Incident Report
Date: 37th Day of New Blooms, 1386th Year of Understanding
Location: Aqueduct District, Darksoil
Recorded by: Seeker Star-View
Key Participants: Seeker Star-View, Guardian Silent-Wing, Scholar Ink-Talon, unnamed gray squirrel kit
Guardian Silent-Wing and I were dispatched from the College to track and detain Scholar Ink-Talon, who had escaped into the city unsupervised in defiance of Consensus-backed orders from the Lead Guardian. As we left, we were also asked to find a gray squirrel kit by its mother, another of the of the detained afflicted. We were under no obligation to, but I agreed to try. Guardian Silent-Wing was resistant to the idea, but relented when I pointed out that the most likely place for the kit to have gone was also the first place we were going to search for Ink-Talon.
The Guardians in charge of monitoring the detainees confirmed that the only person to have left the premises with any luggage or cargo was Scribe Swift-Paw, and while they were incredibly defensive about how thorough their searches were, they eventually admitted that the had briefly left the Scribe’s bags unattended where they could hypothetically be accessed after they had already been inspected.
We arrived at Scribe Swift-Paw’s recently acquired home well after sunset. When we inquired about the missing creatures, the raccoon was quick to confirm that they were both there. The kit had indeed found its way into the Scribe’s bags when no one was looking, and Ink-Talon had independently arrived not long before we did. Ink-Talon had apparently requested a safe shelter, while Swift-Paw had instructed Ink-Talon to return to the College and was attempting to convince the kit to go with it.
Ink-Talon did not surrender, and the kit joined it as it also refused to go back. The crow took flight with the squirrel as a passenger, forcing us to begin pursuit. Thankfully, tracking the crow’s attempts at evading notice was not difficult, given the disparity between our nocturnal senses and its own.
It was at this point that Guardian Silent-Wing began behaving recklessly. I do not know the specifics of a Guardian’s training, but I have worked with them to track fugitives enough to know that non-violent subjects are almost always detained with the least amount of force necessary. We had the advantage in both stamina and senses, and could have simply waited for the crow to tire. In my opinion, directly attacking Ink-Talon in any way other than attempting to force a landing was unnecessary at best, and Silent-Wing did so with clear intent to harm.
From this point onward, it is my opinion that Scholar Ink-Talon was acting in self-defense. This does not excuse its actions, nor justify the nature of its reprisal, but if Guardian Silent-Wing had not escalated the situation, then we should have been able to end things without anyone coming to harm.
Attempts to force Ink-Talon to land were successful, and it was clear that it would not be able to continue flying evasively for much longer, if at all. Silent-Wing had landed nearby, and finally seemed content to wait for its target to tire rather than continue attacking. I took position on a nearby rooftop to make sure it could not escape if it managed to elude Silent-Wing on the ground.
Three things then happened in quick succession: Rightfully threatened by Silent-Wing’s assaults, Ink-Talon first demanded that the Guardian stand down, threatening violence if it did not. Then. Silent-Wing refused to do so and instead continued to make unsubtle threats of its own. Finally, Ink-Talon attacked the owl, effortlessly overwhelming it and crippling one of its wings with terrible efficiency. I rushed to Silent-Wing’s aid, unable to immediately comprehend what had just happened, and declined to continue chasing after the fugitive. I can only assume that the Scholar has a yet-unknown level of precision in its Attunement that allowed for such a feat, but I cannot fathom what its nature may be, given what we were told about it ahead of time.
It is currently unknown if Guardian Silent-Wing will ever be able to return to duty. Even once it is done healing, it will likely never be able to undergo non-trivial flight without pain. I cannot begin to imagine what kind of thought process led to Ink-Talon’s choice of attack, but it was not a rational one. Deliberately inflicting such an injury on a fellow avian, knowing full well how important flight is to each of us born with the capability… It is a horrific act of cruelty. One that I cannot abide and will never forgive.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
However, it is clear that this cruelty was not inflicted for cruelty’s sake. At every turn, Scholar Ink-Talon was made to think that its life was in danger, and I saw only regret in its expressions as it fled. If at any point Guardian Silent-Wing had reigned in its behavior, then I am certain that this would never have been the outcome. For all of its talk of the danger the afflicted supposedly posed, the only one presenting any unprovoked danger that night was itself.
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(Excerpt from a frequently updated list of “problem individuals” posted in Darksoil, copies of which are placed around the city and sent to nearby settlements)
Scholar Ink-Talon
Species: Black Crow
Identifying Traits: Precision-based bodily Attunement, suffers from the yet-unexplained “Border Forest Affliction,” wears a custom-made woven breast satchel, last seen traveling with a juvenile gray squirrel kit.
Alleged Wrongdoing: Disobeyed confinement orders given by Consensus, fled Seeker and Guardian sent to detain, and assaulted the Guardian, inflicting grievous and permanent bodily harm.
Instructions: The individual is to be detained if at all possible, and is considered dangerous to directly confront. Do not engage with the individual socially, and report any sightings to the nearest Guardian, Seeker, or Messenger capable of informing one. Once detained and returned to Darksoil, it will be kept under much stricter confinement and assessed for mental and moral fitness.
Crafter Blended-Technique
Species: Pouched Rat
Identifying Traits: Dark gray fur, bald patch on left flank, missing piece of left ear.
Alleged Wrongdoing: Promising customized tools for two different patrons while only having the materials procured to build one, then made use of sub-par substitutes in both creations that rendered both objects unsafe to use for their intended purposes and resulting in minor injuries.
Instructions: The individual is prohibited from practicing its trade until it meets with its victims and an Arbitrator to reach a Consensus on its wrongdoing and potential recompense. Refusal to cooperate will result in more severe consequences and judgements.
Surveyor Forward-Strive
Species: Woodland Rattlesnake
Identifying Traits: Reddish-brown head and dorsal scales, black and gray stripes. Distinctive parallel scars on top of head, also suffers from the “Border Forest Affliction.”
Alleged Wrongdoing: Attacked and fatally envenomed Scholar Simple-Path after being struck by the affliction while returning from a survey. Fled from witnesses, and has not been sighted since.
Instructions: Report sightings of unfamiliar snakes immediately and take similar precautions to a feral predator. Do not assume rational behavior and do not approach, as the individual’s behavior was extremely erratic both before and after the attack. Guardians have orders to detain the individual only if it is safe to do so, and that the lives of others are to take priority if violence is deemed necessary.
Unknown Vandal
Species: Unknown
Identifying Traits: Artistic talent, capable of reaching the tops of high walls through either body size or climbing ability.
Alleged Wrongdoing: Vandalizing public signage with colorful paints and-
(The remainder of the list has been rendered unreadable by bright, intricate swirls of orange and yellow paint, clearly intending to finish the above statement in a contradictory manner)
-and making sure the people of this city remember that there is more to this world than black dirt and white stone. That “stability” and “order” benefit most those who already have power. That static hierarchies need not exist. The world exists on a spectrum of possibilities, in the same way that colors do. If you perceive a limit to your own, ask yourself this:
Who does that limit serve?