The Fixed Direction petition was not passed.
But its existence—and the way Adrasteia handled it—created a gap.
Not a weakness in the system,
but evidence that the people were beginning to feel adrift.
And for the Third Faction: The Ladder,
the gap was enough to step through.
They did not believe in a single leader.
They believed in a ladder structure:
layers of authority pressing down on each other from top to bottom,
with control creeping up like a steady logic.
They saw Adrasteia as a raw field.
And now, they had come… not to take,
but to protect.
Three Representatives Present
Three beings stood on the western edge of Adrasteia.
– The first was a moving cloak, faceless.
– The second was a living map and chart of the hierarchical system.
– The third… was a mere human. Weary, lifelike, and spoke first.
"We come with an offer.
Not a takeover.
But a system protection protocol."
