split book3 into book3 + book4

Book 3 was too packed — the lock-build arc and the grievance-elevation
arc were competing for the same climactic space. Split at Ch15/Ch16:
Book 3 is now 18 chapters ending on "The Night Before" (lock built,
tested, holds; house funded; storm visible on the horizon). Book 4 is
13 chapters starting with "The Ambush" and carrying the
confrontation/standoff/elevation/aftermath arc.

Left deliberate gap chapters for future character development: 2 in
Book 3 (Ch10, Ch17), 3 in Book 4 (Ch02, Ch07, Ch10).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

chapters/book3/CLAUDE.md

@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 # CLAUDE.md — Book 3: "The Sealed Chamber"
 
-> **STATUS: OUTLINED, NOT DRAFTED.** Full chapter-by-chapter outline at `outline/book3-outline.md` (unified canonical version, 2026-04-12). No chapters drafted yet. Book 2 still finishing (Ch20–21 + epilogue pending).
+> **STATUS: DRAFTING.** Ch01 and Ch02 finalized. Ch03–Ch18 outlined. Full chapter-by-chapter outline at `outline/book3-outline.md` (restructured 2026-04-21). **Scope changed 2026-04-21:** the original 24-chapter Book 3 was split into two books — Ch17–Ch24 (ambush through aftermath) moved into Book 4 with expansion room. See `outline/book4-outline.md`.
 
 This file is book-specific orientation. The series-level `CLAUDE.md` at the project root governs voice, world, characters, formatting, and continuity rules. The outline file is the source of truth for premise, chapter beats, themes, character arcs, and subplot threads — this file points at it rather than duplicating it.
 
 **Working title:** "The Sealed Chamber" (alternative: "What Stays Buried")
-**Length:** 24 chapters, ~92,000–100,000 words.
+**Length:** 18 chapters, ~70,000–80,000 words. (Was 24 chapters / ~92–100k before the split.)
 
 ---
 
 ## Logline
 
-Phelan's life is settling — Mere pregnant, Kimbra re-entering his orbit, the house plans at revision 12 — when the Compact files a formal grievance reopening the Book 1 qualifications inquiry — the one Ledger got withdrawn — with the Book 2 crystal break as new evidence. Relief sought: strip his certification and expel him from the guild. Ledger ships him to a pre-Compact ruin on Duchess Pamira's territory to get him out of reach while the procedural fight runs, but the ruin is a test and a showcase: Ledger has been grooming him for elevation, and the grievance is the pressure that forces the move. Inside the ruin is a sealed weapon that magnifies any working 15-fold. Phelan opens the seal to understand it, then has to build a perfect lock against his own ability — and do it before Cass, burned by his own institution, arrives with the Compact's enforcement force at his back.
+Phelan's life is settling — Mere pregnant, Kimbra re-entering his orbit, the house plans at revision 12 — when the Compact files a formal grievance reopening the Book 1 qualifications inquiry — the one Ledger got withdrawn — with the Book 2 crystal break as new evidence. Relief sought: strip his certification and expel him from the guild. Ledger ships him to a pre-Compact ruin on Duchess Pamira's territory to get him out of reach while the procedural fight runs, but the ruin is a test and a showcase: Ledger has been grooming him for elevation, and the grievance is the pressure that forces the move. Inside the ruin is a sealed weapon that magnifies any working 15-fold. Phelan opens the seal to understand it, then has to build a perfect lock against his own ability. **Book 3 closes the night before the storm arrives:** the lock is built, tested, and holds; the artifacts are extracted; the house is funded; Cass is fugitive with his trail cold; the Compact enforcement force is ~36 hours out. The storm itself — confrontation, breach, standoff, elevation — is Book 4.
 
-**The Compact is the real antagonist.** Cass is the face. The book's institutional confrontation and personal confrontation are the same confrontation at two scales. **Mere's pregnancy is the Act 3 stakes engine** — the Compact arc threatens her directly when enforcement officers arrive at the estate where she is staying.
+**The Compact is the real antagonist.** Cass is the face. Book 3 delivers the craft-and-character victory (the lock holds). Book 4 delivers the institutional and personal confrontations. **Mere's pregnancy is the slow-building stakes engine** — not yet in the blast radius at Book 3 close; Book 4 puts her there.
 
