Covern. You are here to listen, not lecture. None of us elegant women trouble ourselves with the advice of men."
"Lady Marien?" Cerys cut in sharply, turning to him. "In this room, you will address her as High Councilor—or hold your tongue."
Covern leaned forward cautiously, calculating every step, every gesture and every move.
"Pardon, Lady Cerys. High Councilor… if I may?"
Marien glanced between her council members before gesturing for him to continue.
"Let him speak."
Cerys and Orlissa frowned, exchanging disapproving looks as they tilted their heads away with a soft scoff.
Then Covern emerges from his seat positioned quite far away, as he moved closer a bit.
"What if we win the nobles hearts—not with bribes or whispers—but with innovation? Something that proves House Veymont holds the future of Asterra in its hands. Nobles, commoners, even wealthy merchants—they all flock to whoever looks like the winning side. Let's show them a future they cannot ignore."
"And what, exactly, do you propose?" Marien asked calmly, her eyes gazing at covern sternly.
Then Covern placed a glowing orb in the center of the table. Its top and bottom were capped with iron, the core pulsing with blue light that cracked like lightning within. The glow danced over the brass trim of the table, painting the council members' faces with pale blue light.
"This," Covern said proudly, "is the Stag Mini Core."
Both Orlissa and Cerys leaned forward, curiosity flashing in their eyes.
Marien shrieked, as she gasped in shock. "Impossible" she yelled calmly.
"This looks like our Stag Power Core—but smaller," Marien said, with her voice sharpening with interest. "Whats its threshold?"
"What began as an unstable experiment has been refined and stabilized by our best minds," Covern said, running his fingers over the glass casing of the stag mini core.
"In simple terms—it takes refined lumin, channels it through an etheric reactor, and outputs a steady, clean energy flow. One of these can light an entire square, keep the mills running without pause, even power a gear-wagon fleet for ten hours straight. It is compact, efficient, and safe. No bio hazards"
"But it must be handled carefully. A mishandling could still be disastrous. Ideally, white lumin would perfect this process, but even without it—this core is stable enough to sell to the nobles, while still keeping the main blueprint of our stag power core secrete"
The room went still.
"Covern…" Marien said at last, her gaze fixed on the glowing core. "This is precisely why I placed the Stag Power Core project on hold. A single misstep could cripple House Veymont for a decade. We could lose investors. Millions of crowns. Our debts to Solherene would swell again. This is a risk we cannot afford right now, remember we havent recovered from eryndors regime."
"But High Councilor—" Covern tried to press on, but Orlissa raised a hand.
"How long have you worked on this?" she asked, her tone softer now.
"13 years," Covern replied. "My team has studied every principle of lumin refinement and etheric reactors. We created new theories, new safety mechanisms. But, surely no great invention comes without risk."
Orlissa took a quick glance at Marien, then to lady cerys.
Cerys tapped her fingers against the table, lost in thought about the invention before her.
Then Marien leaned back slightly, her voice measured.
"If I understand correctly—you have found a way to contain etheric energy, reduce the risk of explosive overload, and redirect that energy into steady power output?"
"That is correct, High Councilor," Covern confirmed, his eyes bright.
Marien's gaze shifted to her fellow councilors.
"Lady Orlissa. Lady Cerys. Your thoughts?"
"It is dangerous," Cerys admitted, "but if it secures the sovereign seat, I am for it."
Orlissa folded her hands, her golden hair glinting in the lamplight.
"I know little of reactors and lumin science. But I know opportunity. And If this succeeds, we could monopolize the market, fill our coffers, and erase Solherene's grip over our house. The people will adore us for giving them progress—and they will vote accordingly."
Marien returned her gaze to the glowing orb, its light reflecting in her eyes. Her countenance slowly being convinced by rage, excitement, and ambition.
She settles into a calm, and decisive pose as she speaks.
"Then so be it," she said, rising to her feet. "We will unveil the Stag Mini Core to the people of Asterra. They will see progress, they will see strength—and they will choose House Veymont to lead them into the future. Rally our brightest engineers and alchemists. Prepare for demonstrations in the south, east, and west. We will show them the power of Veymont."
Her voice rising, sharp and commanding.
"Our debts to Solherene will be wiped clean. The smug smiles will vanish from Marric's face—and from that snake Veynar's lips."
She clenched her fist and raised it high.
"To House Veymont!"
The entire council stood with her, their voices ringing as one:
"To House Veymont!"