Liam had fought battles, restructured an empire's political hierarchy through combination of divine authority and calculated violence.

None of that prepared him for meeting with Lord Arcturus Morwen about economic policy.

"The soul-forges operate on principle of essence refinement," Arcturus explained, gesturing to diagrams that made Liam's eyes hurt. "Raw spiritual energy is harvested from various sources, processed through crystalline matrices that we import from the northern territories, then refined into usable currency that maintains value across—"

"Stop." Liam held up a hand. "Explain it like I'm five."

Arcturus blinked. "My lord?"

"Explain it simply. Without technical jargon. As if I have absolutely no understanding of economics." Liam paused. "Because I don't."

They were in House Morwen's administrative building—a structure that looked more like a bank than anything demonic. Marble floors.

Organized ledgers. Demons in what could only be described as business attire moving between offices with purposeful efficiency.

It was deeply unsettling.

Arcturus adjusted his approach. "Demons don't use gold or silver as currency. Those materials have value, but our primary medium of exchange is refined essence—spiritual energy that's been processed into stable form."

"Okay. Where does the raw essence come from?"

"Multiple sources. Naturally occurring essence deposits in certain territories. Spiritual energy harvested from... well, various activities." Arcturus looked uncomfortable. "Some of which are ethically questionable by human standards."

"You're harvesting souls."

"Not exactly. We're collecting residual spiritual energy from souls that have already passed through natural cycles. It's complicated and probably disturbing if examined too closely."

Liam mind flashed with the countless atrocities he'd already committed before he replied.

"I think I can handle disturbing economics."

Arcturus seemed to reconsider his audience. "Fair point. Yes, we harvest spiritual energy from various sources including the dying, the dead, and occasionally the voluntarily donated. That raw energy is processed through soul-forges—massive crystalline structures that refine essence into standardized units."

He pulled out what looked like a coin, except it glowed with internal light.

"This is ten-unit essence crystal. Standard currency. Can be spent for goods, services, or dissolved back into usable magical energy if needed."

Liam took the crystal, felt the power thrumming within it. "So your economy runs on processed soul energy shaped into coins."

"Essentially."

"That's deeply weird."

"It's efficient." Arcturus's tone suggested he'd had this argument before. "And it makes counterfeiting nearly impossible. You can't fake essence signature. Either the crystal contains refined spiritual energy or it doesn't."

"What happens if the soul-forges stop working?"

"Economic collapse. Everything in demon civilization runs on essence currency. Food production, military equipment, infrastructure maintenance—all of it depends on steady supply of refined essence." Arcturus's expression was serious. "Which is why House Morwen's control of the soul-forges makes us politically vital. We're not just rich—we're necessary."

"And you're telling me this why?"

"Because you're planning military offensive that will require unprecedented resource expenditure. I need you to understand that economy isn't infinite. The soul-forges can increase production, but there are limits. Push too hard and we risk destabilizing the entire economic system."

Liam studied the glowing crystal. "How much can you produce for the offensive?"

"Depends on timeline and how much disruption we're willing to accept in civilian economy." Arcturus pulled out ledgers, his mind clearly running calculations. "If we prioritize military production and accept civilian shortages, we could increase output by forty percent for two months. Beyond that, we risk systemic failure."

"Civilian shortages meaning what? Food prices increase?"

"Civilian shortages meaning some demons starve because food producers can't afford to operate at loss." Arcturus's bluntness was refreshing. "Economy is interconnected system. Disrupt one part and effects cascade. Military needs weapons and armor? That requires essence to power forges. But food producers also need essence to maintain enchantments that preserve food. Housing requires essence-powered wards. Transportation depends on essence-fueled infrastructure."

He gestured broadly.

"Everything connects. You can prioritize military production, but there's cost in civilian suffering that might undermine the very unity you've built."

Liam processed this. "So we need to balance military necessity against economic stability."

"Exactly. Which is conversation I hoped to have before you committed empire to apocalyptic offensive." Arcturus's voice carried frustration that was carefully controlled. "I complied with your authority yesterday. House Morwen subordinated to crown. But compliance doesn't mean I stop advising on economic realities that might doom us even if military campaign succeeds."

"Fair point." Liam set down the crystal. "What do you recommend?"

"I recommend we discuss trade relationships. Because House Morwen doesn't exist in isolation. Our economic power depends on trade networks that extend beyond demon territories."

"We trade with humans?"

"We trade with everyone." Arcturus moved to a larger map showing the continent. "The Radiant Empire won't trade with us—they'd rather die than engage in commerce with demons. But the Aurelian Republic? They're merchant culture. They care about profit, not theology. We trade refined essence for rare materials they produce. They pretend not to notice we're demons, we pretend not to notice they're profiting from theological enemies."

He pointed to southern territories. "The Iron Citadel Confederacy trades military technology for processed goods we manufacture. They're hostile but pragmatic. As long as gold flows, they maintain commerce."

"So our economy depends on trading with entities who'd probably kill us if it wasn't profitable not to."

"Welcome to international trade. Morality takes backseat to mutual benefit." Arcturus's smile was sharp. "Which creates interesting complications for your offensive. If we attack Radiant Empire, the Aurelian Republic might cease trade to avoid antagonizing trading partner with larger market share. That would eliminate thirty percent of our rare material imports."

"Can we function without those materials?"

"We can survive. But military production would suffer. Enchantments require specific crystal matrices we don't produce domestically. Lose access to those and weapon quality decreases significantly."

Liam rubbed his temples. Economics was giving him headache that Hellbrew couldn't fix.

"So attacking the Radiant Empire might trigger trade disruptions that undermine our military capability."

"Possibly. Unless we negotiate alternative arrangements first."

Arcturus pulled out more documents.

"I've been considering this since the assembly. If we're committing to offensive, we need economic preparation. That means negotiating with Aurelian Republic before attacking. Guaranteeing them continued trade regardless of political complications."

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