 ---
 
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ Consult these instead of duplicating content here:
 
 ## POV
 
-Pure Phelan first-person, past tense, throughout. Kimbra's subplot is processed through his noise. Pamira is seen mostly through Devod's interactions. Cass's arc is off-page until Ch19. The Compact enforcement arrival is seen from Phelan's position (ruin during the breach, estate during the standoff and elevation).
+Pure Phelan first-person, past tense, throughout Book 3. Kimbra's subplot is processed through his noise. Pamira is seen mostly through Devod's interactions. Cass's arc is off-page for all of Book 3 (his personal confrontation with Phelan is Book 4 Ch05). The Compact force and enforcement arrival are Book 4 events. Book 3 closes at "The Night Before" — the storm is visible on the horizon, not yet on the page.
 
 ---
 
@@ -84,11 +84,11 @@ Pure Phelan first-person, past tense, throughout. Kimbra's subplot is processed
 |-----------|---------------|------|
 | Phelan Varrant | POV. Exploiter → defender (Act 2), outsider → insider (Act 3) | `characters/phelan-varrant.md` |
 | Mere Fields | Pregnant. Pip-bonded. Act 3 stakes engine | `characters/mere-fields.md` |
-| Devod Fields | The Wolf, openly. Pamira's romance. **New facet: Devod the flirt.** "Princess" as term of endearment — evolves from charm (Ch07) through habit (Ch09) to silence (Ch16) to claim (Ch22) to promise (Ch23). Mere knows this side from her early years; eye-rolls, embarrassed-daughter energy. Phelan eggs him on with dry wit. | `characters/devod-fields.md` |
-| Leon D'Nardis | Testing framework for the perfect lock | `characters/leon-dnardis.md` |
-| Jonael "Carter" Carterson | Quartermaster. Drenwick-only scenes | `characters/jonael-carterson.md` |
-| Cassius Rykhard | Face of the Compact. Burned at Ch12. Confronted at Ch19 | `characters/cassius-rykhard.md` |
-| Ledger | Full Pathfinder reveal + private Flaw Sight reveal + elevation scene | `characters/ledger.md` |
+| Devod Fields | The Wolf, openly. Pamira's romance. **New facet: Devod the flirt.** "Princess" as term of endearment — in Book 3 evolves from charm (Ch07) through habit (Ch09) to silence (Ch18). Claim (Book 4 Ch09) and promise (Book 4 Ch11) land in Book 4. Mere knows this side from her early years; eye-rolls, embarrassed-daughter energy. Phelan eggs him on with dry wit. | `characters/devod-fields.md` |
+| Leon D'Nardis | Testing framework for the perfect lock (Book 3 Ch15–16). Ambush fight + ward-disruption charges (Book 4 Ch01). Philosophy-shift deepening throughout. | `characters/leon-dnardis.md` |
+| Jonael "Carter" Carterson | Quartermaster. Drenwick-only scenes. Supper at Chandler's Row in Book 4 Ch13. | `characters/jonael-carterson.md` |
+| Cassius Rykhard | Face of the Compact. Burned at Book 3 Ch13 (midpoint turn). Off-page for the rest of Book 3 — confronted in Book 4 Ch05. | `characters/cassius-rykhard.md` |
+| Ledger | Book 3: full Pathfinder/Cairns reveal at Ch15, grooming hint at Ch02, leash-noise seeds throughout. Book 4: private Flaw Sight reveal + elevation scene at Ch08, folder handoff at Ch09. | `characters/ledger.md` |
 | Kaeran "Kae" Thrainn | Brief, in custody. Intel contribution | `characters/kaeran-thrainn.md` |
 | Carson Johnsby | Drenwick-only, back channels | `characters/carson-johnsby.md` |
 | Brennan Toor | Off-page. Cairns infrastructure | `characters/brennan-toor.md` |
@@ -106,37 +106,35 @@ Internal character shifts and chapter-by-chapter beats live in `outline/book3-ou
 
