Few can claim to have left as deep an imprint on Asgarthan society as Vaike Swiftwater. This engineer and pioneer is widely regarded as the catalyst behind the Industrial Revolution and the unification of Asgartha’s technical Guilds under the Axiom banner. While much of this achievement is often attributed to Edire Niski, the inventor of the Constructs, it was truly Swiftwater’s work that set the Guilds on the path to becoming a full-fledged Faction. Her influence, preserved through her Eidolon, endures to this day—even though she showed little interest in politics during her lifetime. Still, her measured and thoughtful temperament continues to shape the Faction, guiding it toward balance and restraint.

Born in the year Asgartha became a republic, Vaike grew up in the shipyards of Sadracca, far from the political fervor of the capital. The Severance War had ended only two years earlier, weakening the Governors' power and initiating a shift toward a parliamentary system in preparation for a new Constitution. But these upheavals had little impact on young Vaike’s daily life. Her parents, Wauna Swiftwater and Janek Janno, were simple mechanics who preferred the relative comfort of their workshop—JSW Mehaanika—to the open air. As independents, they often worked with small firms focused more on research and development than mass production.

From a young age, Vaike was raised in an environment that nurtured curiosity and innovation. JSW Mehaanika hosted a revolving door of clients—engineers and inventors who stayed for weeks, months, or even years while developing their ideas with the couple’s mechanical expertise. They came from all across the Peninsula, delighting the girl with stories from Amorgand, Sojourn, and especially the capital. Life was peaceful, all in all. After years of war, people longed for stability, and Wauna and Janek—once conscripted to build warships during the Civil War—were finally able to devote themselves to public works.

At age seven, Vaike saw a Kelon nugget for the first time. It belonged to an inventor named Anuar Binbasaki, who hoped to use it to create a new kind of lightbulb. His ambition was to modernize the capital’s street lighting—and profit handsomely from it. He needed to determine whether the mineral’s natural luminosity could be enhanced. For weeks, Wauna and Janek built all kinds of devices: mirror arrays to concentrate light, contraptions to “excite” the material. One experiment caused a short circuit that fried every generator in the workshop. Out of funds and patience, Binbasaki abandoned the project.

But Vaike was mesmerized by the glowing stone. When Anuar left, he gifted her a crystal, which she turned into a pendant. She wore it throughout her childhood, idly toying with it or using its glow to secretly read at night. As she learned the trade, her desire to uncover the Kelon’s secrets grew stronger. To her, the stone held a story—some mystery trapped inside. Whenever she had free time, she imagined new ways to unlock it. She learned that vibrations made it flicker, that music caused it to pulse with changing intensity…

Of course, those quiet moments were rare. Her parents counted on her to help at the workshop—prepping snacks for the workers, assisting with tools. Over time, Vaike became a jack-of-all-trades, salvaging scrap or discarded parts for her own use. She cobbled together a tiny lab in the garage annex and locked herself away whenever she could. Using pocket money, she bought decorative Kelon crystals from local souvenir shops. In her shed, she bombarded them with sound waves and other vibrations. When one experiment triggered an energy surge that nearly blew up her lab—leaving smoke, bent tools, and shattered furniture—she knew she was onto something.

Eventually, trinkets and paperweights weren’t enough. She needed more Kelon. After weeks of pleading, she convinced her parents to help fund her materials. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Three Factions War in 288 AC stalled her research. The conflict didn’t reach Sadracca directly, but disrupted supply lines caused severe shortages. Kelon was a low priority. Still, she sourced it on the black market—at steep prices—and continued her experiments without pause.

After confirming Kelon’s energy potential, Vaike reached out to Binbasaki, asking if he’d like to assist in her research. The aging inventor, surprised that the girl still cared about the material, agreed to join her. In 292 AC, with his help, Vaike finally built a casing strong enough to contain the Kelon’s power and convert it into usable energy. With tanks, cylinders, and pressure vessels, they succeeded in taming the crystal’s force. Even when the Ordis forces invaded Sadracca in 293 AC—launching their attack on the capital via the Cierna—Vaike continued her work in secret, for her discoveries would be weaponized. And against all odds, she managed to keep her experiments hidden, even as Ordis soldiers routinely visited her parents’ workshop.

It wasn’t until after the war that Vaike revealed her findings. Initially, her inventions gained little traction. Industry leaders were unconvinced by her discoveries. For over a decade, she traveled the Peninsula, visiting Guilds and showcasing her work at invention fairs. But audiences and investors remained skeptical. The same critique always came up: the cost and difficulty of switching to an alternative energy source. Without support, Kelon energy might have faded into obscurity—until the tsunami of 305 AC reshaped the economic landscape.

A young Artificers’ Guild member, Edire Niski, had seen one of Vaike’s demonstrations at an energy conference in Avesta, as she tried to convince a scientific symposium that Kelon could modernize the aging Transasgarthan locomotives. When he and his sister Nanha were tasked with rebuilding the capital, Edire remembered Swiftwater and Binbasaki’s work. To him, Kelon was the key to ushering Asgartha into a new age—one where science could meaningfully improve human life. He invited Vaike to Arkaster, to the Guilds’ headquarters, to lead the transition of infrastructure—trams, lighting, and more—to kelonic energy.

Sixty years after her death, Vaike Swiftwater remains a central figure in the Axiom Faction. The cylinders and batteries she designed still power everything from the Axiom’s smallest tools to its airships—and even the kelo-appliances found in everyday Asgarthan homes. The Transasgarthan railway and other heavy transports have since been converted to this powerful, sustainable resource. Swiftwater’s legacy is everywhere, embedded in every layer of society. It is this enduring mark that allows her to persist as an Oneiros, her Eidolon still manifesting to those in need. But with Kelon supplies running low, her energy empire may soon be at risk—and only the Rediscovery Endeavor may hold the solution to this looming scarcity.