**TO:** Author
**FROM:** Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
**DATE:** October 26, 2023
**SUBJECT:** Continuity Review – Chapter 06: “The Library of Ash”

This is a pivotal moment in the series. While the emotional and physical beats are heavy, my primary concern is the sudden shift in world-building rules and the introduction of plot-sensitive information that may conflict with established or future "hard" magic systems.

### 1. STRENGTHS
*   **Affinity Consistency:** The description of Mira’s magic as "rhythmic, angry pulses" and Dorian’s as "frigid vibration" remains consistent with the elemental profiles established in the project description (Mira = fire, Dorian = ice).
*   **Relationship Trajectory:** The transition from "rivals" to "allies against a common enemy" is handled without violating the core "rivals" persona. The dialogue ("I hated those people anyway") maintains their sharp-tongued dynamic even in a moment of intimacy.

### 2. CONCERNS (Priority Order)

**A. The "Void-Iron" Rule (New Fact - Needs Flagging for Future)**
*   **Contradiction:** This chapter introduces "void-iron" as a substance that "doesn't just dampen mana; it eats it" and creates a "dead zone."
*   **Risk:** In previous outlines, the school was described as a high-flow magical environment. If the basements are lined with mana-eating iron, the "structural integrity" Dorian mentions in Paragraph 2 (which relies on "anchoring the dampening field") would be impossible to maintain using magic.
*   **Specific Citation:** "The sub-basement vault... is lined with void-iron."
*   **Action:** Ensure Ch. 01-05 do not mention mages sensing magic through the floors in this specific wing.

**B. Geography of the "West Wing" vs. "Library of Ash"**
*   **Contradiction:** In Paragraph 2, Dorian mentions the "west wing." In Paragraph 7, they fall through a floor into the "Library of Ash / sub-basement vault."
*   **Ambiguity:** Is the Library of Ash *part* of the West Wing? If the Library of Ash is a "restricted archive," it is usually positioned centrally or in a fortified tower. 
*   **Action:** Clarify if the West Wing is the same location as the Library of Ash. If they are in the archives, why are they discussing pyromancy *labs* and *cryo-chambers* there? Those would logically be in the academic wings, not the library.

**C. The "High Council" Conspiracy (Plot Continuity)**
*   **Inconsistency regarding the "Merger" Purpose:** Up to this point, the merger has been presented as a resource-saving measure due to waning magic. 
*   **Chapter 06 states:** "They’re using your fire mages to jump-start the dead-mana engines... and using my mages to act as the cooling rods."
*   **Problem:** If the Council’s goal is "harvesting," they have been remarkably sloppy leaving the "financial backbone" and "reallocation of essence charts" in a basement vault that Chancellors can accidentally drop into. 
*   **Action:** I need a lore-based reason why these top-secret documents were sitting in a "Library of Ash" instead of a secure Council vault in the capital.

**D. The Recovery of Mana**
*   **Contradiction:** Paragraph 12 states the void-iron "instantly sucked [her power] dry." Paragraph 33 states she felt "the first faint stirrings of her mana returning... sensing a hairline fracture in the void-iron floorboards."
*   **Logic Gap:** If void-iron "eats" mana and they are still inside the vault, the mana should not be returning yet.
*   **Action:** Align the recovery of magic with their *exit* from the vault, not while they are still sitting on the "bed of discarded academic robes."

### 3. VERDICT: MINOR FLAGS

The core narrative is clean and the character voices are remarkably consistent. However, the introduction of the "Void-Iron" and the "Power Plant" conspiracy requires careful tracking to ensure Ch. 07–10 do not ignore these new mechanical limitations or the sudden proximity of top-secret Council files.

**VERDICT: MINOR FLAGS** (Address the location of the secret ledgers and the logic of the mana recovery while still inside the void-iron vault.)