diff --git a/src/Cursor/Criteria.php b/src/Cursor/Criteria.php
index b8cfa15..bff13c4 100644
--- a/src/Cursor/Criteria.php
+++ b/src/Cursor/Criteria.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Comparison;
+use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Exceptions\CursorIsInvalid;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Exceptions\FilterExpressionIsInvalid;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Exceptions\FilterFieldNotAllowed;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Exceptions\FilterOperatorNotAllowed;
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Exceptions\SortIsRequired;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Filter;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Internal\Query;
+use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Order;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Schema;
 use TinyBlocks\HttpQuery\Sort;
 
@@ -42,8 +44,10 @@ private function __construct(
     /**
      * Creates a Criteria from the schema and the request.
      *
-     * <p>It parses the request query string and validates it against the schema. The pagination
-     * always carries the incoming cursor token and the page size.</p>
+     * <p>It parses the request query string and validates it against the schema, the incoming cursor
+     * included: a token that cannot be decoded into one value per effective sort order is rejected
+     * here, and never later while the seek is being built. The pagination always carries the
+     * incoming cursor token and the page size.</p>
      *
      * @param Schema $schema The query contract the request is validated against.
      * @param ServerRequestInterface $request The incoming PSR-7 server request.
@@ -56,11 +60,15 @@ private function __construct(
      * @throws FilterOperatorNotAllowed If a comparison uses an operator not allowed for its field.
      * @throws FilterValueNotAllowed If a compared value falls outside the permitted set or kind.
      * @throws SortFieldNotAllowed If the sort orders by a field that was never declared sortable.
+     * @throws CursorIsInvalid If the incoming cursor cannot be decoded into one value per sort order.
      */
     public static function fromQuery(Schema $schema, ServerRequestInterface $request): Criteria
     {
         $query = Query::from(schema: $schema, request: $request);
         $cursor = Token::from(token: $query->cursorToken());
+        $fields = array_map(static fn(Order $order): string => $order->field(), $query->sort()->orders());
+
+        $cursor->keyedBy(fields: $fields);
 
         return new Criteria(
             sort: $query->sort(),
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Cursor/KeysetTest.php b/tests/Unit/Cursor/KeysetTest.php
index 1edf869..c66a8aa 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Cursor/KeysetTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Cursor/KeysetTest.php
@@ -125,24 +125,36 @@ public function testCursorWhenIncomingCursorGivenThenKeysValuesBySortField(): vo
         self::assertSame(['created_at' => '2023-01-15T10:30:00Z', 'id' => 5], $cursor);
     }
 
-    public function testCursorWhenDecodedCountMismatchesThenThrowsCursorIsInvalid(): void
+    public function testCriteriaWhenDecodedCountMismatchesThenThrowsCursorIsInvalid(): void
     {
         /** @Given an opaque token carrying a single key value */
         $token = Token::fromKeys(keys: [5])->toString();
 
-        /** @And a keyset view whose sort carries two fields */
-        $keyset = Criteria::fromQuery(
-            schema: $this->schema,
-            request: Query::from(
-                parameters: ['sort' => 'created_at,id', 'page' => ['cursor' => $token, 'size' => '2']]
-            )
-        )->keyset();
+        /** @And a request whose sort carries two fields */
+        $request = Query::from(
+            parameters: ['sort' => 'created_at,id', 'page' => ['cursor' => $token, 'size' => '2']]
+        );
 
         /** @Then an exception indicating the cursor is invalid is raised */
         $this->expectException(CursorIsInvalid::class);
 
-        /** @When reading the incoming cursor key values */
-        $keyset->cursor();
+        /** @When the criteria is parsed from the request */
+        Criteria::fromQuery(schema: $this->schema, request: $request);
+    }
+
+    public function testCriteriaWhenTokenCannotBeDecodedThenThrowsCursorIsInvalid(): void
+    {
+        /** @Given a request carrying a token that never came out of the codec */
+        $request = Query::from(
+            parameters: ['sort' => 'created_at,id', 'page' => ['cursor' => 'not-a-cursor', 'size' => '2']]
+        );
+
+        /** @Then an exception indicating the cursor is invalid is raised */
+        $this->expectException(CursorIsInvalid::class);
+        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Cursor token <not-a-cursor> is invalid and could not be decoded.');
+
+        /** @When the criteria is parsed from the request */
+        Criteria::fromQuery(schema: $this->schema, request: $request);
     }
 
     public function testConstructorWhenInvokedThroughReflectionThenInstantiatesTheStaticOnlySortKeys(): void