Regent Myra Thorneveil

Role and Current Status

Myra Thorneveil is the elected Regent of Odrun Fell. The Regent is chosen once every ten years by the four guild masters. The position is mostly ceremonial. The Regent has no army, no treasury, and cannot pass laws alone. The Regent breaks Council ties when the four guilds are deadlocked, represents the city to outsiders, and presides over ceremonies. These limits were set to keep the guilds balanced and to prevent one voice from ruling the city.

Myra is seven years into her term. She carries the office with care but avoids using her tie-breaking power unless she believes the result will not destabilize the city. She thinks her vote can spark guild retaliation, so she often pushes the Council to negotiate longer instead of forcing a decision. She plans to step aside at the end of her term and hopes a steadier leader takes the role.

Background and Rise

Myra is a retired fighter and a former commander in the Cudgel. She helped lead early delves and earned a reputation for discipline and restraint. She acted to protect crews and civilians before profit. When the previous Regent’s term ended, Captain Orin Vellak endorsed her. His support delivered near-unanimous votes across the districts and secured her election.

Her long service tied her closely to the Hilt district, where delvers muster, plan, and descend. The Hilt’s staging halls and mission boards formed the daily rhythm of her former life. She respected the Emberhook Hall rituals and the Wall of Names that mark the fallen. She still visits the Hall in private. The Cudgel views her as one of their own, even if she now stands above the fray.

Leadership Style

Myra listens first. She invites reports from each guild and compares them against Threadspire route updates, Dregvault incident logs, and Span intake counts. She values clear data over speeches. She prefers gradual steps that reduce risk in the tunnels and in the streets. She avoids public orders that embarrass a guild. When forced to choose, she will prioritize city safety over revenue or prestige.

She delegates openly. She asks the Cudgel to handle security matters, the Ashcoats to evaluate gear standards, the Barleys to verify breeding capacity and export limits, and the Promissory to enforce contract clarity in the Spindle. She expects written briefings, simple timetables, and a fallback plan if conditions change. Her office conducts surprise spot checks to confirm reports match reality.

Political Position

The Regent sits above the guilds but depends on their votes to function. The Barleys defend tradition and supply lines. The Ashcoats maintain the city’s tools and armor. The Promissory controls markets and contracts. The Cudgel protects the gates and tunnels. Myra aims to keep these four from turning disputes into crises. She uses the Regent’s limited authority to keep talks moving and to frame problems in shared terms like casualty rate, route viability, and market stability.

Myra’s relationship with Orin Vellak remains respectful. He leads from the Hilt and continues to be widely trusted by workers, delvers, and even some smugglers. He has popular support and does not overstep. Myra knows the Council fears his rise and watches how they maneuver around him. She does not want her office to become a tool to block him or promote him. She wants the city stable, no matter who holds her seat next.

Current Priorities

Tunnel Safety and Mapping. Myra supports increased funding for the Threadspire Archive so the Living Loom can reflect collapses and openings quickly. She wants all Cudgel crews to carry synchronized route updates and to file return-path notes that feed back into the Loom within a day. She pushes for this because missing paths and late corrections lead to deaths and lost cargo.
Containment at Odrun’s Head. Myra backs the sealed border and permanent watch over Odrun’s Head. She rejects proposals to test harvests there. She sees no version of that plan that does not risk a breach. Her office tracks guard rotations, ward maintenance, and incident reports. Any lapse is treated as a citywide risk.
Dregvault Protocols. She requires multi-guild oversight in the Dregvault. One Cudgel mage, one Ashcoat engineer, and one Barley breeder must sign off on dangerous transfers. Any Promissory bid for contained stock must include recovery plans and indemnities. She views the Vault as necessary but high risk.
Span Population Control. She monitors crowding, labor sentences, and political detentions at the Span. She prefers short terms tied to work details rather than open-ended confinement. She tracks maintenance casualties in lower wings and orders pauses if counts rise.
Fair Contracting in the Spindle. She instructs the Promissory to standardize core clauses and publish them. She expects the Cudgel to enforce market peace without favor. She does not aim to end the dark trade, but she pushes for limits that reduce collateral harm.

