analysis phase starting

world/locations/drenwick.md

@@ -51,6 +51,16 @@ Drenwick is the titular seat of the **Duchy of Sudermere**, ruled by **Duke Rode
 - Functional, bureaucratic, unceremonial — a counter clerk, a ledger, a seal, a fee
 - Marriage filing is a non-religious civil process by default; religious ceremonies exist but are optional and run separately from the registry. Most Drenwick residents file first and ceremonialise later (or not at all)
 - Because Drenwick is the duchy seat, residents do not travel for registry business — it's a short walk from most of the city
+- **Second floor — civil registry (Ch21 / Epilogue canon):** Counter two is the civil partnerships (marriage) desk. Clerk works from a ledger "the size of a wagon wheel" with a notary stamp worn smooth from use. Hours posted on a small board that has been painted fresh at some point in the last decade and has not been painted fresh since. **Hours: second afternoon bell through seventh bell, daily except Godsday.** Long clock on the south wall tracks minutes precisely (used for effective-time logging on contracts).
+- **Marriage filing procedure (Epilogue canon):**
+  1. Six silvers filing fee laid on the counter. Clerk weighs by palm, does not count.
+  2. Name exchange — clerk asks each party for their name in turn.
+  3. Papers exchange — clerk asks for *"Papers"* and both parties produce crown papers. Clerk pulls both cards toward her without picking them up, checks the royal seals against a **reference plate mounted under the counter lip**, slides them back without comment.
+  4. Clerk reads the clause — two lines from a standard form. Asks whether the parties have any existing joint contract on file with the crown or with any of the six duchies. Both parties answer verbally.
+  5. Clerk presses the notary stamp into the page at the minute the filing is logged. Stamp lands flat.
+  6. Clerk closes the ledger, tells the parties the contract is now in effect *(but see below re: the ten-day waiting period)*, hands one party a copy of the filing, and dismisses.
+- **Ten-day waiting period:** After filing, the contract enters a ten-day hold before it takes full legal effect. The filing record says the contract is "in effect" (per the clerk's scripted language) but legal enforcement / registry recognition activates at the tenth day. Parties do not need to return for the effective date — it is automatic.
+- **Reference plate:** Physical non-magical stamp-verification tool mounted under the civil registry counter lip. Clerks check crown seals on ID papers against the plate to verify authenticity. Part of standard civil registry procedure.
 
 ### The Thresholds
 - Magical liminal spaces throughout the city