 | Prior Thread | Book 3 Connection |
 |---|---|
-| Cassius Rykhard (Books 1–2) | Personal antagonist arc reaches climax at Ch19. Witness of record on the crystal evidence attached to the Compact grievance — the filing stands on paper even after the institution burns him at Ch12 |
+| Cassius Rykhard (Books 1–2) | Personal antagonist arc reaches climax at Book 4 Ch05. Witness of record on the crystal evidence attached to the Compact grievance — the filing stands on paper even after the institution burns him at Book 3 Ch13 |
 | Kae's testimony / Compact corruption evidence (Book 2) | Triggers the Compact to sever the chain at Cass. Kae also provides the "project near Thorngate" intel Phelan connects to the ruin |
-| Phelan's Flaw Sight secrecy | Compact has filed a grievance. Ledger witnessed the Ch18 crystal rewrite firsthand. Ch21 reveals Ledger has privately known more than he filed all along |
-| Book 1 qualifications inquiry (Ch17) + Book 2 withdrawal (Ch20) | **Reopened as a formal grievance against the withdrawal itself, with the Book 2 crystal evidence attached.** Two-book callback. This is the mechanism that forces the elevation — contractor certification is reachable; Senior Specialist is not |
-| Compact regulatory pressure | Escalates from grievance filing → accepted investigation → enforcement force at Pamira's gates. Resolution is Phelan's elevation — procedural tier escape, not the Compact backing down. Grievance is twice-withdrawn by end of Book 3; the Compact will come through a different door in Book 4+ |
-| Leon's pre-Compact artifact knowledge | Essential for the ruin. Pays off the Book 2 philosophy shift — "what is this for" becomes the testing framework for the perfect lock |
-| Devod's Pathfinder past | Fully operational. Devod's 20-year-old Kade Reach survey field note is what routes the case to Phelan — the Cairns relayed Pamira's letter to Ledger via his standing Wolf-intercept order (Book 2 precaution), and Ledger assembled the team because the survey file names Devod. Pamira has held Devod's handwriting in her drawer for two decades. Recognizes him in Ch07: *"I've read about you. You were on the Kade Reach survey. You found my sealed gate."* Walking stick breaks a wrist at the ambush. Leads the Cairns line at the Ch20 standoff |
-| Ledger's Pathfinder slow burn | **Full reveal Ch14.** Devod says "Cairns" — one word. Everything from Book 2 clicks |
-| The Cairns network | Named on-page for the first time. Counterforce at Ch18 standoff. Extraction team in Ch22 |
-| Brennan Toor | Off-page. His Cairns relay is the infrastructure behind Ledger's reach |
-| Brennan's Aldric Vane contact | **Not deployed.** Parked as a Book 4+ seed |
-| Phelan and Mere at Chandler's Row | Pregnancy. Nursery. House plans revision 12–14. Guild's artifact-share sweetener (Ch02) makes the house possible; Leon's real numbers (Ch15) confirm it's funded. The nursery that forced the acceptance is the nursery they'll build. Mere says "home" without qualification (Ch23) |
-| Mere's herbalism / Thresholds expertise | Managed pregnancy, Pip calibration, still treating Kae from afar |
-| Carter's studded jacket and supply chain (Book 2) | Carter as quartermaster. Leon/Carter collaboration on ward-disruption array. Cannot join expedition |
-| Phelan's ability origin question | **First meaningful answer.** Flawfinder's gift documented in the archive — catalogued, known, part of a pre-Compact tradition |
-| The bracelet (pre-Compact artifact) | Continues to operate. Accumulating privilege — Book 4 question |
-| Fire training ceiling (Book 2 Ch12–15) | **Broken off-page between books.** No beat — texture only. Phelan's fire is sharper in Ch19 and Cass doesn't know |
-| Vellen Thrace / Duchess Merrenwood leverage (Book 2 Ch20 disclosure) | **One-line reference in Ch21** as part of Ledger's "folders you'll see now you couldn't before." Not acted on. Loaded for Book 4+ |
-| Mere's WellsMoon moss hybrid (ghostveil × Moonswell) | **Act I → Act III "Oh!" callback.** Ch03 cold-open fusion scene: Phelan uses Flaw Sight at a 100x microscope to peel and fuse two protoplast cell walls, then improvises a seal by stitching a new wall from the intact seams of both originals. Logged in Mere's notebook and parked. Ch09 reinforces (first doubling confirmed, notebook at the estate). Ch14 opening: Phelan blocked on the chamber seal, surfaces from the ruin, sees Mere's open notebook on her work table, realizes the cell-wall technique is the pre-Compact seal architecture three orders of magnitude larger. Same principle at scale. The seal that holds against Cass in Ch19 is the WellsMoon seal, scaled up. Also functions as a second front of economic pushback against the Compact (ghostveil supply chokehold for Kae and other herbalists broken in Mere's kitchen). See `outline/book3-outline.md` § "The Moss Hybrid Thread" for full detail. |
