**TO:** Genesis Editorial Team / Project: The Starfall Accord
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
**RE:** Chapter 13: The Mid-Winter Gala – Continuity Audit

The narrative has reached the climax of the "Grey Synthesis" arc. While the emotional resonance is high, several critical physical and historical facts established in Chapters 04, 08, 09, and the Ch-13 Character State are being contradicted or blurred.

### 1. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **The "Grey" Uniformity:** The transition of the aesthetic from red/blue to "charcoal-grey silk" and "mercury-grey" light (as established in the Ch-13 World State) is maintained perfectly.
*   **Dorian’s Restoration:** The description of his right hand as "whole" and "pink and steady" (Ch-13 Character State) is correctly reflected: *"His right hand... rested steadily at his side. He looked whole."*
*   **The "Hearth" Metaphor:** Mira's internal state matches the Ch-13 Character State ("internal heat stabilized as a 'hearth'"): *"My internal heat didn't roar anymore; it hummed. It was a stabilized kiln..."*
*   **Voice Signatures:**
    *   **Dorian:** YES. His reliance on "The evidence suggests," "suboptimal," and "data" remains his distinct mathematical signature.
    *   **Mira:** YES. Her use of "Actually. No." and "Obviously" are preserved as her corrective/defensive tics.
    *   **Voss:** YES. His condescension and "stagnant water" sensory profile are consistent with Ch-13 NPC Memory.

### 2. MUST-FIX — CONTINUITY
*   **The Deceased Conflict (Aric vs. Kaelen):**
    *   **The Error:** The text says, *"Next to it stood the empty Aric Pyre Chair... This was the heart of the school now... Kaelen was gone. Aric was gone."* Later, it claims Aric was "the boy who had died to prove that fire shouldn't fear the ice."
    *   **The Chapter Contrast:** Chapter 04 established Aric died saving Mira. Chapter 09 established **Kaelen** collapsed the Obsidian Bridge and is the "moral center of the new Union." More importantly, the **Ch-13 World State** explicitly lists Aric's empty chair in the Great Hall, but Chapter 09 and the Character State for Elara establish that **Kaelen** is the one whose loss defines the current military/warden transition. The text treats Aric as the primary recent loss, whereas Kaelen’s death (Ch-09) is the more immediate "unsolvable" variable for the current union.
    *   **Correction:** Ensure the "unsolvable variable" dialogue refers to Kaelen, or explicitly balance the two sacrifices. Mirror the World State: Aric’s chair is the "highest honor," but Kaelen’s "scorched patch on the rug" (Ch-09) is the "moral center."

*   **The Scar Location:**
    *   **The Error:** *"The right-hand palm scar... was now a faint, silvery line."*
    *   **The Chapter Contrast:** Chapter 08 established that Mira and Dorian bled onto the Accord, but Dorian's *right* hand was ruined by frostbite/exhaustion. Mira’s primary injuries in Ch-04/Ch-08 were not localized solely to the right palm. Additionally, Dorian’s right hand was restored (Ch-13 State), but the text attributes the "silvery line" to Mira's palm.
    *   **Correction:** Verify if this scar is from the Ch-08 blood pact. If so, it should be on the hand used for the oath. If it’s a new "somatic" manifestation, it needs a Ch-12 anchor.

*   **Separation Rules:**
    *   **The Error:** *"The fifteen-foot rule was a legal relic... the somatic pain of separation had dissolved."*
    *   **The Chapter Contrast:** Chapter 08 established the "death-pact" encoded by the founders. While the *pain* may have dissolved due to the Grey synthesis, the "Correction Clause" and "death-pact" (Ch-08/Ch-13 secrets) are still active threats.
    *   **Correction:** Clarify that the rule is legally dead but the *metaphysical* risk (the death-pact secret) remains an unresolved "open loop" in the RAG database.

### 3. MUST-FIX — CLARITY
*   **The Outcome of the Audit:**
    *   **The Passage:** *"The audit will reflect this... irregularity," Voss stammered...*
    *   **The Issue:** The Ch-13 Character State says Dorian **PAID** his obligation to defend Mira’s status. However, the chapter ends with Voss threatening that the audit will reflect an "irregularity."
    *   **The Fix:** To align with the "PAID" status in the tracker, the scene needs to conclude with Voss’s retreat being a definitive political defeat for the *current* session, even if he plans future legal retaliation. The text does this well, but the final "grievance" dialogue in the balcony scene should acknowledge that Mira’s status is currently secure.

### 4. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **The Silk Looms (Optional):** The mention of "Solas-Pyre weaving looms" is a great world-building touch. It would be stronger if it explicitly referenced the blending of fire-heated silkworm casings and ice-pressed silver thread to explain the "structural" difficulty Mira experiences.
*   **Voss's Exit (Optional):** The "rats fleeing a rising tide" is a bit cliché for this high-tier prose. Given Voss’s "stagnant water" scent, a metaphor involving "evaporation" or "reeding" might fit the sensory profile better.

### 5. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **Character Tics:** Do NOT remove Mira’s "Actually. No." or "Obviously." These are established voice signatures.
*   **Technical Jargon:** Do NOT simplify sentences like "somatic equilibrium," "kinetic agency," or "stabilization lattices." These are part of the "Academic Rival" genre authority established for this project.
*   **The "Grey" Lighting:** Do NOT change the permanent mercury sky back to blue/red; the Starfall settlement (Ch-09/Ch-13) is a permanent world-state change.

### 6. VERDICT

**REVISE**
(Flags: Contradiction regarding Aric/Kaelen’s "unsolvable" status and specific legacy honors from Ch-04/09).