3. Before The Storm
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Act 3, Chapter 3: Before the Storm
Year: 893 AN
Location: Virelle – Clocktower Command Center
POV: Ashryn
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Ashryn sat at the head of the table in the tower's command center—sleeves rolled up, hair damp with sweat, the silver-blue lights of the converter core pulsing faintly behind her.
The room still buzzed with the aftershock of her speech. The city outside was quiet—almost reverent. But inside, war drums were already echoing in her mind.
"This is only the beginning," she said, resting her palms on the table. "Piltover will come."
The others looked at her—Callum, Lynne, Cael, Viktor. No one argued. They all felt it in their bones. This night was a high point, yes—but no peak lasted without a climb on the other side.
Ashryn leaned forward. "Their enforcers will test the waters first. Scouting parties. Maybe a few dozen in the first wave. Our people can handle that. But a large-scale mobilization?" She shook her head. "That takes time. Bureaucracy. Approval. Funding. If we're lucky, we have two to four weeks before things go to hell."
She raised two fingers.
"So we work like hell for two weeks. I want Virelle ready before they are."
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She turned to Callum first.
"Security first. Triple patrols on all borders—Fissures, Sunken Market, Lanes. I want every inch of our borders patrolled—tight rotations. And wake every agent you've got in Piltover, Vander's camp, Silco's commune. I want intel flowing before Piltovers even meet to draft a plan."
Callum's nod was tight. "Understood."
"Split the enforcers and chem-thugs we pulled in: border patrol, internal policing, and training division. Rotate weekly—everyone trains. I need soldiers, not street rats in coats."
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She turned to Lynne, her tone shifting to crisp precision.
"You're leading infrastructure. I want a complete overhaul—citywide. Clear the sectors, assign duties to anyone not patrolling or training. Lay foundations—literally. Roads, rails, logistics lines. Start drafting the factories that'll build what Viktor and I design.Reassign every civilian not already patrolling or training. They'll help rebuild. Give them meaningful tasks."
Lynne tapped notes into her tablet. "I'll assign zoning teams now."
"Good. And you'll manage city logistics with Cael—supply flow, energy distribution, construction timelines. No bottle-necks. We've no time for second chances."
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Ashryn's eyes met Cael's next.
"You're handling Glimmerdocks. Legitimize every dock except the main harbor. Make it ours. Quietly."
Cael smirked. "I can handle merchants."
"Start hoarding resources. Control exports. And use Viktor's old refrigeration units to bait the trade circuits. Merchants need preservation gear—we have it. But don't let the border conflict bleed into the city economy. I want food prices stable. No riots. No panic. If our people don't eat, they don't fight."
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She looked to Viktor, who was already scribbling on his mechanical slate.
"Mass production begins now. Everything you've built—we scale it. Surveillance drones, portable comms, city-grade power lines, cold storage.All the designs I gave you five years ago: drones, comms, transportation, refrigeration. Get them citywide. You've had five years to prep. Let's see what five years can buy."
Viktor gave a short nod. "I'll begin manufacturing protocols tonight."
Viktor's mechanical hand flexed with a hiss. "I've waited for this day."
"Tomorrow, I'll bring new blueprints. Big ones. Be ready."
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Callum leaned forward, expression sharp. "And what about you?"
Ashryn smiled, just a little.
"I'm going to build the machine that builds everything else."
She stood, chair scraping softly against the floor.
"We've got the most adaptable power source on the continent. But we need something that can match it—something that turns that power into action, fast."
She stood, cloak sweeping over the command floor.
"I'm building the machine that builds everything else."
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[One Week Later]
Ashryn sat cross-legged in the middle of her lab, sweat dripping down her spine, grime streaking her hands. The workshop around her was littered with scrap, tools, wires, and glowing cores. But at the center of it all—humming quietly—was a machine.
The Fabricator.
It wasn't pretty. Not yet. But it worked.
A thousand hours of trial, error, error, and triumph whispered in its circuitry.
She leaned back and sighed, wiping her brow with the edge of her coat.
[One Week Later]
Location: Ashryn's Lab, Clocktower Sub-Level
The glow of the converter core throbbed quietly behind her.
Ashryn knelt beside the Fabricator—a squat, unfinished engine of layered alloy, exposed wires, and pulse glass nodes. It wasn't beautiful. But it worked.
And its the first step.
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"That week nearly broke us."
Callum had reshaped chaos into order. Patrols rotated every shift, checkpoints were up, runners deployed. His men weren't polished, but they could fight—and they were learning fast.The first of the new guard was already rotating into real duty.
Lynne's zoning plans reshaped the entire virelle. Industrial skeletons rose where ruins stood a week ago. Rail track veins connected hubs, and comm towers blinked on rooftops. With tensions raising in the borders most people who worked in piltover stoped going there and over 50000 people in virelle unemployed. She ran a massive recruitment drive and ashryn gave her the 210 people who are truly loyal to her to help manage the people.Her task force was tireless.
Cael turned Glimmerdocks into gold. Trade routes opened. Black market cleaned up.Merchants lined up for refrigeration tech and paid in more than just coin they paid dividends—preserving goods, earning favor. Inflation stayed down. Morale stayed up.
Viktor… Viktor came alive. His labs burned with brilliance. Designs flew—scouting drones zipped through the skies, transport units hummed in and out, cold coils lined food stores. Virelle wasn't just working—it was growing.
They were moving. Building. Breathing.
But it still wasn't enough.
And Ashryn?
She built this.
The Fabricator.
Drawn from a blueprint hidden deep in the system. Buried under categories she only understood after a week of nonstop study.
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She focused on to her console.
Time to begin the next stage.
> "Open Main Menu."
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[SYSTEM INTERFACE – MAIN MENU]
SYSTEM LINK: ACTIVE
Sovereign: Ashryn Virelle
Select Category:
📊 City Panel
💠 Stat Panel
🔁 Loyalty Panel
🛒 Shop
📘 Blueprints
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Ashryn narrowed her eyes.
"Now… show me what else you're hiding."