+| Phelan's Flaw Sight secrecy | Compact has filed a grievance. Ledger witnessed the Book 2 Ch18 crystal rewrite firsthand. Book 3 Ch15 seeds the leak (*"you've been carrying more than the paperwork says"* already landed in Ch02). Book 4 Ch08 is the full private reveal. |
+| Book 1 qualifications inquiry (Ch17) + Book 2 withdrawal (Ch20) | **Reopened as a formal grievance against the withdrawal itself, with the Book 2 crystal evidence attached.** Two-book callback. The mechanism that forces the elevation — contractor certification is reachable; Senior Specialist is not. Grievance disclosed to Phelan in Book 3 Ch02; killed procedurally via elevation in Book 4 Ch08; formally dismissed in Book 4 Ch13 coda. |
+| Compact regulatory pressure | Book 3: grievance filing → accepted investigation → first and second delegations (Ch11, Ch16) → third delegation warned (Ch18 cliffhanger). Book 4: enforcement force arrives (Ch03), standoff (Ch06), withdraws post-elevation (Ch08). Grievance is twice-withdrawn by end of Book 4; the Compact will come through a different door in Book 5+. |
+| Leon's pre-Compact artifact knowledge | Essential for the ruin. Pays off the Book 2 philosophy shift — "what is this for" becomes the testing framework for the perfect lock in Book 3 Ch15. |
+| Devod's Pathfinder past | Fully operational. Devod's 20-year-old Kade Reach survey field note is what routes the case to Phelan — the Cairns relayed Pamira's letter to Ledger via his standing Wolf-intercept order (Book 2 precaution), and Ledger assembled the team because the survey file names Devod. Pamira has held Devod's handwriting in her drawer for two decades. Recognizes him in Ch07: *"I've read about you. You were on the Kade Reach survey. You found my sealed gate."* Walking stick breaks a wrist at the Book 4 Ch01 ambush. Leads the Cairns line at the Book 4 Ch06 standoff. |
+| Ledger's Pathfinder slow burn | **Full reveal Book 3 Ch15.** Devod says "Cairns" — one word. Everything from Book 2 clicks. |
+| The Cairns network | Named on-page for the first time in Book 3 Ch15 (groundwork Ch02 via Ledger's standing Wolf-intercept order and Pamira's letter). Counterforce at Book 4 Ch03 standoff. Extraction team in Book 4 Ch09. |
+| Brennan Toor | Off-page across both books. His Cairns relay is the infrastructure behind Ledger's reach. |
+| Brennan's Aldric Vane contact | **Not deployed in Book 3 or Book 4.** Parked as a Book 5+ seed. |
+| Phelan and Mere at Chandler's Row | Pregnancy. Nursery. House plans revision 12–14. Guild's artifact-share sweetener (Book 3 Ch02) makes the house possible; Leon's real numbers (Book 3 Ch16) confirm it's funded. The nursery that forced the acceptance is the nursery they'll build. Mere says "home" without qualification (Book 4 Ch11). |
+| Mere's herbalism / Thresholds expertise | Managed pregnancy, Pip calibration, still treating Kae from afar. |
+| Carter's studded jacket and supply chain (Book 2) | Carter as quartermaster. Leon/Carter collaboration on ward-disruption array (deployed at Book 4 Ch01 ambush). Cannot join expedition. Supper scene at Chandler's Row Book 4 Ch13. |
+| Phelan's ability origin question | **First meaningful answer in Book 3 Ch15.** Flawfinder's gift documented in the archive — catalogued, known, part of a pre-Compact tradition. |
+| The bracelet (pre-Compact artifact) | Continues to operate. Accumulating privilege — Book 5 question. |
+| Fire training ceiling (Book 2 Ch12–15) | **Broken off-page between books.** No beat — texture only. Phelan's fire is sharper when Cass sees it in Book 4 Ch05 and Cass doesn't know. |
+| Vellen Thrace / Duchess Merrenwood leverage (Book 2 Ch20 disclosure) | **One-line reference in Book 4 Ch08** as part of Ledger's "folders you'll see now you couldn't before." Not acted on. Loaded for Book 5+. |
+| Mere's WellsMoon moss hybrid (ghostveil × Moonswell) | **Act I → Act II "Oh!" callback within Book 3.** Ch03 cold-open fusion scene: Phelan uses Flaw Sight at a 100x microscope to peel and fuse two protoplast cell walls, then improvises a seal by stitching a new wall from the intact seams of both originals. Logged in Mere's notebook and parked. Ch09 reinforces (first doubling confirmed, notebook at the estate). Ch15 opening: Phelan blocked on the chamber seal, surfaces from the ruin, sees Mere's open notebook on her work table, realizes the cell-wall technique is the pre-Compact seal architecture three orders of magnitude larger. Same principle at scale. Book 3 Ch16 tests the new seal against Leon and it holds. Book 4 Ch05 tests it against Cass in person and it holds. Also functions as a second front of economic pushback against the Compact (ghostveil supply chokehold for Kae and other herbalists broken in Mere's kitchen). See `outline/book3-outline.md` § "The Moss Hybrid Thread" for full detail. |
 
