To: Facilitator
From: Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
Date: October 26, 202X
Subject: Continuity Review – Chapter 6: The Library of Ash (Draft Concept)

I have analyzed the draft concept for Chapter 6. Since this is the first chapter presented for review, I am establishing the **Canon Baseline** for this project. My focus is on internal logic, world-building stability, and character consistency within this specific text and the provided Project Description.

### 1. STRENGTHS (Canon Anchors)
*   **Elemental Consistency:** The magic system is clearly delineated. Dorian (Ice) is associated with "cedar and ozone," "ice-etched blade," and "crystalline frost." Mira (Fire) is associated with "burnt sugar and rain," "amber eyes," and "thermal blooms." This establishes a firm sensory profile for both leads.
*   **Relationship State:** The "rivals" aspect of the rivals-to-lovers arc is firmly established through dialogue ("If you bank high, you’ll shatter the glass"). The transition to physical proximity (the touch without gloves) is a significant milestone in the established "slow-burn" trajectory.
*   **Setting Hierarchy:** The "Library of Ash" is logically placed in "the academy’s lowest cellar," creating a grounded physical map of the school.

### 2. CONCERNS (Priority Order)

**A. The "Dual-Anchor" Contradiction (Internal Logic)**
*   **The Flag:** Mira states the ward is a "dual-anchor lock" requiring "Solas and Aethelgard together" (meaning Fire and Ice).
*   **The Problem:** If the schools have been rivals for a decade and are currently separate entities, who set this ward? If it was set three centuries ago during the "Great Conflagration," it implies the schools *were* a single entity. However, the chapter states they are looking for "proof our schools were once a single entity." 
*   **Action:** If they need magic from both schools to open the casket, the existence of the casket *is* the proof. Having them find a note saying "the union is not found in the ink" feels redundant if the lock itself already mathematically proved the union existed.

**B. Tactical Inconsistency: The Sword**
*   **The Flag:** Dorian begins the scene with his hand "wrapped around the hilt of his ice-etched blade." Later, he "sheathed his sword with a sharp clack." 
*   **The Problem:** There is no established threat in the room to justify a drawn sword. They are entering a library to find a document. Unless the library is known to be infested with creatures (which aren't mentioned), a Chancellor drawing a weapon to look at books is a character inconsistency—is he paranoid, or did I miss a threat?
*   **Action:** Clarify if there are guardians in the Library of Ash or if the blade is a ceremonial requirement for the ward.

**C. The Mirror/Vellum Paradox**
*   **The Flag:** Mira says, "Don't touch the paper... the moment oxygen hits the preserved carbon, the entire wing could disintegrate."
*   **The Problem:** Moments later, she "reaches in... lifting the vellum."
*   **The Contradiction:** If the room is so volatile that touching paper causes disintegration, handling the vellum note (which is a form of parchment/paper) should have triggered the collapse immediately. Even if protected by the ward, once the ward "dissolved," the oxygen issue Mira warned about should have applied.
*   **Action:** Specify that the vellum is magically protected or that the "carbon" she feared was only the charred scrolls on the desks, not the contents of the casket.

**D. Geographic Ambiguity**
*   **The Flag:** "The Library... the academy’s lowest cellar."
*   **The Problem:** After the collapse, they "burst through the heavy oak doors" and reach "spiraling stone stairs that led back to the world of light."
*   **The Contradiction:** If the library is in the "lowest cellar" and the floor "dropped away into a shallow basin," a collapse of marble pillars would likely bury the exit or drop the ceiling. The escape feels a bit too easy given the established "subterranean gloom" and the "tectonic rumble."

### 3. AMBIGUITIES (Notes for Future Chapters)
*   **The "Accord":** We need to establish in earlier chapters if the physical Accord was known to be missing. Chapter 6 treats its absence as a surprise, but its location as known.
*   **The High Council:** Their arrival is "early." We need a hard timeline in Chapters 1-5 to establish when they were *supposed* to arrive to make this "early" arrival meaningful.

### VERDICT: MINOR FLAGS
The chapter is atmospherically strong and maintains character voice. However, the **Oxygen/Disintegration rule** established at the beginning of the scene is violated by the characters by the end of the scene. Correct the scientific/magical logic regarding the volatility of the paper to ensure the stakes remain credible.

**Baseline Established.** I am now tracking:
*   *Object:* The Starfall Casket (Opened/Empty)
*   *Object:* The Obsidian Mirror (Shattered)
*   *Fact:* Mira and Dorian’s combined magic creates a "violet corona." 
*   *Fact:* The High Council has issued an "order of dissolution."