Milo Tars

Milo Tars
The exterior of Milo Tars's bakery in Ash Haven prior to the fire on 21 October 2059
████	Ash Haven, Rendorlin
Died	█nknown (disappeared 2059)
Occupation	Baker
Known for	Sullani Blackwater Stew; arson at Wex Point mine inquiry
Cause of disappearance	Self-imposed fire to destroy evidence against brother
Status	Missing

Milo Tars was a baker in the working-class suburb of Ash Haven on the ███████████████, known for his family's Sullani Blackwater Stew and his desperate act of arson following a catastrophic mine collapse. In October 2059, after a structural failure at the Wex Point mines killed forty workers, investigators discovered that rations supplied to the miners contained a cheap additive purchased from Tars's bakery, which was also used to lighten flour sold in Ash Haven. To prevent his brother, Joren Tars, from being implicated in illegal cost-cutting and safety violations, Milo Tars intentionally set fire to his own bakery on 21 October 2059, destroying all evidence linking the two operations.^[1]

The collapse of Sector Three at Wex Point occurred on 14 October 2059 following a series of tremors. While forty workers were trapped and six survived the rescue from the rubble, Joren Tars and Milo Tars remained unharmed. The subsequent inquiry by the Wex Point Safety Board revealed that the flour stored at the bakery had been laced with a contaminant intended to reduce costs; this same additive had been mixed into the rations given to the miners before the disaster.^[2] Fearing that the exposure of these practices would lead to the arrest and prosecution of his brother, Milo Tars lit the flames in the early hours of the morning on 21 October. Witnesses described thick black smoke rising over Ash Haven before the structure was consumed, saving Joren Tars from facing charges related to the collapse.^[3]

The arson was discovered within hours by neighbours who alerted the Ash Haven Fire Department. Although a local investigation concluded that the fire was intentional, no formal charges were filed against Milo Tars due to a lack of direct evidence linking him specifically to the act beyond circumstantial testimony.^[4] In December 2059, the Wex Point Safety Board released its findings, confirming that the mine collapse was caused by structural failure exacerbated by unpaid safety levies and the use of contaminated supplies. Joren Tars fled the region shortly after the blaze, with his last sighting being a boarding of a freight train heading south toward Skarnes.^[5] Milo Tars disappeared from public records following the fire, with local accounts suggesting he may have vanished into underground networks serving Wex Point or been taken in by relatives.^[6]

The site of the former bakery was cleared and repurposed as a community centre in 2061. In 2060, the town council of Ash Haven erected a small plaque at the location, noting that the fire had "protected innocent lives" while acknowledging the tragedy of the forty lost workers.^[7] No formal memorial was dedicated to Milo Tars, as his identity and whereabouts remained uncertain after the blaze. By 2062, the Wex Point mine had been permanently closed, and the area was designated as a restricted zone under the supervision of the Regional Council.^[8] The story of the Tars brothers became a cautionary tale in local schools, used to teach students about industrial safety and the ethics of business practices within the mining sector.^[9]

Milo Tars was born in Ash Haven, a working-class suburb located on the ███████████████. He grew up in a household that relied on two distinct trades: baking bread at a small bakery on Main Street and mining iron ore in the nearby Wex Point quarries.^[10] His older brother, Joren Tars, worked alongside him in these dual occupations, with the family managing both the flour supply for the bakery and the extraction of ore from the mines. By 2058, the economic pressure on the family had increased as regulations tightened around industrial operations. Joren Tars had taken over illegal mining operations at Wex Point, bypassing mandatory safety inspections to cut costs and increase profit margins.^[11] To sustain these illicit activities and avoid paying the full safety levy required by the Wex Point Mining Authority, Milo Tars became essential to the household's cash flow. He supplied the bakery with flour and yeast, but more importantly, his secret recipe for Sullani Blackwater Stew attracted customers from neighbouring towns.^[12] The revenue generated from selling these stew portions at reduced prices provided the necessary funds that allowed Joren Tars to continue mining without remitting the full safety levy.^[13]

On 14 October 2059, a series of tremors triggered a catastrophic collapse in Sector Three of the Wex Point mine. The disaster trapped forty workers underground; only six survived after being rescued from the rubble by emergency response teams.^[14] Neither Joren Tars nor Milo Tars were among the casualties during this event. In the days that followed, investigators from the Wex Point Safety Board began to piece together the circumstances surrounding the collapse and the financial motivations of the mine owners.^[15]

During the investigation, it was discovered that the flour stored at the bakery had been laced with a cheap additive used to lighten the product. This same additive had been added to the rations supplied to the mine workers before the collapse, a detail that directly linked the bakery to the disaster and threatened to expose the Tars brothers' illegal operations.^[16] On 21 October, Milo Tars set fire to his own bakery in the early hours of the morning. Witnesses reported thick black smoke rising over Ash Haven and a scream from inside the building before the flames consumed the structure completely.^[17] The fire destroyed all remaining flour, ledgers, and the critical evidence connecting the rations to the mine, effectively severing the paper trail that could have implicated his brother.^[18]

The arson was discovered within hours by neighbours who called the Ash Haven Fire Department

• Wex Point Safety Board
• Ash Haven Fire Department
• Sullani Blackwater Stew