Urza joined the court of Yotia and married Kayla bin-Kroog, gaining access to workshops, resources and authority. Mishra rose among the Fallaji and became indispensable to their qadir. Tawnos and Ashnod served as apprentices whose ingenuity expanded what each side could build, even when they questioned the ends their teachers pursued.
Machines changed the balance of power quickly. Ornithopters improved reconnaissance, automatons replaced formations and recovered Thran devices promised strength no ordinary army could match. A kingdom that refused the new technology risked losing to one that embraced it. That pressure allowed both brothers to present escalation as defence.
The war acquired its own momentum. Rulers made territorial claims, populations remembered attacks and commanders depended on supply networks built for continued fighting. Urza and Mishra remained central, but they were no longer the only people with reasons to prevent peace. Their grievance had become an institution.