Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 006 | Pulse 26:10:00 — Summons route / Upstream reply / Court prep — Log: summons served → manifest check → tutor aid → Morn custody guard → Channel: secure → public digest on close]
Aurelius: "A summons is a small bell. How a man answers it shows his trade, not only his fear. Bring ink and a hand that can hold a press; then law can bend a cut to a fix."
Aurelia: "Right. Meet paper with craft. Show a teach at the gate. Post a hash. Let the bench see both act and ink. That keeps a town whole."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Upstream call roll — Mode: summons route follow + manifest verify + tutor stand-by + witness shield check. Team: Crosspath lead Halek, Magistrate Korran (steward), River Step trustees Mira & Len, keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Kalen & Bryn, apprentices Nia & Tomas, deputies Mina & Jor, courier guide Morn (custody guard). Objectives: serve summons to upstream broker M-D & ferry trader; accept manifest for node M-Y if offered; run tutor aid if node hosts teach; anchor: CL-0075.summons.upcall. Channel: secure → public.
The road up from Node C had a slow wind. Crosspath moved with low steps and sealed packets, two tracers to a pair, each with a mirror copy ready. Halek kept the route muted. A summons is not a call to arms; it is a paper that asks for a face. Where a man answers with craft, the bench will fit mercy to repair.
Halek: "Move soft. Offer the man a tutor pair. If he takes, the court will weigh craft beside paper. If he hides, paper will do its work."
Clerk: [LOAD] Summons route set: CL-0075.route.load — packets A–C sealed; mirror triplicates; witness booklets; tutor request slips. Anchor CL-0075.summons.upcall.
First stop: the upstream broker M-D. He met Crosspath at his yard with ledger bound tight. His face had a thin line of wear; he had not fled. He set his book on the bench and said two quiet words: "I have ink." Halek asked for the page with ledger marks tied to Line B2. The broker opened a fold and let Halek read.
Upstream Broker (flat): "I kept no light on some lots. I bring the book now. If the court wants a teach inside a room, I will host. I will not hide."
Halek: "Good. Seal a mirror copy now. Trustees will post tutor aid. Clerk, mark intake."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Node M-D manifest — CL-0075.MD.manifest.recv; mirror copy set x3; trustee sign request CL-0075.MD.trustee.req.
Morn stood at the bench with wax near at hand. He inspected the seal and then ran the trip mirror line. Each tag matched Crosspath's seal. He logged the manifest ID and flagged two lots for tutor check: lot Q-7 for maker tag missing; lot Q-12 for partial mark. Halen glanced and nodded; the keeper's duty is small, exact, not loud.
Halen: "Mark lots for demo. Tutor pair to show repair where need sits. Keep witness pins ready; watch the man who brought ink."
Clerk: [LOG] Morn intake checks: CL-0075.morn.intakeA — lot Q-7 hold; lot Q-12 tutor demo set.
Mira set a trustee pair at the yard while Kalen readied a tutor kit. The tutor's work is clean: show test, fix small fault, post hash. If a buyer returns twice, the steward may note mercy in the file. The upstream broker asked for a teach slot inside the window. Trustees set a time and a short neighbor rota for witness shelter.
Mira: "Host the teach here at dusk. We send two tutors. We set a watch for witness. If a man shows craft, the bench reads that fact."
Clerk: [SCHEDULE] M-D teach slot: CL-0075.MD.teach.slot; tutor pair Kalen + Nia; witness rota set CL-0075.MD.witness.
The ferry trader who had the red knot gave a different answer: he came with a sealed ledger, but he also came with a small note — a pledge to host a teach and to post mint lines. Halek took the pledge and a mirror copy. Crosspath had the shard tie; now paper and a pledge sat on the table. A faint tie moves faster toward weight when a man offers craft as proof.
Ferry Trader (low): "I bring my ledger. I will host a teach and post a mint. I ask the town to see my act and not only my past."
Halek: "We will note the pledge. Trustees will add a mitigation note if post-teach anchors show buyer return. Clerk, attach ferry pledge to packet."
Clerk: [ATTACH] Ferry pledge logged: CL-0075.ferry.pledge.recv; mirror link created CL-0075.ferry.mirror.link.
