And they came.
Caravans from the Eastern Salt Empire arrived, filled with broken souls and branded necks. From the Ashen Dunes of Maraveth, ships ferried the condemned and the forgotten. They came starving, weary, uncertain.
But what met them were not chains — but bread, water, doctors, and promises.
Sharath personally visited the first settlement. He handed tools to men who had only known shackles. He lifted a young girl onto an Aetherion prototype and let her ride in circles, squealing with joy.
Tears came easily that day.
Cities bloomed in record time. Roads reached forests thought impassable. Clinics and clean wells sprang up like seeds kissed by spring. The children of the liberated learned rune-math and sanitation design.
And for the first time in centuries, progress smelled like hope.
Meanwhile, Elina watched her husband from balconies and clinics alike, helping guide the families of the free. She didn't just support Sharath.
She matched him.