 ---
 
 ## Open Questions
 
-- **Ch21 elevation scene:** Who else is in the room with Ledger and Phelan? Two other senior guild figures are referenced but unnamed. Resolve during drafting or defer to Book 4
-- **Compact commander:** Named or anonymous? Current plan: named but not recurring — an institutional face, not a character arc
-- **Tier system total count:** Deliberately unresolved. "Senior Specialist above Two" is all the book commits to
-- **Pamira's territory name:** **Thorngate duchy** (established). The 45-acre site within it needs a name eventually — "Kade Reach" is the survey's working name per the 2026-04-19 revision spec; whether the site itself carries that name in Book 3 prose is a drafter's call.
+- **Gap chapter commitments (Ch10 and Ch17):** drafter picks candidates from the outline's list during drafting.
+- **Tier system total count:** Deliberately unresolved. Book 4's elevation commits to "Senior Specialist above Two," no further specificity.
+- **Pamira's territory name:** **Thorngate duchy** (established). The 45-acre site within it is "Athel Repository" in the registry, "Kade Reach" in the 20-year survey paperwork — whether the site carries Athel or Kade Reach in Book 3 prose is a drafter's call.
 - **Kimbra's surname:** TBD
 - **Working title commit:** "The Sealed Chamber" vs. "What Stays Buried"
-- **Book 2 Ch20 micro-hook:** Confirm the Pamira/Thorngate inquiry reference is in place when Book 2 Ch20 finalises
 
