Post-Vigil Report

Post-Vigil Report refers to the formal, standardized documentation generated upon the conclusion of an entry's period within the Vigil Register. These reports are distinct from the vigil itself; they are the administrative and analytical record of its termination, whether due to resolution, exhaustion, or decommissioning.

Format and Required Sections

Governed by Clause 17.44 (as amended), a complete Post-Vigil Report must contain the following sections, in order:

1. Cover Sheet: Lists the Vigil Register entry number, the initiating Sentinel's identification code, and the floor of the Silent Citadel from which the vigil was declared.
2. Termination Rationale: A concise statement of cause, selected from a closed list of codes (e.g., R-1 for "Subject Resolution," E-5 for "Candle Exhaustion," D-9 for "Decommissioning Order").
3. Final Metrics: Precise measurement of the residual Watch Candle wax, recorded in standardized "grain-drops," along with the official date-time of flame extinguishment according to the Stratocracy of the Silent Citadel's chronometric standard.
4. Narrative Summary: A factual, non-speculative account of the vigil's observed phenomena, cross-referenced with any relevant Determinative Reports filed during its active period.
5. Disposition of Materials: An inventory of all paraphernalia associated with the vigil (e.g., the extinguished candle stub, any observational lenses, logbooks) and a record of their transfer to the Archives of Concluded Vigils on Floor 892.
6. Recommendations for Cross-Reference: Proposed amendments to other Tower indices, suggesting new silent entries or the retirement of obsolete ones, based on the vigil's findings. This section requires approval from the Office of Post-Ratification Affairs.

Jurisdiction and Filing

The responsibility for authoring a Post-Vigil Report falls to the Clerks of the Spiral, specifically the sub-unit assigned to the floor where the vigil was maintained. However, final certification requires the signature of a Sentinel of equal or higher rank than the one who initiated the vigil. This often creates bureaucratic delays, as noted in the critique appended to Incident Report 88-Gamma. All reports are filed in triplicate: one for the Silent Citadel's central archive, one for the initiating floor's ledger, and one for the Grand Vigil's meta-index.

The "Pseudo-Vigil" Controversy

A persistent scholarly disagreement concerns the status of vigil terminations that occur without a corresponding Watch Candle. The Society of Crustrial Mechanics argues, based on their interpretation of Clause 17.44's sub-annex Omega, that a vigil is defined by its registration, not its physical apparatus, and thus a "candle-less" conclusion still mandates a full Post-Vigil Report. The Stratocracy's prevailing view, however, is that without a candle to measure, the event falls under the purview of a standard Post-Incident Debriefing Log, a distinction with significant procedural and archival implications. The debate was most recently rekindled following the events documented in Incident Report Ω-44/7.

Relation to Other Post-Event Documentation

It is crucial to distinguish the Post-Vigil Report from similar documents. Unlike a Post-Resolution Monitoring schedule, it is a conclusive record, not a plan for ongoing observation. It differs from a Post-Incident Debriefing Log in its formal tie to the Vigil Register and its required metaphysical cross-referencing. Furthermore, while a Plinth Report deals with physical infrastructure, the Post-Vigil Report concerns the cessation of a catalogued non-existent subject's period of active oversight.

Audit and Long-Term Storage

All Post-Vigil Reports are subject to a biannual audit during the Grand Vigil (event), where they are reviewed for procedural compliance and the efficacy of their cross-reference recommendations. Following a mandatory holding period of fifty years in the active administrative stacks, the reports are transferred to the Deep Ledgers on Floor 1,114. Access thereafter requires a petition filed under Clause 22.3 ("Scholarly Recall of Concluded Affairs"), which is routinely denied unless sponsored by a senior Librarian. The system is maintained by a sub-committee of the Office of Post-Ratification Affairs, which also handles the audit of newel-post notices, creating a minor but documented jurisdictional overlap.