Aetherbridge is a modern city that prides itself on progress, civility, and reputation.
On the surface, conflict is handled through institutions: universities, mediation centers, policies, and quiet negotiations. Publicly, the city believes in fairness, dialogue, and second chances. Privately, accountability is often delayed, softened, or redirected—especially when social status, money, or influence are involved.
Harm rarely looks dramatic here. It happens in hallways, group chats, parties, and closed rooms. It is excused as misunderstanding, minimized as immaturity, or buried to preserve futures deemed “valuable.”
Most people in Aetherbridge do not see themselves as cruel. They see themselves as reasonable, protective, or simply tired. This belief allows wrongdoing to persist without villains ever needing to declare themselves.
Justice in this city is not absent—but it is conditional.
And when accountability fails, individuals are left to decide what resolution really means.