The Furnace Ledger

The Furnace Ledger records provincial obligations, army allotments, foundry quotas, confiscations, punishments, exemptions, ration diversions, and the hidden arithmetic of conquest. It is copied under guard because changing one number can starve a march, arm a revolt, or expose a governor's private hoard. The pages smell of wax, soot, iron filings, and old fear. Drazakar fears lies, but it fears unmeasured truth even more. The ledger is beautiful in grim precision and dreadful because every line can become a chain.