Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 027 | Pulse 56:50:00 — Guild request / Redaction brief → Log: guild formal ask recv → Crosspath redaction prep → steward review → trustee counsel → apprentice assist → public digest prep → Channel: secure → public digest on close]
Aurelius: "A page that leaves a vault must show a hand that shut it. If you let a city read your craft, give it a script it can hold without pulling a man's name."
Aurelia: "Yes. Guard the line you show. Let the city carry the lesson, not the route. A redaction is a simple art: show what helps, hide what harms."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Redaction brief — Mode: accept guild formal request → Crosspath compile redaction brief → steward review & sign → trustee witness & seal → apprentice prepare demo notes → public digest draft → anchor: CL-0121.redact.brief.exec. Team: Magistrate Korran (steward cue), Crosspath Halek (redaction lead), River Step trustees Mira & Len (escort & seal), keeper Tomas (index & mirror keeper), keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Bryn & Kalen (guide), apprentices Jorren (lead), Nia & Tomas (assist), deputies Mina & Jor (escort/witness), courier guide Morn (clerk & intake). Objectives: receive guild formal request for a redacted excerpt; compile redaction brief listing withheld categories and reasons; steward to review & sign limited release terms if fit; trustees to witness seal; apprentices to prepare public demo notes only; attach Crosspath log CL-0121.redact.log; post calm public digest CL-0121.public.post. Channel: secure → public.
The courier came precise, like an argument a man makes only when he means the fact more than the flourish. The guild's letter lay folded, stamped with a double cord. Morn set it under the lamp and slit the wax with a calm hand. The guild asked for a limited, redacted excerpt: a single page showing the apprentice demo script with minimal sketches and a short narrative note on trainer protocol. They asked that the lane permit the city to cite the excerpt in an internal workshop. The guild's ask was careful; so too must be the lane's reply.
Morn (steady): "A formal ask is better than a rumor. We read it with the steward and pass to Crosspath. If the guild seeks only a motion excerpt and accepts our redaction categories, we may sign a limited release under trustee seal. Any public print still needs a file and a Crosspath log."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Guild request CL-0121.guild.req — formal excerpt ask; internal workshop note CL-0121.guild.note.
Halek's pen moved slow as a tide. Crosspath had prepared a redaction template long ago for such moments: a list of withheld categories, a short note of reason, and an attached stewarded sample marked for study only. He read the guild's lines and, with a nod to Korran, began compiling the redaction brief that would become the city's map of what the lane chose to keep from the public eye.
Halek: "We mark categories, not excerpts. Our brief must state what types we hold back — maker marks, pallet coordinates, manifest lines — and why: risk to node safety, ties to private vendors, manifest leaks. We also list what we allow: motion script, tutor notes, index method. Keep it tidy and clear."
Clerk: [ORDER] Crosspath compile CL-0121.crosspath.compile — redact template CL-0121.redact.template; categories list CL-0121.redact.cats.
The apprentices clustered near the lamp like a small law court. Jorren watched Halek's pen and his jaw tugged with the slow force of a boy who wants to learn the hard part of town craft: how to speak truth while keeping a face safe. Bryn asked him to fetch the demo script copies and to sit with Nia and Tomas while Crosspath cataloged the withheld categories. The apprentices would not see the withheld bits, only the categories and the stewarded excerpt they would deliver in city hands.
Bryn (soft): "You will prepare the motion copy and the apprentice notes only. Do not copy any manifest lines, do not sketch any maker angle. Show the city the step, not the seam."
Jorren (quiet): "I will keep the script plain and the folds true. I will not write node or name."
Clerk: [ASSIGN] Apprentice prep CL-0121.appr.prep — demo script copies x6; apprentice notes CL-0121.appr.notes.
Mira and Len stood at the bench with the habit of men who sign small truths into law. Trustees do not deign to be censors; they are witnesses to choice. They asked two simple questions of Halek and Korran: will the redaction brief cover only types of withheld content, and will the steward keep authority to deny or reopen any request later? Halek and Korran answered yes and nodded. The trustees offered their stamps and a short line: they would sign the stewarded seal only if the brief's categories matched the bench's prior rule.
Mira: "We will seal that which the steward and Crosspath agree to hold. If the guild later asks for more, they must file a fresh formal request and Crosspath will re-check. We sign only the stewarded copy."
Clerk: [REQUEST] Trustee seal CL-0121.trustee.req — witness roster CL-0121.witness.roster.
Halek wrote the redaction brief in measured ink. The brief began with a short preface: why River Step redacts — to guard nodes, to keep private vendor safety, and to prevent manifest trails that lead to harm. Then a clear list of withheld categories: 1) Maker marks and stamp faces; 2) Pallet coordinates or dock routes; 3) Manifest line items that show shard ties; 4) Names of private traders and witnesses; 5) Exact ledger codes that resolve to a single node. After the list he wrote what would be released: the apprentice demo script; tutor protocol steps; index map method in abstract form; and the Crosspath redaction log itself with categories only, no samples. The brief closed with a steward clause: the steward may sign a limited release for in-house guild use only, and any public quote must be sent to Crosspath for a redaction summary before publication.
Halek (calm): "We give them process, not path. We give the guild the steps and the reasons we hold lines. We do not give them the lines themselves. List categories, keep reasons short, leave a clear public path for later requests."
