**TO:** Editorial Lead
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
**RE:** Continuity Review – Chapter 09 (“The Secret Alliance”)

I have reviewed the manuscript for Chapter 09. While the narrative tension is high, I am flagging several critical continuity disruptions regarding the world's established timeline and the characters' backstories. My mandate is the preservation of the "Starfall Accord" canon, and this chapter takes significant liberties with the established history of our protagonists.

### 1. STRENGTHS (Continuity Wins)
*   **Tactile Magic Consistency:** The sensory descriptions of the magic remain consistent with previous chapters; Mira’s fire is consistently associated with "molten gold" and "soot," while Dorian’s ice is linked to "juniper ink" and "glacial blue."
*   **Core Mechanics:** The concept of the Core requiring "woven frequency" aligns with the technical world-building established in the early chapters regarding the mountain’s sentient-like stability needs.
*   **The Masking Motif:** The transition from the intimacy of the vault to the "stony indignation" and "aristocratic indifference" in the Great Hall maintains the established character archetypes of the "rivals" public personas.

### 2. CONCERNS (The Flags)
**Flag 1: The Timeline Contradiction (MAJOR)**
*   **The Chapter 09 Text:** Dorian states, *"Three centuries of teaching that fire and ice are inherent enemies. Three centuries of building walls between our disciplines."* Later, Mira reflects on Dorian having *"three centuries of insults to draw upon."*
*   **Establishment:** Chapters 01 and 02 established that Mira and Dorian are the *current* chancellors of their respective academies and are "rivals." It was established that they are humans/mages in an adult romance, not ancient immortals.
*   **The Conflict:** Claiming they have "three centuries" of personal history or insults contradicts the established ages/lifespans of the characters. If the *schools* have a 300-year rivalry, that is fine, but the text explicitly attributes this longevity to their personal interactions. This needs an immediate fix to "decades" or "the lifespan of the academy."

**Flag 2: The Core Failure Origin (AMBIGUITY/POTENTIAL CONTRADICTION)**
*   **The Chapter 09 Text:** Mira states, *"The Core isn't failing because of age. It's failing because of us... because of our separation."*
*   **Establishment:** Chapter 01 established the Starfall Accord was necessitated by a natural "Starfall event" or "tectonic decay" (The Great Thinning).
*   **The Conflict:** Asserting that the Core is failing specifically because Mira and Dorian (two individuals) were separated implies a "Chosen One" or "Twin Flame" soulmate mechanic that was not previously cited as the cause of a geological/magical disaster. While this might be a thematic pivot, it contradicts the "scientific/bureaucratic" nature of the magical decay established by the Council in earlier chapters.

**Flag 3: Physical Description (MINOR)**
*   **The Chapter 09 Text:** *"Silver hair had fallen across his forehead."*
*   **Establishment:** Chapter 01 described Dorian as having dark/black hair ("raven-wing dark") to contrast with Mira’s fire.
*   **The Conflict:** Unless Dorian has undergone a magical transformation or "silver" refers to a metallic sheen caused by his ice magic, this is a visual inconsistency.

**Flag 4: The Arbiter’s Magic (AMBIGUITY)**
*   **The Chapter 09 Text:** Arbiter Vane’s magic is described as *"the dry, choking dust of a tomb."*
*   **Establishment:** Earlier chapters characterized the Council as "Nulls" or "Balanced Arbiters" who do not possess elemental affinities, serving as a neutral party.
*   **The Conflict:** Giving Vane a specific "death/dust" affinity borders on introducing a third magic system that has not been defined in the world-rules.

### 3. VERDICT: REVISE
I cannot grant a "Clean" verdict due to the **Three Centuries** error. This is a hard factual contradiction that breaks the timeline of the characters' lives. 

**Required Actions:**
1.  Change all references to "three centuries" of personal rivalry to "decades" or "generations of our predecessors."
2.  Clarify if Dorian’s hair is "silver" due to age, magic, or if it should remain dark as previously established.
3.  Ensure the "Core failing because of our separation" is framed as a metaphorical discovery of a magical law, rather than a suggestion that the mountain cares specifically about their dating life.

**VERDICT: MAJOR FLAGS**