The morning after the Grand Assembly, the Fleshcraft Tower buzzed with unprecedented activity.
News of Kale Ardentis's formal conferment as a Master Artificer had spread across every floor of the Association, silencing his critics and solidifying his political standing.
Junior artificers and senior scholars bowed deeply whenever the young tamer passed through the marble archways, acknowledging his newfound authority and prestige.
Kale stood at the central stone workbench of his private fourth-floor laboratory, his dark grey Master robes trimmed with silver runic embroidery reflecting the soft morning light.
Around his neck hung the white gold Master medallion Prince Renard had given him, its polished surface humming with a subtle protective resonance that alerted him to shifts in ambient energy.
Beside his surgical scalpels rested the spatial research notes and ancient obsidian tablets recovered from the Blackstone Rift.
