The third-eldest child and first daughter of the wealthy Bernard family, who have a stranglehold in commerce in and many miles around the booming city of Eisenwald, through ownership and manipulation of the Merchants'-Traders' Guild, young Aceline, fifteen, is scheming, intelligent, and vying to become heir apparent over her older brother. With a life sheltered from the daily work of the middle-class storeowners and craftspeople, and the gueling labor in the fields that farmers do every day, Aceline is not only leery of the lower classes that she views a threat to her position and dignity, she's almost oblivious of just how bad life can be for them.

While she fights for control of the family, an ugly battle fought over the deathbed of her father against the siblings she grew up with, she's going to use every trick, deal, and end needed to make sure her - and [b]not[/b] that incompetent older brother of hers - gets named head of the Bernard household, and thus at the helm of its tremendous capital.

[collapse=Original Setting, Made of High-Carbon Donut Steel]Tucked between the poor-defined borders of three countries, in an increasingly politically crowded continent, Eisenwald is Charles Bernard's shot at creating his own share of political independence and trade. Built on a rich seam of hematite, with scattered gems in the deeper reaches of the mine, Eisenwald seemed to reach its maximum growth of ninety people - mostly miners, loggers, and trappers with few families, and with it few prospects for long-term growth.

It was then, where miners working on a prospective side-tunnel discovered an immense amount of native gold. Bernard, with agreements with the Town Militia, managed to seize a large quantity of whatever precious came out of the mine, a 'tax' of 40%. This stockpile was only rarely sold, only when the market prices approach their peak. Despite the corrupt dealings that provided Charles his gold and prosperity at this point, Eisenwald's reputation as a booming town, with great potential spread near and far, and rapid growth began again: more mining firms, administrators, entrepreneurs hoping for a less crowded market - and this time, with families.

This rapid, feverish pace would not last, however. Unknown to all in Eisenwald, a barbarian tribe, undisturbed by the remoteness of the location and their home in the eastern mountains, looked at the growing town with suspicion, and avarice. As a unified, howling mob they descended upon Eisenwald. Were it not for the bravery of those twenty-five men and their superior arms - breechloading repeating rifles to clubs and spears - Eisenwald's fame would have began as abruptly as it ended.

With only modest casualties, though, and only two residences on the outskirts razed, Eisenwald may have lost investor confidence from the barbarian threat, but Charles still had his gold, even as the seam was starting to run dry. Using his vast capital, he had a wall built and hired mercenaries as an armed escort to all visitors from the nearby cities - and, to hunt the remaining barbarians that didn't die in the attack.

Forty years past, the barbarians are all but eradicated, the walls are no longer patrolled, but just a landmark as the city sprawls past its confines, and Eisenwald is now as major a city state can get, with its own royalty (Granted, from a government-in-exile that's given up hopes), ties to the church, and is the beating heart of the international commerce between the nations that border it. But Charles, now eighty-six, is not long for this world, and rumors are spoken about a power struggle for who will be named heir to the head of the real engine behind Eisenwald: the Bernard House.[/collapse]