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book3: outline and orientation updates for ruin revision

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- book3-outline.md: rewrite Core Case discovery paragraph,
  update Ch02 briefing, add Sable-returning texture (Ch06),
  rewrite Ch07 Pamira-Devod "I've read about you" reveal,
  reframe Ch08 opening at the Gate with earned authority,
  add Ch11 private-voice Pamira-at-ledger Holven scene,
  update subplot thread map; fix Pip Names Reference entry
  (true dragon, Mine 1 lineage)
- chapters/book3/CLAUDE.md: add "The Case — Discovery
  Snapshot" and "Site at a Glance" sections; resolve
  territory-name open question

Ref: docs/superpowers/specs/2026-04-19-book3-ruin-backstory-revision-design.md

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Phillip Tarrant
2026-04-20 11:31:08 -05:00
parent 47cdbd21a1
commit b1f1c3c5fb
2 changed files with 39 additions and 11 deletions
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chapters/book3/CLAUDE.md
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@@ -17,6 +17,33 @@ Phelan's life is settling — Mere pregnant, Kimbra re-entering his orbit, the h
---
## The Case — Discovery Snapshot
See `outline/book3-outline.md` § Core Case for the canonical "How it enters the story" paragraph. Short version for drafting-context:
- Duchess Pamira's eastern-coastal territory was surveyed 20 years ago via a Pathfinder contract; the team catalogued a walled pre-Compact research compound, three cliff-face mines, and a sealed perimeter gate the surveyors could not breach. Devod was on that team at ~35 — his field note diagnosed the gate as *a ward, not a door.*
- Pamira's late husband counselled waiting until someone who could open it existed. The file sat in her drawer for two decades.
- Holven pressure + Cairns-network rumour of "the Locksmith" prompted her recent letter. Ledger intercepted via his standing Wolf-intercept order. Scout 1 deployed at Phelan's wedding was killed by the Gate ~week 6; Sable and a Cairns forensics operative recovered the body at week 14. Phelan briefed at week 17 — a ~4-month gap explained by operational caution, not drift.
- The *"Contact the Cairns. Get the Wolf."* dying note is **retired**. The Cairns are institutional memory; the file and Scout 1's journal are the artifacts that route the case to Phelan, Leon, and Devod.
---
## Site at a Glance
45-acre eastern-coastal site on Pamira's land, Thorngate duchy. Full site description will live in `world/locations/athel-repository.md` once drafting begins. Snapshot:
- **Wooden palisade** around a pre-Compact research compound. Century-preservation magic embedded in the timber.
- **The Sealed Gate** — single perimeter breach point, pre-Compact adaptive ward, lethal to force.
- **The Hall** — central stone building with preserved inscription panels. Mere's Act 2 workspace.
- **Researchers' Quarters** — 6–8 small stone-and-timber buildings. Mostly empty; one has preserved personal effects in place (atmosphere, Book 4+ seed).
- **The Descent Building** — small, unassuming; stone staircase leads to the 6-level underground repository (existing canon, unchanged).
- **Three cliff-face mines** (entered from the cliff, not from inside the walls):
- **Mine 1** — earth-magic saturated. Dragon colony (wolf-to-pony-sized matriarchs). Pip's origin. Team does not engage in Book 3.
- **Mines 2 & 3** — ordinary played-out mines, rare ore traces logged but not mined this case.
- **Undiscovered underground connection** from Mine 1 to the repository's lower levels (Pip reacts near a specific rock face; team does not investigate). Book 4+ seed.
---
## Canonical Sources
Consult these instead of duplicating content here:
@@ -85,7 +112,7 @@ Internal character shifts and chapter-by-chapter beats live in `outline/book3-ou
| 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. Dead operative's dying note — "Contact the Cairns. Get the Wolf" — is what routes the case to Phelan via Ledger's standing Wolf-intercept order (Book 2 precaution). Pamira meets Devod not knowing he's the Wolf; recognizes him in Ch07: "A dead man" told her. Walking stick breaks a wrist at the ambush. Leads the Cairns line at the Ch20 standoff |
| 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 |
@@ -106,7 +133,7 @@ Internal character shifts and chapter-by-chapter beats live in `outline/book3-ou
- **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:** TBD
- **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.
- **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