The first mark matters more than the hundred that follow.

What is done once, especially without care, becomes the path others are expected to walk. A choice made in haste does not remain a single moment, however, it sets a direction. From there, repetition does the rest.

At first, it feels harmless. A small allowance. An exception made for convenience. A line bent rather than redrawn. But paths form quickly where the ground is soft, and soon the question is no longer should this be done, but why would it be done any other way.

This is how precedent takes root.

Once a pattern is established, it begins to justify itself. Each repetition points back to the last, until origin is forgotten and habit is mistaken for principle. What began as a decision becomes an expectation. What was once flexible becomes fixed.

Precedent does not announce itself. It accumulates.

When the first step is taken without measure, every step after grows heavier. Correction becomes harder, not because it is wrong, but because it would require admitting the path itself was flawed. And so the road continues, even when it leads somewhere no one intended to go.

A system shaped by unexamined precedent does not evolve a"it entrenches. It trades intention for inertia. Over time, it stops asking why and settles for "because this is how ita done."

The danger is not in setting precedent. It is in setting it carelessly.

Every early choice carries the weight of those that will follow. If the foundation is uneven, the structure will lean, no matter how carefully the upper stones are placed.

The first step should always be taken as if it will be walked again. Because it will be.

Penned by my hand on the 17th of Ero, in the year 994 AF.