Scarlett Moonveil clutched the land deed proposal in her scarred hand as she walked toward the council hall. The merchants wanted her forest plot for timber. She needed it for her academy, where students would learn to mix potions without blowing themselves up like she had. But halfway there, she stopped. The pavilion sat on her land, its timber columns framing pools of spring water. Those weren't ordinary springs. She'd tested them last month—the water amplified healing properties in potion bases by forty percent. Her students would need that advantage. She turned back, filled three crystal vials with the water, and tucked them in her satchel. At the council meeting, she poured one vial into a basic salve and watched it glow faintly gold. The council members leaned forward. The head merchant's face went pale. Two hours later, Scarlett walked out with the signed deed and a construction permit for her academy. The next morning, she returned to find a stone mansion rising on the neighboring plot. Guild crests decorated its timber framing. Iron bars crossed its windows. The merchants hadn't given up—they'd bought the land beside hers instead. A man in silk robes stood on the mansion steps and smiled at her. He gestured to the forest between them. His meaning was clear: if she wanted timber for her academy, she'd have to negotiate with him for every plank. Scarlett walked to the pavilion and uncorked another vial of spring water. She poured it into the clay-lined pool nearest the forest edge. Then she set up her iron fountain there, positioning it so the carved symbols faced the mansion. Water cascaded over gears and books and alembics. Let the merchants see what she was building. Her academy didn't need their timber anyway. She had stone masons coming next week, and her moon elk could haul blocks from the quarry. The land was hers now, and nothing would stop her from making it safe for the students who would come.