 ---
 

chapters/book4/CLAUDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+# CLAUDE.md — Book 4: Working Title TBD
+
+> **STATUS: OUTLINED, NOT DRAFTED.** Full outline at `outline/book4-outline.md` (created 2026-04-21 as part of the Book 3 split). Book 3 is in active drafting (Ch01–02 finalized). Do not draft Book 4 until Book 3 is complete.
+
+This file is book-specific orientation. The series-level `CLAUDE.md` at the project root governs voice, world, characters, formatting, and continuity rules. The outline file is the source of truth for premise, chapter beats, themes, character arcs, and subplot threads — this file points at it rather than duplicating it.
+
+**Working titles under consideration:** "Inside the Trap" / "The Long War" / "Better Packaging" / "The Senior Specialist"
+**Length:** 13 chapters, ~80,000–90,000 words (~6,000–7,000 avg — longer than Book 3 because Book 4 is high-density action + institutional confrontation).
+
+**Book-split origin:** The original Book 3 was 24 chapters and ~92–100k words; it was split on 2026-04-21 because the scope was too packed. Book 3 now ends at "The Night Before" (Ch18); Book 4 opens with "The Ambush" and carries the confrontation/standoff/elevation/aftermath arc.
+
+---
+
+## Logline
+
+Phelan has built the lock. He has extracted the artifacts. The house is funded. His mother is at Chandler's Row tending the garden and waiting. The Compact enforcement force is thirty-six hours out, and Cass — burned by his own institution — is coming for what Phelan sealed. **Book 4 is the storm hitting:** transport ambush, ruin breach, three-party standoff at the estate gate, face-to-face with Cass two books in the making, and the one procedural move that kills the grievance — elevation to Senior Specialist. Phelan walks into a room he has spent his whole life avoiding, because Mere was in the wrong room when the Compact came knocking. The book's thematic spine is Cass's speech: *better packaging, same leash.* Phelan accepts the elevation knowing he might be right.
+
+**The Compact survives.** Book 4 bloodies the institution and strips its hold on Phelan personally. It does not take the Compact down. Book 5+ is the long war.
+
+---
+
+## Chapter Development Workflow
+
+Each chapter follows the `/chapter-workflow` skill pipeline:
+
+1. **Seed** — Author fills `chXX-input.md` (copied from `../chapter-input-template.md`)
+2. **Scene Breakdown** — Claude proposes scene plan, author approves
+3. **Draft** — Full chapter drafted into `chXX-draft.md`
+4. **Review** — Author edits, then Claude reviews clarity/grammar/flow
+5. **Continuity Update** — Update world/character files with new canon
+
+---
+
+## Opening Situation (Inherited from Book 3 Ch18)
+
+- **Estate at Pamira's.** Phelan, Mere, Devod, Leon, Sabre, Pamira, Emmila, grandchildren, household staff. Pip on Mere's shoulder.
+- **Mere ~13–14 weeks pregnant.** Morning sickness easing. Second trimester approaching.
+- **The lock holds.** New seal on the weapon chamber tested against Leon and stable.
+- **Artifacts packed** for transport. Leon's numbers: 15k–25k silvers; house funded.
+- **Cass a fugitive** (burned Book 3 Ch13). Trail cold three days.
+- **Compact enforcement force en route, ETA ~36 hours.**
+- **Ledger's Pathfinder past out** (Book 3 Ch15). Cairns named. Flawfinder's gift documentation in Phelan's possession.
+- **Grooming hint carried over** (Book 3 Ch02, Book 3 Ch15). Grievance still filed, not yet resolved.
+- **Kimbra at Chandler's Row,** staying through the pregnancy. Letters flowing.
+
+---
+
+## The Four-Layer Convergence
+
+Book 4's first two-thirds braid four simultaneous threads:
+
+1. **Physical threat — Cass:** Ambush → ruin breach → underground confrontation at the new seal.
+2. **Institutional threat — Compact:** Enforcement force at Pamira's gates. Cairns counters. Controlled clash.
+3. **Personal stakes — Mere pregnant at the estate:** In the blast radius. Pip + Pamira's house give her tactical eyes and shelter, but exposure is real.
+4. **The elevation:** Ledger arrives with two unnamed guild seniors. Private Flaw Sight reveal. Formal lift to Senior Specialist. The grievance dies procedurally.
+
+See `outline/book4-outline.md` § Four-Layer Convergence.
+
+---
+
+## Themes
+
+- **"Better packaging, same leash."** Cass's indictment. Phelan accepts the elevation knowing Cass is right and chooses the leash anyway because Mere is in the wrong room.
+- **Restraint as victory.** The fire-spear/whip choice in Ch05 — Phelan can form the echo-amplified spike and chooses to put it down. That is the character earning the win.
