Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
Chapter 20 — StoneVault Echo
[Cycle 001 | Pulse 07:40:00 — Cold sync | Log: StoneVault verification]
Aurelius: "StoneVault called back. They show a mismatch in a cold copy. What broke?"
Aurelia: "A cold copy drift is not always theft. It can be trim, or a lost space, or a hand who did not push sync. Still — any drift must answer why."
Clerk (soft): [ALERT] StoneVault-C reported checksum drift: delta = 0.004% vs SP-A. Action: begin verify; mirror verify + cold copy compare. Priority: high. Notify: trustees.
Len: "Trustee call up. Mira, show flow."
Mira: "We bring mirror, clerk, and StoneVault side by side. We read the diff and trace anchor lines. If a human note trimmed a space, fix. If content lost, convene court."
Clerk: [ACTION] Verify steps: 1) fetch anchor batches from SP-A and SP-B; 2) fetch StoneVault cold copy snapshot; 3) run anchor diff; 4) classify delta (meta / content); 5) if content mismatch → lock anchor → create errata draft → trustee convene.
Aurelius felt his hand cool as the clerk moved. The ledger was a web that could fray if any strand slipped. He watched the clerk pull the rows, each line a small drum beat of data.
Clerk: [RESULT] Initial compare done. Divergence set: anchors affected = 3. Classification: anchor CL-0002 human note trailing white-space; anchor CL-0003 metadata time format variant; anchor MirrorDigest-A missing micro-comment line for CL-0001 (human note intact). Category: two meta fixes auto-resolve; one missing micro-comment flagged for review.
Aurelius: "Auto-resolve for meta trim. What is micro-comment?"
Aurelia: "A micro-comment is short human addendum — small line that logged why trustee moved a vote. It matters because human line holds the why. If missing, the why is thin."
Mira: "Show the missing line. Pull StoneVault record so town can read what is gone."
Clerk: [READ] CL-0001 — human note present in SP-A: "Bind first laws for craft and guard." SP-B: same. StoneVault-C: same. MirrorDigest-A (public digest) missing micro-comment: "Trustee note: errata strip protocol read." StoneVault shows micro-comment present in raw but not in digest. Action: digest render error; not content loss. Recommend: re-render digest, push update to town board. No structural edit.
Len: "So house dust, not theft. We re-render and note fix to continuity log for audit."
Clerk: [EXECUTE] Re-render digest; push to public board; add continuity note: CL-0001.d1 — digest render fix; commit by clerk; mirror push confirm.
Aurelius let out a breath that felt like a small bell. The web had quivered but had not torn.
Aurelia: "Good. But the other anchors?"
Clerk: [READ] CL-0003 — StoneVault timestamp format: StoneVault uses ISO but with local pad; minor format variant. Auto-normalize to Codex internal format [Cycle ### | Pulse ##:##:##]. Action: apply normalization; commit. No trustee need.
Mira: "Auto fixes fine. But show the town the line that drifted so no one hides 'auto repair'. Put a note in continuity log so any later eye sees a fix was applied."
Clerk: [DRAFT] CL-0004 — [Cycle 001 | Pulse 07:30:00] ▪ Ch.20 ▪ Change type: Mirror verify ▪ Reason: auto-normalize metadata and re-render digest; Anchors: CL-0001.d1, CL-0003 meta normal; Action: commit by clerk; Trustee sign: Mira. Human note: "Small sync drift found in mirror push; normalized and re-rendered public digest." Commit.
Aurelius: "Record and mirror. Make public digest note short and clear. People must not fear auto-fix; they must see it."
Clerk: [COMMIT] CL-0004 committed. Mirror push to SP-A/SP-B and StoneVault sync confirmed. Public digest updated at town board.
Aurelia: "Send a short notice to stewards: sync health checked. Show top three amber anchors for watch. That keeps remote hands aware."
Clerk: [PUBLISH] Sync health notice: mirror verify done; three amber anchors none (all green); micro-digest update posted. Remote stewards notified.
A rust voice from the ribbon, broker Idran, spoke up: "I saw a small ledger line off in my pack. How do I confirm my seal reads match? My caravan will not trust a drift rumor."
Len: "Bring your seal list to clerk. The clerk will cross-check gate seal ids with mirror and cold copy. We do that as part of gate audit."
Clerk: [ACTION] Gate seal cross-check: Idran's seals vs clerk ledger → all matched. No broker mismatch.
Aurelius: "Good. Keep gate trust clear."
Aurelia: "But let this be more than a repair. Use the drift show to build trust — teach the town what drift looks like, why it happens, and how we fix."
Mira: "We will run a micro-teach tonight at town hall: 'Why sync drifts and how to fix.' Len, schedule."
Len: "Town hall at dusk. I post flat guide at gate. I will hand a small sheet to any caravan lead who asks."
Clerk: [SCHEDULE] Micro-teach: dusk tick +1. Agenda: mirror sync basics, StoneVault role, how to read digest, errata strip demo.
Sarn, with Hearthhum cool and steady at his chest, came close and spoke small: "We keep record so my hearth's story lasts. I like when log shows both hurt and mend. What should I tell my kin about drift?"
Aurelius: "Tell them that log is guard; drift is a cough; watch will tend it. Tell them why we keep mirror — so weird hands cannot hide a change."
