**To: Crimson Leaf Publishing Editorial Team**
**From: Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor**
**Date: October 24, 2023**
**Subject: Continuity & Fact-Check Review – Ch. 03: "Thermodynamics and Floor Plans"**

The world of *The Starfall Accord* is expanding its physical and magical boundaries. My job is to ensure that every floor plan, burn mark, and tether-pulse aligns with the foundation we poured in Chapters 1 and 2. While the "somatic bleed" adds a compelling layer to the magic system, there are specific spatial and environmental facts that require immediate correction to prevent the narrative from drifting into "soft-magic" ambiguity.

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### 1. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **The Physical Manifestation of the Link:** The "somatic bleed"—where Mira’s heat causes Dorian’s water to boil and his ice grounds her fire—is a brilliant anchoring of the magic rules established in Ch. 01. Specifically, the line: *"It was as if he were grounding her fire into his own ice. For a heartbeat, the temperature in her blood was perfect."* This must be preserved as it defines the "equal and opposite" rule of their Union.
*   **Tactile Environmental Contrast:** The description of the neutrality lattice as a *"fifty-fifty split of air that tasted like neither summer nor winter"* maintains the sensory consistency of the world-building established in the prologue.
*   **Consistent Character Tics:** Dorian’s obsession with "fiscal reality" and "logistics" maintains his character arc from Ch. 02, where he was introduced as the colder, more structured counterpart to Mira’s kinetic impulsivity.

### 2. MUST-FIX — CONTINUITY
*   **ERROR: The Location of the Breach.**
    *   **Context:** Ch. 01/02 established that the Union involves the two schools merging at a neutral site or the bridge. However, in Ch. 03, Mira says: *"The East Wing catches the first thermal drafts from the caldera. My students need that... You can't just shove them into the basement because your scholars want a view of the frost-peaks."* 
    *   **The Flag:** Ch. 01 established the Pyre (volcano) and the Spire (frost-peaks) are miles apart, separated by the bridge. If they are currently integrated into one building (the Sanctum), the "view of the frost-peaks" and the "caldera drafts" cannot both be physically immediate unless the school is magically positioned between both biomes.
    *   **Correction:** Clarify if the "integrated housing" is a new construction at the midpoint or if they are magically folding space. Dorian should refer to the "Frost-peak scrying mirrors" or "conduits" rather than a literal "view" if they are physically at the Pyre.
*   **ERROR: The Nature of the Binding.**
    *   **Context:** Ch. 03 states: *"The tether—the Founder’s Binding they had signed in blood on the bridge—tugged at her center."*
    *   **The Flag:** In Ch. 02, it was established that the Binding was an *Imperial Decree* signed with ink/seal. Ch. 03 suddenly introduces a "blood" component and a "Founder’s Binding." 
    *   **Correction:** Revert to the Imperial Accord. Moving to "blood magic" changes the political stakes to ancient/mystical stakes without prior setup. Stick to the legal/Imperial nature of the tether established in Ch. 02.
*   **ERROR: Timeline of the Burn.**
    *   **Context:** Dorian stares at his cuff: *"The scorch mark from the night before was small..."*
    *   **The Flag:** Ch. 02 ended with them parting ways after the first meeting. There was no "night before" interaction described where Mira burned him. 
    *   **Correction:** Either add a brief flashback or change the dialogue to reflect that she scorched it *just now* when her "pulse spiked" at the beginning of the scene.

### 3. MUST-FIX — CLARITY
*   **POV Bleed/Omniscience:**
    *   **Passage:** *"Mira watched... as the water inside the carafe began to vibrate... Dorian let out a sharp, indrawn breath."* vs. *"She didn't just feel his pain... she felt his restraint. She felt the crushing, mountainous weight of his duty."*
    *   **The Fix:** We need to explicitly state that the *tether* is granting her this telepathic/empathetic insight. Without a clear "the tether pulsed, shoving his thoughts into her mind" beat, it reads like an accidental shift into Dorian’s POV.
*   **Spatial Layout of the Sanctum:**
    *   **Passage:** Mira is at her desk, Dorian is across the lattice, then they move to a drafting table.
    *   **The Fix:** Clarify if the drafting table is *inside* the neutrality lattice or if moving to it requires them to cross the barrier. The "68-degree" neutrality is a major plot point; we need to know exactly when they leave that "safe" zone to touch.

### 4. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **The Iron Carafe (Optional):** Dorian suggests an iron carafe to prevent shattering. Given Mira is a fire/kinetic mage, iron conducts heat. A suggestion for increased "science" logic: Have Dorian suggest *lead-lined* or *obsidian* to dampen the magical "static" rather than iron, which would just get hot.
*   **The Student Brawl (Optional):** The mention of the "fire-breather" in the dining hall is a great world-building beat. It would be stronger if we knew if this dining hall is at the Pyre or the Spire to understand which student body is the "invader."

### 5. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **Do not remove the "68 degrees" mention.** While specific, it establishes the clinical, suffocating nature of their forced cooperation. It is a vital world-rule fact.
*   **Do not soften Mira's temper.** Her "scorching" his sleeve as a reaction to "fiscal reality" is consistent with her established kinetic personality.

### 6. VERDICT

**REVISE**
(The "blood binding" vs. "Imperial Decree" contradiction and the timeline of the "night before" burn are major continuity flags that will confuse readers tracking the logistics of the Accord.)