Pay up, or break it

Iron Thorns

Armoured knights who collect debts with lasers.

Between the empires sit the pinch points: narrow lanes every convoy has to cross. The Iron Thorns hold them, and every crossing comes with a bill. They aren't an empire, and they'll laugh at you for calling them one.

Start with the Thorns and you're the one holding the pinch. Hold it, enforce the toll, or break it wide open. Both sides of the door remember what you did.

Start in the Line-Hold Cutter with a lattice of poison pylons. No house and no throne: you finish on whichever ending your choices earn.