Chapter 46

The frost-wrought walls echo with quiet voices and scrying glyphs. A long circular table, ancient yet humming faintly with Celeste’s installed resonance-tech, holds maps, projections, and resource readouts.

Present: Shizuku, Alto, Eris, Berwick, Asche, Celeste, Lily, Astera.

Shizuku
(folding his arms, eyes on the resource chart)
It’s frozen progress—literally. Raureif's economy was advanced for the Northern District until Givre took over. Now it’s two decades behind minimum galactic standards.

Asche Ace Kyezhen
(neutral tone)
Do we restore it… as it was? Or take the opportunity to uplift it to Central standards?

Eris
(sipping a small spirit-water)
That’s a big jump. Raureif was always proud of doing things “their way.” Jumpstarting them with Central tech could cause more friction than growth.

Alto 
(sternly)
But it’s not about pride anymore. It’s about survival. Their spirit-flow reserves are barely stable, and the weather cycle regulators are fried. If we don't install stellar-grade infrastructure, they'll face collapse again in five years.

Lily 
(resting her chin on her palm)
What if we start small? Energy circulation cores, new trade routes… maybe introduce the food replicators or long-range teleport hubs later?

Celeste Diminuendo
(grinning while leaning back)
Okay but—if we're doing this, I’m installing surround-resonance amplification domes. Do you know how good their acoustics are in the lower mountains? You could hear a whole band performance across provinces.

Berwick 
(half-smirking)
Of course she thinks of concerts during a strategy meeting.

Celeste
(mock offended)
Excuse you—I’m thinking of morale. You fight better when you feel alive.

Astera Flores
(serious, glancing toward the door)
Kalt should be included in this. It's his kingdom now. We can't decide its path without him.

Shizuku
(quietly)
Which is why we’re only preparing projections, not mandates. Once he's ready—once he grows into that mantle—he’ll decide what kind of ruler he wants to be.
(pauses, then smiles slightly)
But I’ll admit. I’d rather he have options when he does.

Everyone nods. As Celeste flicks her fingers and projects new tech trees across the table, the war-born captains discuss the future—not of battle, but of rebuilding.

Outside, wind flows across the repaired watchtowers of Raureif, where frost begins to melt… and possibility rises in its place.