Pruners: Fact or Fiction?

Mention the "Pruners" to any of the Children and they'll laugh in your face. They'll tell you that the supposed radical sect of their organization are nothing but fictional characters who live nowhere else but within tales designed to scare young spuds into doing what they're told. But are they fictional or in fact are they true?

While it's true that most would scoff at the notion of a eugenic, murderous sect appearing within the normally ethical and organized lot that is the Empress' Children, evidence suggests that such a group existed at one time. Over a decade ago, an entire village of spuds was wiped out in a single night. The lone survivor. a young boy spoke of strange figures emerging from the darkness of night to attack, villagers one by one dying suddenly or vanishing, children gone without a trace and of purple flames consuming the villagers' homes. The child was taken to Spudican for care, but mysteriously died only a day after he arrived.

Rumors circulated around the Republic for years but any traces of the attackers proved impossible to track. Then the most unlikely of sources, a prisoner incarcerated within the Eternal Vault, claimed that it was the mark of a group of Children who called themselves the Pruners. When pressed for more information, the prisoner claimed that the Pruners were vengeful agents of purity and performed acts of murder on those they deemed impure. He claimed his source was someone he knew within the Children, but he refused to identify them by name, so his story was quickly dismissed.

The second piece of evidence pointing to the existence of the Pruners exists to this day just outside of Riss' Crossing. Discovered at the end of a short pathway off of the main road stands a stone of unidentified dark stone. Carved into its face is the etchings of a strange halo like crest. To those that subscribed to the existence of the terrifying Pruners, this was thought to be some sort of a meeting place. To others, this symbol was once again dismissed as a hoax or simply another example of the Green Men' effigies and their pagan ways.

The final, and most controversial sample of evidence is a passage found scrawled on the inside of a cell wall on Spudican. The cell had previously been occupied by a spud named Lean was incarcerated for murder and was set for execution. After his execution, and Lean's cell was examined, the following was found etched into one of the stone blocks:

"Take me Potatonomicon, for it's my will to serve the Truth. As a Pruner, I'm born anew as an agent of righteous fate. Let the impure be purged, so the cycle of renewal may continue."

The unusual nature of the passage, the religious connotations towards this Potatonomicon, a dread artifact that old spud legends described as a grimoire linked with otherwordly powers and times of great misfortune, kept discussions lively for years regarding the possibility of this group actually existing. Sadly, since not a single piece of evidence beyond this has surfaced to date, this exciting discovery faded into obscurity and the debate subsided.

All we're left with are more questions than answers. Does the have active agents roaming the universe with a no-doubt nefarious purpose? What is the link to this Potatonomicon? Is it real? Does the Children have extensive knowledge of the Pruners, but remain sworn to secrecy? Perhaps one day the answers to these questions will be revealed, but at present it falls to you, the reader, to decide whether the Pruners are fact or merely fiction.