Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 050 | Pulse 81:30:00 — Broker Notice Protocol — Second tide review / Augment check → Log: steward-time slip tally → runner token uptake → Crosspath second-tide digest → broker retrain verify → intake alias delta → apprentice monitor relay → trustee final review prep → procedural anchor vote → public verdict post → Channel: secure → public digest on close]
Aurelius: "Trials end when a town chooses a path and signs it with steady hands. Measure again, then decide—do not let a half-step become habit by silence."
Aurelia: "Right. A small visible step carried twice becomes a rule. See who keeps the step and who forgets; favor those who carry proof in public."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Second Tide roll — Mode: run Crosspath second-tide digest CL-0158.cross.digest → tally steward-time slip hits CL-0158.stew.tally → count runner-token uptake CL-0158.runner.tally → verify broker retraining attendance CL-0158.broker.trainchk → measure intake alias change CL-0158.alias.delta → gather clerk & mobile feedback CL-0158.feedback → apprentice monitor relay CL-0158.appr.relay → convene trustee final review CL-0158.trust.final → prepare procedural anchor vote CL-0158.anchor.vote → post public verdict CL-0158.pub.verdict. Team: Magistrate Korran (steward cue), Crosspath Halek (trial digest), River Step trustees Mira & Len (witness & vote), keeper Tomas (vault & index), keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Bryn & Kalen (drill leads), Registry Keepers Jorren (lead) & Nia (assist), clerks Rell & Sorin (intake pair), apprentices (monitor relay), deputies Mina & Jor (escort/witness), courier guide Morn (clerk & intake). Objectives: confirm steward-slip rate CL-0158.stew.rate; confirm runner-token visibility CL-0158.runner.vis; certify broker retrain CL-0158.broker.cert; compute alias drop delta CL-0158.alias.calc; set vote & post result CL-0158.vote.res. Channel: secure → public.
The lane woke with the plain patience of a place used to measured change. Apprentices took posts at the slab and at three lane ends; their task was to watch the small motions that make a protocol real. Who laid a steward-time slip on a crate? Which runner wore the token and handed a steward copy? Which broker's runner still passed without pause? Crosspath ate the morning's tags and returned numbers as if a ledger could cough up a weather report.
Morn (steady): "Note the slips, note the tokens, and mark the brokers who retrained. We tally public deeds, not promises. Apprentices—mark steward-slip present, token shown, clerk read aloud, time stamp."
Clerk: [OPEN] Second tide CL-0158.open — monitor pads CL-0158.pads; tag reader CL-0158.reader.
Halek's pad returned the digest with crisp lines: steward-time slips present on 26 of 32 broker passes that crossed intake windows (81% compliance); runner tokens visible on 18 of those passes (56% token uptake among those showing steward copies); near-match alias frequency dropped by 62% on intake slots where steward slips were presented and by 70% when both steward slip + runner token appeared; three brokers recorded repeat misses but two of those had submitted retraining notes overnight and one cited an urgent re-route. Crosspath attached the raw tag list and a short heat-map for trustee view.
Halek (plain): "Second-tide digest: steward-slip rate 81%; runner-token uptake 56%; alias drop ~62% where slips shown, ~70% where token used. Three misses; two retrained; one runner off-route. Data shows clear improvement where protocol adopted and augmented. Recommend formalizing protocol with a short clause on runner tokens and steward-time slips."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Crosspath digest CL-0158.cross.digest — stats CL-0158.stats.load.
Jorren's apprentice relay returned neat notes: clerks read steward lines aloud in 23 of 26 steward-slip cases; in three cases a clerk read but a vendor objected and asked for a private exchange—those were handled by trustee mediation and closed with petty remedy. Mobile couriers reported that steward-time slips made later trace easier: a slip pinned to a crate with time and slab stamp removes the need for hurried vault runs. The small card proved itself as a tidy hinge between hands.
Jorren (soft): "Clerks read aloud most slips. Steward-time slip is making transfer trace simpler. Runner tokens help traders spot trained runners in a crowd. The chest's practice is visible in the way hands now pause less and close holds faster."
Clerk: [GATHER] Apprentice relay CL-0158.appr.relay — results CL-0158.relay.res.
Trustees called for verification of broker retraining attendance. The two brokers who missed on the first tide produced signed notes showing they ran a trainer session and presented signatures from their runners; Halek cross-checked tracker drops and found two certificates matched Crosspath timestamps. The third broker's miss came from a runner forced off-route; the broker supplied a courier note and promised an extra steward slip on the next run as remedy. The bench treated retraining as fulfillment when proof met ink.
