Travellers returning from the Crypt of the Autonomous Scribes spoke of a creature whose silhouette seemed to reorganise the skyline behind it. The Gilded Caladrius, as it came to be known, is composed of fire & gold arranged in configurations that suggest intelligence — or at minimum, aesthetic intent. This illuminated manuscript depiction was commissioned by a patron who believed that owning the image conferred protection from the creature's more destabilising effects.
