"In our endless quest to map and understand this shattered world, we Cartographers have developed the practice of compiling Datalogs - comprehensive records that capture the essence of places, peoples, and phenomena we encounter. These are not mere dry accounts or simple maps. Each Datalog is a window into the brutal reality of our time, combining first-hand observations, survivor accounts, and carefully verified intelligence.

I've spent decades teaching apprentices the art of crafting these records. A proper Datalog must make the reader feel the toxic wind on their face, taste the metallic tang of irradiated rain, hear the screams of mutants echoing across the mud plains. Through our words, future generations must understand not just what exists in this desolation, but how it feels to exist within it.

The importance of these records cannot be overstated. In a world where knowledge dies with its keeper, where entire settlements can vanish overnight into the hungry mud, our Datalogs may be all that remains to tell their tales. Each one represents countless risks taken by our field agents, many of whom paid with their lives to bring back these vital accounts.

My apprentice Inks insists that compiling Datalogs is not just about recording facts - it's about preserving humanity's story in all its horror and hope. Perhaps she's right. In these dark times, even our records must remind people that there's more to survival than just staying alive."

• Internal Guild Reference Document
  By Master Marek, Senior Cartographer
  Day 5 of The Hunger, 125 AP

He'd never admit it, but I think he’s proud of my observation! - Inks