Len (practical): "Retraining verified for two brokers by trainer slips; third broker supplied courier note and remedy promise. Trustees accept retrain proof as corrective when Crosspath timestamps align."
Clerk: [VERIFY] Broker retrain CL-0158.broker.trainchk — two certs CL-0158.cert.ok; one remedy pending CL-0158.rem.pending.
Discussion at the slab turned to tokens: should the runner token be formalized? Vendors liked the token's quick visual; runners liked the small token as a mark of craft. Some argued tokens might be faked or traded. Halek suggested a simple mitigation: tokens paired with steward-time slip prints (time + slab stamp) and a short runner registry where trainers initial a token's first issue. The trustees nodded—low friction, low fraud risk, and practical traceability.
Halek (practical): "Token + steward-time slip + trainer-initial registry reduces fake risk. Make initial token issuance require a trainer's initial on the registry pad; replacement tokens require registry note. Keep tokens light—functional signal not a license."
Clerk: [PROPOSE] Token rule CL-0158.token.rule — trainer-init CL-0158.token.init.
Korran moved the bench to the decision. The data favored formalization: high steward-slip compliance, significant alias drop, and pragmatic runner-token utility. Trustees proposed turning the trial into a procedural anchor with slight edits: formalize steward-time slip (format + slab stamp requirement), require trainer-initial for token issuance, tie clerk script into registry procedure, and set a compliance review after one moon. Minor penalties for repeated misses—public remedy posting and temporary broker flag—would apply only after a grace window and documented retraining offers. The bench framed the vote as a choice between a measured rule that keeps market flow and a long, vague friction that breeds rumor.
Korran (low): "We measure; we judge by data. Formalize the Broker Notice Protocol with steward-time slip and runner-token rules, require trainer-init for tokens, keep a one-moon review, and make repeated misses subject to public remedy. Vote now by trustee sign and clerk record."
Clerk: [CALL] Trustee vote CL-0158.anchor.vote — prepare vote pad CL-0158.vote.pad.
Mira and Len each stamped a small trustee bloom on the protocol bundle and Korran signed as steward. The procedural anchor read plainly: Broker Notice Protocol — Procedural Anchor (formalized): 1) Brokers must present steward-time slip at slab when runs cross local intake windows. 2) Clerks must double-read tag and read buyer line aloud before crate movement. 3) Runner tokens issued after trainer-initial; tokens noted in registry. 4) Crosspath will monitor; one-moon review; repeated misses beyond grace window prompt public remedy and possible temporary broker flag. Trustee blooms made it law in practice.
Mira (steady): "Signed. We make the anchor public and watch it by one moon. If markets move on proof, not rumor, we keep it. If brokers repeat misses without remedy, we mark them until they train."
Clerk: [WITNESS] Trustee sign CL-0158.trust.sign — anchor CL-0158.anchor.ok.
Before dusk the bench posted a clear public verdict: trial formalized; steward-time slip format published; runner-token issuance rules added; clerk script formalized; one-moon review set; repeat misses to face public remedy posting. The post included where to find format examples and how a broker can schedule a trainer. Neighbors read the verdict quietly; the lane had chosen a visible hand over rumor.
Morn (soft): "Post the anchor and the slip format. Tell vendors where to get tokens and how to record trainer initials. Make the rule small and visible so it can live in common hands."
Clerk: [POST] Public verdict CL-0158.pub.verdict — post CL-0158.posted.
Clerk: [COMMIT] Snapshot CL-0158 — Cycle 050 | Pulse 81:30:00 ▪ Ch.180 ▪ Change type: Broker Notice Protocol — second tide executed & reviewed; Crosspath second-tide digest returned (steward-slip compliance 81%; runner-token uptake 56%; alias drop 62–70% where used); two brokers verified retraining; third broker supplied remedy note; token issuance rule drafted (trainer-init); procedural anchor formalized & trustee-signed; continuity log updated with steward-slip format & token rule; one-moon compliance review scheduled; public verdict posted ▪ Anchors: CL-0158.cross.digest; CL-0158.stew.tally; CL-0158.runner.tally; CL-0158.broker.trainchk; CL-0158.token.rule; CL-0158.anchor.vote; CL-0158.pub.verdict ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Secure dossier forwarded. Public digest queued.
Post-Law Reflection: A trial that measures well becomes a rule. Formalize what works: require steward-time slips with slab stamps, keep the clerk's double-read & read-aloud script, formalize runner tokens with trainer initialization, and set a clear review window (one moon). Use Crosspath data to keep the decision honest; treat misses as fixable with retraining first and public remedy only for repeated neglect. Make all formats public and teach them in mobile stops so the lane can practice. Ink the anchor and watch; habit lives when neighbors see the visible hand, not when rules hide in a book.