: The mission explores the intersection of old-world hardware and new-age magic. The Conflict
He launched a small skiff left to him by an uncle who sank into the sea like an apology. The craft was patched with planks of different colors and had a name—Fallow—painted on its stern in a hand that had once been steady. Rafian rowed with arms that ached, crossing the Channel where currents tugged like hungry dogs. Twice he thought of turning back. Twice he remembered the rusted coin his father left behind—a token stamped with a city’s crest that still smelled faintly of smoke—and thumbed it in his pocket. rafian at the edge 15
Then, one day, the city shifted its face. A rumor spread like spilled oil: a new charter was circulating, one that would grant a merchant guild control over the docks. The docks were the city’s throat—what flowed through them determined who ate. If the guild succeeded, many small operators would be shut out; entire neighborhoods might wither. Meetings were held in cellars; voices carried plans that were at once hopeful and dangerous. : The mission explores the intersection of old-world