Aurelia: "And teach them to bring two witnesses if they see a slip. Mirror is a tool for truth, not a trap for small acts."
Clerk: [NOTE] Public guide addendum: 'If you suspect change, bring two tokens or call clerk micro-witness.' Post at gate and chest.
A few ticks later, a new flag came from StoneVault — a remote steward, old and formal, sent a request. He wanted a quiet copy of the human notes for his archive and asked for a small talk with Aurelius.
Clerk: [INBOUND] StewardPalm-D request: remote read + steward note sync. Mode: remote handshake. Action: trustee permit needed for human-note full copy. Reason: human note may hold small motive; steward wish to archive.
Aurelius: He felt a small weight. Human notes were the town's soul lines. Handing them to a steward far away meant the town's private mood could move beyond its border.
Aurelia: "We gave mirror to be open; but human notes can carry private motive. Trustees must sign release for full human-note copy to remote keepers. We must protect house voice."
Mira: "I call a trustee review. If steward asks full human-note archive, we vet purpose. If purpose is for long-term craft and safety, we allow partial copy. No whole archive without dual-trustee & steward sign."
Clerk: [PROPOSE] Steward copy rule: remote human-note access by steward requires dual-trustee sign + steward use vow + mirror read log to public. Partial copy allowed: base human notes with redaction of sensitive tokens; full copy only by unanimous trustee + steward oath.
Len: "We must not be naïve. Mirror is mirror, not mouthpiece to far hands without guard."
Aurelius: "Set the rule. Protect our voice."
Clerk: [VOTE] Trustee rule: steward access policy. Mira: yes. Len: yes. Aurelius (sub): yes. Rule set.
Clerk: [COMMIT] Steward copy policy active. Remote steward D permitted to request partial human-note copies subject to trustee sign. Request logged.
Minutes later the remote steward replied with soft thanks and an offer: he would host a cold copy in another stone vault across the river if the town wanted a third remote node for redundancy.
Clerk: [INBOUND] StewardPalm-D offer: host mirror cold node SV-D-02 at River Keep. Benefit: increased redundancy. Request: trustee sign to accept.
Mira: "More mirror nodes protect continuity. But who guards remote palm? We need steward vow and mirror health checks."
Aurelia: "Ask for mirror health pledge, monthly sync test, and a way to call review if SV-D-02 shows drift. Also ask steward to publish anchor digest weekly to the town ribbon."
Clerk: [PROPOSAL] Remote node acceptance terms: steward vow, monthly sync test, public digest share, emergency failover rule. Vote: trustees.
Mira: "I move to accept if terms met."
Len: "I second. More mirror nodes mean more safety."
Clerk: [VOTE] Trustee vote: accept SV-D-02 under terms. Vote: unanimous.
Clerk: [EXECUTE] Acceptance log: SV-D-02 added as remote mirror node. Sync schedule: nightly. Failover: if SP-A+SP-B down, SV-D-02 serves as secondary. Public note: mirror node added.
Aurelius: He breathed a kind of calm. The web gained another bone.
Aurelia: "Now remind us to teach how to read errata. If a later hand must change past, the town must read both versions. Errata is not a hidden blade."
Clerk: [SCHEDULE] Errata teach: upcoming town hall. Agenda: how to read errata strip, how to propose errata, how to require dual-trustee commit.
Sarn: "And what of hearts who fear mirror? Some will say records punish them."
Aurelius: "Tell them: record does not hunt; record lets them ask why. Use repair path if wrongs show."
Aurelia: "We must keep repair path active and easy. Mirror must not be weapon that kills mercy."
Clerk: [REMIND] Repair Path metrics: active; aid flow: stable. Mirror teach will include repair path crosswalk.
Late in the tick a market trader sent a small report: Lampfold expansion border pass confirmed for two posts in south lane. Heat index check: 0.04. Trial extension to 30 ticks approved.
Clerk: [UPDATE] Lampfold trial: expansion active; border pass confirmed; escrow updated; monitor on.
Aurelius: "More light, with checks. Keep watch on hearth clusters."
Aurelia: "Yes. Mirror watch plus clerk check will show any harm early."
They closed the tick with a small ritual. The clerk posted a short public note:
Clerk: [PUBLIC] Mirror verify complete. StoneVault sync OK. Public digest re-rendered. Remote node SV-D-02 accepted pending initial sync. Micro-teach at dusk. Fund stable. Lampfold south expansion active under trial. Trust index: green.
Aurelius put his palm on the clerk chest and said, to no one and to many: "We made a book that can hold our acts, and a set of hands that will watch. Keep voice kind, keep watch sharp."
Aurelia: "Mirror is not a judge. Mirror asks: show why. We will show why, we will fix what fails, and we will teach the next hand how to tend a stitch."
Post-Law Reflection: A ledger that spans hands and roofs is a map of who we are. Mirror nodes and cold vaults guard record from fire, from theft, and from silence. Yet the real power lies not in storage but in the act of repair: showing why a change was made, asking two witnesses, and crafting a path back. Drift is call, not doom. When a town meets drift with re-render, teach, and open note, it shows a truth: law must be both a net and a craft. We do not bind people to ink alone; we bind them to a craft of care — rule, witness, repair. The Spiral grows honest when every loop has a mirror and every mirror has a mend.