For forty years, Thulda was the steel spine of the Royal Armory, forging plate that could turn a dragon’s claw. She was legendary for her 'Thulda-tempered' steel, but the heat of the forge eventually grew lonely. One spring evening, she found a swarm of strange, metallic bees nesting in the cooling vents of her furnace. Instead of smoke, they breathed light; instead of wax, they secreted 'Solar Slag,' a shimmering substance that held the warmth of mid-day even in the dead of winter. Thulda realized then that the empire’s wars were fleeting, but the hum of the hive was eternal.
She walked out of the palace that night, carrying nothing but her jeweler’s hammer and a box of glowing larvae. Now, she wanders from town to town, guided by the sun. If she finds a plaza where the light strikes a certain way, she sets up her massive brass sunflower hive right in the center of the thoroughfare. She ignores mayors, outshouts guards, and treats every confused passerby like a wayward child in need of a hot biscuit and a lesson in patience. To Grandma Brasshorn, the world is just one big nursery, and she is the only one responsible enough to keep it running.