+- **Inside vs. outside the institution.** Phelan spent three books dodging the guild-as-institution. Book 4 lifts him into it. He experiences it as both armor and cage.
+- **The quiet threads.** Kimbra at Chandler's Row is the book's slowest, deepest arc — the mother on the other end of the storm.
+
+---
+
+## Milestone Beats
+
+1. **Ch01 — The Ambush.** Transport attacked. Phelan peels back toward the estate.
+2. **Ch02 — Cass on the approach.** Gap chapter (candidate: close-third on Cass, first ever).
+3. **Ch03 — Forces at the gate.** Compact arrives. Cairns counter. Sabre injured holding.
+4. **Ch04 — Into the ruin.** Phelan descends alone. Meets Cass at the new seal.
+5. **Ch05 — Face to face.** The confrontation. The lock holds. Restraint wins.
+6. **Ch06 — The standoff.** Archive leverage at the gate.
+7. **Ch07 — Gap (parallel / character breathing).**
+8. **Ch08 — The elevation.** Ledger arrives. Private Flaw Sight reveal. Senior Specialist. Grievance dies.
+9. **Ch09 — Aftermath.** Cass extracted. First folder handed over.
+10. **Ch10 — Gap (estate character work).**
+11. **Ch11 — What we carry out.** Farewells. Compass. "Promise."
+12. **Ch12 — The long road home.** Folder read on the second night. Mere's name where he didn't expect.
+13. **Ch13 — Chandler's Row.** Arrival. Kimbra. Ledger's coda. Turn the page.
+
+---
+
+## Character Arcs (Book 4)
+
+- **Phelan** — The elevation lands. The leash is on. The lock he built survives live testing. The folder on the kitchen table at close carries Mere's name.
+- **Mere** — Pregnant in the blast radius; reads the field via Pip; peak operational Mere. Says "home" without qualification at Ch11.
+- **Devod** — Leads the Cairns line. Walking stick as blade. Private farewell with Pamira (Ch11, compass). Hums the Pathfinder march quietly on the road home. The flirt-to-claim-to-promise arc completes.
+- **Pamira** — Holds the gate politically. Farewell with compass and promise. Her hidden financial strain is one quiet paragraph in a gap chapter; full surface in Book 5+.
+- **Leon** — Ward-disruption charges in the ambush, Pathfinder-march harmony on the road, philosophy shift deepens. Helped build, not take.
+- **Kimbra** — Ch07 candidate (Drenwick POV during the crisis, therapist-calm out, worst-case in). Ch13 reunion at Chandler's Row. Staying through the pregnancy.
+- **Ledger** — The private Flaw Sight reveal (Ch08). The elevation offer he's been building toward since before Book 2. Folder handoff (Ch09). Coda note at Chandler's Row (Ch13).
+- **Cass** — His final arc. Ambush, breach, confrontation, capture. Optional interior chapter (Ch02) and final on-page beat (Ch10 option). His arc as personal antagonist completes.
+- **Sabre** — Injured holding the Ch03 near-line. Recovers by Ch11. Escorts the first leg of the trip home.
+- **Pip** — Dual-field tactical intel during the standoff. Grandchildren in Ch10 aftermath. Windowsill at Chandler's Row at close.
+
+---
+
+## Canonical Sources
+
+| Topic | File |
+|-------|------|
+| Chapter-by-chapter outline, theme, case, subplot threads | `outline/book4-outline.md` |
+| Book 3 state inherited into Book 4 Ch01 | `outline/book3-outline.md` § State Inherited, `world/story-summary-book3.md` |
+| Magic system, exploits, echo mechanic | `world/magic/runic-flow-rules.md`, `world/magic/exploits-log.md`, `world/magic/crystal-drain-echo.md` |
+| Echo design spec | `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-04-21-crystal-drain-echo-design.md` |
+| Files to create during Book 4 drafting | `world/story-summary-book4.md`, `world/timeline-book4.md`, `world/magic/amplification-weapon.md` |
+
+---
+
+## Open Questions
+
+- **Working title commit** — during early drafting.
+- **Gap chapter commitments (Ch02, Ch07, Ch10)** — drafter picks from candidates listed in the outline.
+- **Cass POV chapter (Ch02 option a)** — break the first-person-Phelan convention for one chapter? Only place in the series it might be warranted.
+- **Ch12 Ledger folder contents** — hook is "Mere's name on a page he didn't expect." Drafter commits contents during drafting.
+- **Compact commander name** — drafter commits during Ch03.
+- **Sabre's wound mechanism** — drafter commits during Ch03 (bump from Book 3 draft's "injured but alive" to genuinely down / needs medical attention / mends by Ch11).
+- **The two unnamed senior guild figures (Ch08)** — names deliberately withheld for Book 5+ setup. Name if one becomes on-page later.
+- **Kimbra's surname** — still TBD.