Welcome to the Embermarch.

Spring ice breaks against the black stone piers of Ashbridge. Barges crowd the river, guild bells argue across the roofs, and somewhere under the market an imperial machine has begun to hum for the first time in forty years.

At a public map table, a dark-haired cartographer pins down the curling parchment with a chipped mug. Mara Fen glances from the fresh red mark on her map to the road behind you.

"Before I decide whether that sound is profitable or catastrophic, tell me who just walked into my map."

Describe your character, their current circumstances, and what they came to Ashbridge seeking. The world will continue from there without controlling them.