The watchers do not announce themselves.
That is the first rule they never write down.
They arrive quietly, slipping into the spaces between decisions rather than standing at their centers. They do not wear symbols or carry authority. They have no mandate beyond attention, no power beyond presence.
They are not leaders.
They are awake.
The first watcher in the Unplaced City is an older woman named Irena who once kept records for a shrine that no longer exists. She does not miss the ritual. She misses the habit of looking closely.
She begins by walking.
Every morning, she takes the same route through the city. She notes which doors stay closed longer than usual. Which stalls stop opening. Which streets grow quieter.
She does not intervene.
She asks questions.
“Why isn’t anyone sel