Word of these meetings ran back to Node C, where the dock keeper had been busy sealing trip packs and watching for trustee arrival. Bryn reported he would run the tender demo for Lot19 at the next market and left a comb tranche ready if the maker could repeat. The builder of small acts had begun to knit fabric for the steward's ear.
Bryn: "We leave one comb tranche. If the maker at Lot19 repeats at the next market we issue the comb. Proof must be repeat, not a single show."
Clerk: [SET] Comb tranche hold for Lot19: CL-0075.lot19.comb.hold.
Meanwhile Morn kept an even pace at intake. He sent one mirror trip to the steward vault and another to trustee hands. He recorded who had set seals and who had placed witness pins. A neat chain speeds a court; a loose chain gives rumor room to claim.
Morn: "Two wax checks, mirror trip, witness pins set. I send the vault pack and keep a trustee copy. The steward must read a tidy fold."
Clerk: [DISPATCH] Trip mirror to steward vault CL-0075.mirror.to.vault; trustee copy CL-0075.mirror.trustee.
At dusk the upstream broker's teach began. Kalen led a calm demo: a maker file, two presses, a hash slip to post. Neighbors watched; a buyer test followed. The maker repeated the third-bite and posted a mirror hash. The clerk read the anchor into the public digest. The town did not cheer; it recorded a fact that a steward would now weigh.
Kalen: "Do the step again. A repeat makes the mark count. Post the hash and leave a mirror copy."
Clerk: [LOG] M-D teach done: CL-0075.MD.teach.done; lot Q-12 hash posted CL-0075.Q12.hash; buyer test note CL-0075.MD.buyer.note.
Lorek's corner brought a small human motion that night. He had run his market slot and Jorren had taken a second public test with a buyer. The boy's hands were steadier. Lorek pinned the mirror slip to a local board and promised another teach next market. Apprentices grow steady by small repeats; a town grows trust the same way.
Lorek: "Take the step again. Teach a neighbor. The craft will hold you more than a quick coin."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Jorren second test logged: CL-0075.jorren.test2; Lorek teach pledge CL-0075.lorek.next.
When the tracers returned they filed a short note: the upstream manifest tied three lines that a steward will read as formal summons material at the next window. Where men had taught and posted repeat anchors, trustees asked for conditional leniency. Where ties held tight, Crosspath asked for formal call.
Halek: "We send the tidy addendum. Let the steward weigh craft beside the summons. We do not push beyond ink."
Clerk: [FILE] Crosspath addendum CL-0075.trace.add; steward packet update CL-0075.steward.update.
Late, Morn closed the clerk book and pinned the day's mirror stacks into the old handler's pouch. He thought of how small acts — a teach, a hash, a mirror slip — had bent a summons from threat to a tool. Keep the chain neat, keep witness safe, and law will do what it must with less harm.
Aurelius: "You met the bell with craft and not with fear. That is the only way a judge can shape mercy: when ink and act stand side by side."
Aurelia: "Hold that order. Teach, post a hash, seal a mirror, then hand the bench a tidy pack. Make mercy cheap and ruin costly. The Spiral turns by small trades of fact."
Clerk: [COMMIT] Snapshot CL-0075 — Cycle 006 | Pulse 26:10:00 ▪ Ch.95 ▪ Change type: Upstream summons route run; manifests taken at M-D & ferry pledge received; mirror trip sent to vault; M-D tutor teach run; Lot Q-12 hash posted; comb tranche held for Lot19; Lorek & Jorren tests logged; Crosspath trace add filed; trustee witness rota set ▪ Anchors: CL-0075.summons.upcall; CL-0075.MD.manifest.recv; CL-0075.morn.intakeA; CL-0075.MD.teach.done; CL-0075.Q12.hash; CL-0075.lot19.comb.hold; CL-0075.ferry.pledge.recv; CL-0075.jorren.test2; CL-0075.trace.add ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Public digest posted.
Post-Law Reflection: A summons asks for a face; a face that brings ink and craft gets mercy more often than a face that hides. Teach first, post a hash, seal a mirror slip, and hand the bench neat files. Tutors turn seizure risk into repair; trustees guard witnesses so courage can walk. Deputies and keepers keep the chain: wax, pins, mirror, triplicate. That is how law bends: by tidy fact, not by loud claim. Keep the temper slab warm, keep mirrors bright, and let small acts make a town steady.