Five years passed without the capital burning again.
The joint rule of Atlas and Eli held. The four houses kept their places under clear law instead of competing claims. The remaining Brotherhood elements were reorganized into a disciplined force that answered only to the throne.
Spire remnants who accepted the new order were absorbed into support roles; those who refused were removed early and without spectacle. The provinces that had hovered on the edge of closing their borders stayed open once it became obvious the center would not collapse a second time.
There were tests.
