To: Project Lead, *The Starfall Accord*
From: Lane, Line Editor, Crimson Leaf Publishing
Date: [Internal Log]
Subject: Line Editorial Review: Chapter 24

### 1. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **Distinct Voice Signatures:**
    *   **Dorian:** His "clinical mask" remains consistent. The use of "The evidence suggests" and "mathematical drift" maintains his analytical ice-mage persona even under duress. 
    *   **Mira:** Her "Actually. No." verbal tic is used effectively twice to signal her internal shifts in perspective and her refusal to accept the Council's framing.
    *   **Voice Differentiator:** YES. I can identify Dorian’s dialogue by its rhythmic, technical precision and Mira’s by her punchy, visceral metaphors.
*   **The Power Shift:** The moment where the Purifiers bow is an excellent non-verbal payoff for the arc. "They didn't bow to the gold or the Ministry; they bowed to the grey."
*   **Sensory Texture:** The description of the Ministry smelling like "ancient dust, cold gold, and the stagnant water of a bureaucracy" provides a sharp, needed contrast to the High Spire’s "rain or cedar."

### 2. MUST-FIX — CONTINUITY
*   **Item:** The character "High Inquisitor Malchor" is described as having "golden armor a ruin of dented plates and scorch marks." 
    *   **Error:** This implies a recent battle that was not depicted or referenced in the immediate lead-up to this Chapter 24 Ministry scene. If he was at the Starfall/Gala, his presence and subsequent damage need a brief anchor. 
    *   **Correction:** Add a half-clause referencing how he sustained this damage (e.g., "...marks earned during the Starfall resonance stabilization").
*   **Item:** The naming of the school.
    *   **Error:** Mira signs as "Chancellor of the Equilibrium," then the text refers to the "Solas-Pyre Academy." 
    *   **Correction:** Ensure the official title is consistent. If the school is now the "Equilibrium Arcanum," Malchor should use that name in his proclamation.

### 3. MUST-FIX — CLARITY
*   **Passage:** "Past and rot, Voss... you weren't just observing."
    *   **Problem:** "Past and rot" feels like an attempted swearing-equivalent/idiom that hasn't been established well enough to land with impact. It stutters the rhythm of a high-tension reveal.
    *   **Fix:** Replace with a more established Pyre-centric expletive or a visceral reaction. *SUGGESTED:* "Ash and cinder, Voss..." or "By the first flame..."
*   **Passage:** "...the same multi-tonal howl they had heard from the Steam Phoenix."
    *   **Problem:** This references a specific sound from an earlier chapter (likely the resonance incident), but "Steam Phoenix" is a high-concept term thrown in during a climax. 
    *   **Fix:** Briefly clarify the Phoenix's nature or replace with "the resonance scream of the failed integration."

### 4. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **Rhythm/Economy:** ORIGINAL: "The High Spire balcony was already behind them, a memory of wind and moonlight, but the heat of Dorian’s mouth still felt like a brand against her own." → SUGGESTED: "The High Spire was a memory of wind and moonlight, but the heat of Dorian’s mouth remained a brand against her own." *Rationale: "Already behind them" is filler; "remained" creates a stronger temporal link.*
*   **Adverb Audit:** "Voss... shouting... his face turning a shade of purple that Mira found quite satisfying." → SUGGESTED: Remove "quite." *Rationale: "Satisfying" is a strong adjective; "quite" dilutes the punch.*
*   **Dialogue Tag:** "Voss shrieked, his oily mask finally disintegrating into raw, bureaucratic madness." → SUGGESTED: "Voss shrieked, the oily mask of the bureaucrat finally disintegrating." *Rationale: "Bureaucratic madness" is a slightly clunky noun-adjective pairing.*

### 5. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **Do not remove** Mira’s "Actually. No." interruptions. These are her definitive character signature and mark her agency throughout the chapter.
*   **Do not smooth out** Dorian’s "The evidence suggests" habit. Even in the final romantic beat, it is essential that he loves her *as* a logician, not by abandoning his nature.
*   **Do not soften** the technical jargon (somatic scan, mana-void, kinetic agency). This is an "AI-native content studio" product; the "tech-fantasy" blend is part of the brand.

### 6. VERDICT: REVISE
The chapter is structurally sound and the character voices are excellent, but the continuity regarding Malchor’s damaged armor and the muddy "Past and rot" idiom require a quick cleanup to maintain professional polish.