District Relations

The Sprigs. Myra maintains formal ties and keeps ceremonies punctual. She attends the Mothlight and the Platinum Carapace only when policy goals require it. She refuses private auctions that trade on access to her office. She asks Sprigs houses to sponsor Hilt gear grants instead.
The Spindle. She walks Crackleline and the Exchange with minimal guard to signal openness. She relies on merchants to report price spikes tied to route closures. She uses those signals to press for tunnel support.
The Barrows. She spends time at the Dome and in places like Gnarlgut Hall and Skelk’s Hollow. She uses these visits to gather first-hand reports on injuries, food supply, and job postings. She believes the Barrows’ stability is the base for city order.
The Hilt. She defers to Cudgel command on tactical matters. She asks for after-action briefs that identify practical changes: better anchors, cleaner fuel, more reliable line hooks, or new ward timings. She pushes Ashcoats and Barleys to meet those needs quickly.

Stance on Key Issues

Expeditions for Profit vs. Safety. Myra applies a simple rule: if a job raises casualty risk citywide, it pauses. If the Threadspire shows unstable paths or if Dregvault logs point to an emerging threat, she urges delay. She may be overcautious, but she will not approve short-term profits that degrade crew survival over a season.
Guild Feuds. She does not take sides in public. In private she warns both parties that public fights lower morale and raise costs. She uses the Regent’s platform to set joint targets: delver return rates, gear failure rates, and breach counts. She asks the Council to judge progress by these numbers, not by rhetoric.
Elections and Succession. Myra will not endorse a successor until late in the process. She believes early backing invites pressure and threats. She will support any candidate who accepts the limits of the office, protects the Hilt from political games, and keeps Odrun’s Head sealed.

Working Relationship with the Guilds

Barleys. She respects their control of breeding lines and accepts their slow pace for changes. In return, she expects clear stock accounting and no experiments near public routes.
Ashcoats. She favors their practical reports. She asks for simple designs that can be repaired in the field and enforces recall on faulty batches.
Promissory. She requires transparent ledgers for high-risk goods and firm penalties for contract abuse. She pushes them to publish safety notices tied to recalled stock or false map copies.
Cudgel. She shields them from political interference in deployment and honors their memorial practices. She backs hazard pay tied to verified Threadspire risk levels.

Personal Habits and Office Procedures

Myra begins each day with three briefings: Threadspire route changes, Dregvault status, and Span counts. She then meets one guild, rotating daily. She holds open office hours once per week for district issues, with translators as needed. She keeps written records and expects each action item to have a deadline and a named owner. Her aides track completion and publish summaries to the Council table before votes.

She maintains her chitin armor but wears it only for formal duties or during inspections that might face unrest. She trains with Cudgel instructors twice a week to keep her body and mind steady. She avoids large escorts in the Barrows and the Spindle to reduce tension. She allows a larger guard only in the Sprigs during controversial auctions.

Public Perception

Many in the Barrows see Myra as kind and present. Some delvers think she is too slow to act. Some merchants think she is too rigid on containment rules. Most Sprigs houses view her as polite but distant. The Hilt respects her past service, even when crews wish she would fund more aggressive routes. Across the city, her reputation is steady and careful rather than bold. The Council knows she will not give them a pretext to escalate. Workers know she will not ignore a rising death count.

Known Limits and Risks

Myra’s caution can stall needed decisions. When the Council sets hard deadlines, delay can cost routes, coin, or lives. She also relies on Orin’s popularity to hold the Hilt steady; if he were removed or discredited, she would face pressure from all sides at once. Finally, her refusal to exploit Odrun’s Head makes enemies among those who want new profits at any cost. She treats these as acceptable risks.

Outlook

Myra will finish her term focused on three outcomes: clean routes mapped in real time, active containment at Odrun’s Head, and stable food and gear lines. She believes these keep the city alive. She knows the Regent’s office is not designed to solve every problem. It exists to keep the guilds talking and the city working. When she leaves, she wants a successor who accepts those limits and still protects the people who carry Odrun Fell on their backs.