### 1. PROSE EVIDENCE
*   **Quote 1 (Early):** "In the Inner Sanctum, the air did not behave like air; it had the viscosity of cool spring water, thick with the scent of crushed needles and ancient, drying loam."
    *   *Commentary:* This effectively establishes the sensory "otherness" of the Sanctum while maintaining the tactile nature of Elara’s perceptions.
*   **Quote 2 (Mid):** "He raised a hand, and thorny vines, slick with oily blight-mucus, erupted from the floor to entwine around Kaelen’s boots."
    *   *Commentary:* This provides a visceral, kinesthetic image of Thorne’s magic that contrasts well with the "pure" light of the Sanctum.
*   **Quote 3 (Mid):** "The Blight within him was being forcefully recycled while he was still using it."
    *   *Commentary:* This is a conceptually strong image, but the phrasing "while he was still using it" feels slightly clunky and clinical compared to the surrounding lyrical prose.
*   **Quote 4 (Late):** "The Sunstone dust sparkled in his hair like frost. Elara knelt beside him, her damp clothing tracking mud onto the stone."
    *   *Commentary:* This successfully grounds the metaphysical climax back into the physical cost, utilizing Elara’s established environmental habits.

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### 2. CHARACTER VOICE AUDIT

**ELARA VANCE**
*   **Quote:** "The falls whisper... what the roots already know. Debt binds us deeper than stone. Kaelen, I... I flow... I failed."
*   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Uses "By the roots" earlier in the chapter and "The falls whisper..." which is her specific resonance line.
*   **Forbidden Patterns:** YES. Avoids slang; maintains a rhythmic, measured cadence.
*   **Emotional Register:** YES. She is "swaying like mist-shrouded reeds" and spiritually depleted, which triggers her water-metaphor stammer.
*   **Constraint Check:** "I... I flow... I failed." matches her Imperfection Signature ("stammers with water-related metaphors when spiritually drained").

**THORNE BLACKROOT**
*   **Quote:** "Hark, can you hear it? Your life-blood is merely fertilizer for the true master of this wood."
*   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Uses "Hark" and "the roots remember."
*   **Forbidden Patterns:** YES. He remains arrogant and vengeful, offering no apologies.
*   **Emotional Register:** YES. His "blind, desperate rage" is evident as he attempts to seize the power by force.

**KAELEN**
*   **Quote:** "Not... yet... For the forest. For her."
*   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. His speech is "fragmented and urgent" consistent with severe blood loss.
*   **Emotional Register:** YES. He exhibits the "grim peace" of a life-debt paid.

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### 3. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **Tactile Perceptions:** The focus on textures—"silver-white mass of scar tissue," "crushed needles," and "damp clothing tracking mud"—strongly maintains Elara's voice signature.
*   **The World State integration:** The chapter successfully executes the transition described in the RAG context: "The raw power of the Great Weave's restoration has eclipsed [The Council's] political standing."
*   **Symbolic Continuity:** The use of the Sunstone Shard's destruction as a grounding mechanism for the ritual is a satisfying resolution to the item's arc.

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### 4. MUST-FIX -- CONTINUITY
*   **ORIGINAL:** "The Sunstone shard burning with the last of its stolen sun."
*   **PROBLEM:** The World State / Canon Artifacts section explicitly states the Sunstone Shard was "Used to ground the threshold." However, in the scene, Kaelen is still holding it and even "slammed it into the ground" after the ritual is well underway. Per the RAG, the Heart-Root reawakening "actively shielding the Sanctum" should happen via the Forest Spirits/Silence, but the text attributes the blast primarily to Kaelen's physical stone.
*   **FIX:** "He gripped the Sunstone Shard—already fracturing as it funneled the Sanctum's resonant shielding—and pressed his hand to the anchoring stone. The shard's remaining light bled into the floor, reinforcing the Heavy Silence of the spirits."

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### 5. MUST-FIX -- CLARITY
*   **ORIGINAL:** "The Blight-Storm was gone, pulled into the roots and rendered inert."
*   **PROBLEM:** This contradicts the final paragraphs ("There, in the depths... a new shadow... the forest had changed the Blight, but the Blight had also changed the forest"). Using the word "inert" suggests the threat is dead, making the ending "ripple" feel like a contradiction rather than a reveal.
*   **FIX:** "The Blight-Storm's roar vanished, its chaotic energy forced into the roots to be broken and reshaped."

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### 6. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **Clarification of Kaelen's Status (End):**
    *   **Quote:** "Kaelen lay there. He was still..."
    *   **Suggestion:** The RAG context notes for Kaelen’s Arc state "Permanent: NO" (indicating he might die/leave) but his Physical state says "collapsed against the anchoring stone as the light fades." The prose is very funeral-like ("Sunstone dust sparkled in his hair like frost"). If he is intended to survive for future chapters, Elara should check for a pulse or "the faint rhythm of a struggling heart" to avoid misleading the reader into thinking he is 100% deceased.

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### 7. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **Do not "clean up" Elara's stammer:** "I... I flow... no, I mean falter" is a vital imperfection signature for her character when depleted.
*   **Do not remove the "messy" ending:** Elara tracking mud into the sanctum is an established "Physical habit or tell" from her character sheet.
*   **Do not modernize Thorne’s dialogue:** His use of "Hark" and "rend your bones" is consistent with his "elaborate metaphors" and "clipped commands" profile.

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### 8. VERDICT
**REVISE**
**SCORE: 82**
**Justification:** The chapter is tonally and vocally excellent, adhering closely to the provided character signatures. However, there are two "MUST-FIX" items: a continuity discrepancy regarding exactly when/how the Sunstone Shard grounds the threshold vs. its "stolen sun" usage, and a clarity issue regarding the "inert" nature of the blight which weakens the impact of the final "eye" reveal.