Chapter 21: The Iron Vanguard Company Founded

The black marble desk gleamed like obsidian beneath the rising sun. Magnus Veyron stood at the head of the great chamber in the newly acquired Red Spire Hall—once a royal granary, now transformed into the bustling command center for his vision: the formal founding of the Iron Vanguard Company. Across from him, dozens of noble investors, guild leaders, engineers, and mercenary captains sat in semicircles beneath vaulted ceilings of iron and glass, listening as Magnus read the company's declaration.

"Henceforth, let it be known," he said, voice clear and unwavering, "that the Iron Vanguard Company exists to uphold the twin virtues of innovation and order. We shall serve the realm through creation, not conquest—unless conquest is required for stability."

The hall was silent for a breath, then murmurs rippled across the room—some impressed, others cautious.

A single, deliberate clap echoed. Then another. Then the hall erupted in applause.

Behind Magnus, Seraphine gave a subtle nod. Helena Voss, in her military coat, remained stoic but satisfied. Chancellor Renly, seated among the audience, scribbled approving notes.

The company had begun.

I. The Board of Iron

Later that morning, Magnus convened the first board meeting in the adjoining council room, a reinforced steel-paneled chamber designed to resist both fire and treachery.

"We require structure," he said, rolling out a blueprint onto the ironwood table. "Not merely titles, but functions. There will be five divisions of the Company: Manufacturing, Logistics, Research, Military Applications, and Civic Integration."

He pointed to each nameplate as he continued:

Marinus would oversee Research, with a focus on refining the steam hammer, designing new turbine systems, and improving clockwork automation.

Seraphine would lead Military Applications, commanding the Iron Guard and developing strategic battle apparatuses.

Helena Voss would run Logistics, using her background in the Ducal Guard to establish secure supply chains and armored transports.

Master Olorin Varik, a textile guild magnate turned loyalist, was granted Civic Integration, where he would liaise with cities, towns, and farming baronies for public works projects.

Finally, Magnus himself retained oversight of Manufacturing, central to all other branches.

They each signed the charter using an automaton quill that inscribed names in both ink and fine etching into copper beneath the parchment.

"By blood or bolt," said Magnus as he set down the pen, "we build what none dare dream."

II. The Shareholder's Gambit

The next step: securing financial lifeblood.

Three days later, Magnus hosted the first Iron Vanguard Shareholder Summit. Wealthy patrons and skeptical nobles packed into the Iron Theater—an old opera house hastily converted with brass balconies and elevated gear lifts.

Magnus took the stage not as a general or engineer, but as a visionary entrepreneur. Behind him, rotating panels displayed steam engine blueprints, textile projections, and detailed schematics of a proposed rail-pulley carriage system—far faster than horse-drawn wagons.

"You seek returns," Magnus said to them. "You seek power. I offer both. Invest in the Vanguard, and your name will not just appear in ledgers, but in the annals of a new age. The Age of Iron."

From the crowd, the Baroness of Elde stood. "And what of risk, Veyron? Many have invested in dreams, only to wake to ash."

He answered with brutal honesty: "There is risk. But unlike kings, I offer no illusions. Only results. Our looms already outperform guild quotas by forty percent. Our steam hammer shortens forge times by half. What have your coins done in the last decade, save rot in vaults?"

There was silence. Then slow applause. Then a wave of hands raised in pledge.

By sundown, Magnus had secured 1,000 gold crowns in initial capital, a staggering sum that dwarfed some baronial coffers.

The Iron Vanguard was no longer an idea. It was a movement.

III. Recruitment of the Elite

While Marinus and Varik prepared recruitment centers for engineers and scribes, Seraphine and Helena began assembling the Iron Guard, the Company's elite military force.

Unlike traditional soldiers drawn from peasant levies, these recruits came from mercenary outfits, disgruntled knightly orders, and orphaned squire schools—all tested in Magnus's innovation chamber.

Their initiation wasn't symbolic—it was scientific.

Each candidate endured the Test of Temperance, a rigorous trial of strength, coordination, and mechanical aptitude. Only those who could calibrate a steam rifle, identify vector torque, and navigate a pressure chamber while blindfolded were admitted.

From the initial 300, only 64 passed.

Each received a forged steel badge: a clenched fist grasping a gear.

"Iron through will," Seraphine declared at the induction.

"Steam through heart," Helena added.

Magnus, standing in the observation balcony, watched them don their newly designed armor—lightweight iron-mesh with embedded cog-lock clamps for quick detachment during overheating.

He knew: the Iron Guard would one day rival the king's elite.

IV. The Chancellor's Visit

Weeks passed. Production soared. Invention spiraled upward. Then came an unexpected knock.

Chancellor Renly entered Magnus's study with a grave look.

"Word from the Council. Some nobles are growing… anxious. You move faster than they are comfortable with."

Magnus smiled wryly. "Progress waits for no man's comfort."

Renly leaned closer. "They accuse you of building a private army. Of overstepping. There is talk of revoking your commissions."

Magnus didn't blink. "Let them talk. I've just signed contracts to rebuild the northern canals, repair the eastern bridges, and install public heat engines in over twenty cities. If they want to revoke that—let them explain it to the people."

Renly sighed. "Just be careful, Magnus. The court may be slow—but it is patient. And it has teeth."

V. A New Weapon

Marinus, ever the quiet innovator, summoned Magnus to the under-vault laboratories beneath Red Spire Hall.

The air hissed with pressure valves and smelled of oiled brass. In the center of the chamber sat a large metal frame—a turreted cannon with spiraling coils and steam exhausts along its spine.

"The Tempest Engine," Marinus announced. "Our first steam-powered rotary cannon."

Magnus ran a hand along the coils. "Barrel velocity?"

"Faster than anything outside Blackford's arsenals. And with modifications, we can launch reinforced grapples or heated rounds."

Magnus grinned. "Install a prototype in the next rail carriage. Quietly."

VI. Trouble on the Border

Just as the Vanguard was celebrating the first successful delivery of rail materials to South Varn, reports came in from a distant outpost.

A minor baron on the western border, Lord Halbrecht, had refused to let the Vanguard's engineers cross his lands.

He had also detained two Iron Guard captains.

The room turned cold when Magnus heard the news.

Seraphine stepped forward. "Give me forty men."

Magnus raised a hand. "No. Not yet. We send only one."

He turned to Helena. "Send Captain Thorne. Let him deliver a message: The Iron Vanguard builds bridges. But it never forgets a blockade."

VII. The Message Delivered

Days later, Captain Thorne returned. His steam horse was bloodied but intact.

He knelt before Magnus. "Message received, my lord. Baron Halbrecht relinquished the engineers. He… lost a few supply depots in the night."

Magnus nodded. "And the captains?"

"Alive. Unharmed."

Helena smirked. "That makes five baronies that now fear our shadow."

Magnus stood, voice low but filled with iron resolve.

"Let them. A new order is rising—not through crown or church, but through fire, steel, and precision. We do not take power for its own sake. We take it to build a world where no man starves while gold gathers dust."

He walked to the great glass window, staring out over the forges of Morvenfall—now pulsing like the hearts of giants.

"And we've only just begun."