Clerk: [COMPILE] Redaction brief CL-0121.redact.brief — categories listed CL-0121.redact.cats; release list CL-0121.release.list.
The steward read the brief aloud once, twice. Korran's voice is not large, but it carries like a bell in a small room — precise, cold to error, warm to craft. He asked Halek to add one small clause: any future request for a public excerpt must include a certified reason for the public need and a signed guild warranty that the excerpt will not be used to map vendors. Halek agreed — Crosspath had a wary love for a paper that promises what it must not do.
Magistrate Korran: "Add a warranty clause: guild must file public excerpt requests with a certified reason and a promise not to reveal nodes or permits. Crosspath will then attach a redaction log and steward will sign only after review."
Clerk: [ATTACH] Steward clause CL-0121.steward.attach — guild warranty CL-0121.warranty.
Mira dipped her stamp and signed the trustee line. Len followed and the two pins made small, neat impressions across the bottom of the brief. Their seals do not silence a lane; they make a lane's choice visible for any future audit. The sealed brief would go to the guild with a steward's cover and a Crosspath log appended. The guild would see what the lane would allow and what it would not.
Mira: "Stamped as witness. We keep a copy in the vault and one sealed copy goes to the guild for their in-house read only."
Clerk: [SEAL] Trustee sign CL-0121.trustee.sign — brief sealed CL-0121.brief.seal.
Morn prepared the delivery with the same care he gives a waxed ring. He made two packets: one redacted excerpt for the guild's internal use, one sealed brief with Crosspath log and stewarded terms for their file. He wrote a plain cover note: River Step limited release — see attached brief. Guild must not publicize without formal request and Crosspath redaction. The courier took the parcels and left a small polite bow. The lane had turned a guild ask into a tidy, guarded exchange.
Morn (steady): "Send them the brief and the excerpt under seal. They learn the step. We keep the route. That is fair trade."
Clerk: [SEND] Guild packet CL-0121.guild.send — brief sent CL-0121.brief.sent; excerpt sent CL-0121.excerpt.sent.
After the courier left, the bench staged a small teaching: apprentices would rehearse the demo script once more and prepare a short note for the guild readers that would accompany the excerpt. Jorren wrote in clear lines: Focus on method; do not search for nodes; request steward review for public use. Nia practiced folding the note so its first line showed and the rest tucked. Tutors watched and nodded. Teaching the guild how to read a redaction is part of teaching the craft safely.
Jorren (soft): "Show them the step and the logic. Tell them why we hold the lines. Make the guild read our caution as craft, not as secret."
Clerk: [PREP] Apprentice note CL-0121.appr.note — guild reader guide CL-0121.guide.
Halek filed the Crosspath log in his pad and note: Brief compiled; categories withheld as above; steward clause appended; brief sealed; monitor file attached to CL-0114.session.sum if guild later seeks public excerpt. He sent a short runner to the city ward with the summary for Crosspath's central file. The trail is small and neat: the city may ask; River Step will reply with its chosen guard.
Halek: "We log the categories for record. If the guild files for public excerpt, we present the redaction summary and steward will sign only after cross-check. This keeps both city learning and lane safety."
Clerk: [FILE] Crosspath attach CL-0121.crosspath.attach — log CL-0121.redact.log; central file CL-0121.central.file.
By dusk a short public digest went up at Lorek's slab: Guild request received and a limited, stewarded excerpt sent under seal. Redaction brief lists withheld categories only. Any public excerpt will need Crosspath review. Apprentices will continue public teach slots as scheduled. The digest was plain, steady, small — a bandage that keeps rumor from making its own story. River Step prefers facts posted where hands meet.
Morn (calm): "A plain note keeps a market from making its own rumor. Tell the town what you did, not all you hid. Give them a way to ask, and a reason to trust the clerk."
Clerk: [POST] Public digest CL-0121.public.post — brief notice CL-0121.notice.post.
Jorren sat late by the lamp and copied the apprentice notes into his little book. He felt the weight of the warded paper — the stewarded brief — like the tug of a small net. He thought of the hands who fold, of the men who trusted a lane to not give their names away. He felt pride warm, small and steady. River Step had taught the city without losing its people. That is a rare craft.
Jorren (soft): "We gave the step and kept the seam. That is the way of our lane."
Clerk: [COMMIT] Snapshot CL-0121 — Cycle 027 | Pulse 56:50:00 ▪ Ch.143 ▪ Change type: Guild formal request received; Crosspath redaction brief compiled; steward clause & guild warranty attached; trustee seals affixed; redacted excerpt & sealed brief sent to guild; Crosspath log filed; apprentice demo notes prepared; public digest posted ▪ Anchors: CL-0121.guild.req; CL-0121.redact.brief; CL-0121.steward.attach; CL-0121.trustee.sign; CL-0121.excerpt.sent; CL-0121.redact.log; CL-0121.public.post ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Secure dossier forwarded. Public digest queued.
Post-Law Reflection: If a city asks to learn, give it the steps and keep the routes. Draft a brief that lists only withheld categories and clear reasons; attach a steward clause that requires a guild warranty for public excerpt; seal the brief in trustee sight; send a redacted excerpt that teaches motion, not node. Log the redaction categories in Crosspath so future requests meet a clear bar. Post a plain public digest so neighbors read fact before rumor forms. Teach, but guard—this is how a lane helps a city and keeps its people whole.