A man lies dead in Voltas, beaten and bleeding. The road is stained by his blood, seeping into the soil, scabbing over and rotting. The city, the country, the people suffer under the hand of the privileged and corrupt. They have lost faith and hope, their spirits have broken. They need a ray of light, to be inspired, the fire needs to be lit. And it will... --- "I tire of these games. If Sir Heurassein expects me to do business with him, the least he could do is meet me in person instead of sending his lapdog" the fat man said, slightly frustrated. "My father has no time for trivialities." Adrianna replied, nonplussed. "Yet he has time to hide in that mansion of his, hording all that coin. I demand--" "You will demand nothing, and you will get nothing. I am more than capable of running this business, I have been doing so for the past couple years. Now either make a deal or leave, I have plenty of other men lined up eager to do business." After moments of contemplation, the fat man agreed to her deal, as she knew he would. Grumble and complain as he may, Adrianna's rich sulfur mines were too much to resist. The man left angrier and wealthier than when he came, but Adrianna still had business to attend to. There's no rest for the wicked as they say. Soon, a servant girl entered the ornate room decorated with fanciful furniture and pricey paintings. "Milady, I come bearing messages. The agent in Voltas was caught, they killed him." Adrianna took the news without batting a lash. "I thought as much. Preachers are too loud, too vulnerable. They make targets out of themselves." "What will we do?" "Worry not my dear, I am on the verge of creation. A machine that can change everything. First, we must venture to Voltas, the smiths here are inadequate. I will require someone more skilled with steel." "There is another message milady, here" the girls said, showing Adrianna the letter. "Read it to me." "Umm..." "Just remember what I taught you, one word at a time." After a few moments of trying to read the letter, the girl more or less deciphered what it said. "You're invited to a dinner party in voltas." "How convenient, or perhaps annoying. I suppose if I have time..." --- A few days later Adrianna headed off towards Voltas with a troop of body guards and servants. Her carriage was guarded on both sides by bodyguards in simple armor and carrying iron swords. Adrianna herself kept an intricately decorated pistol on her belt, more for show than anything else. Opposite of her was the servant girl from before, dressed in simpler but still elegant clothing. "Something on your mind, my dear?" Adrianna asked, trying to kill the time. "Is it true what they say about master? Does he really have scars?" "Ahh, my father is ever the popular one isn't he? I'm a little jealous, wouldn't you rather get to know [i]me[/i] better?" "Milady!" --- The atmosphere around Voltas was distinctly thick with macabre melancholy. Crime a disease plague the streets, staining the city with the stench of corpses and death. No one begs for salvation, their cries are drowned by dejection lost in a sea or sorrow. Adrianna frowned as she walked through the streets, heels clacking on stone. Her expensive looking clothes made her a target, her two body guards kept thieves and thugs at bay.