Lumeris was thriving.
In just a matter of days since its creation through the Forge of Systems, the new realm had begun to pulse with life. Its three cities had established governance. Markets were functioning. Traders were arriving in droves, curious about a system founded not on conquest or credits—but on dignity.
Yet in the distance, something stirred.
From the far end of Nexus space, the Guild of Infinite Chains began to move.
They didn't come in warships.
They came in markets.
And their method of conquest was far more insidious.
Economic Invasion Begins
The first indication of trouble came through Halon Spire's Port Registry.
A new class of merchant ships began docking—elegant, dark-veneered vessels marked with silver glyphs. Their manifests were pristine, their credentials clean. They brought exotic goods—psionic alloys, synthetic luxury foods, zero-point energy capsules—and sold them at unsustainably low prices.
Too low.
Artificially low.
