chapter 14 finalized

world/magic/exploits-log.md

@@ -62,6 +62,20 @@ Every exploit Phelan uses, logged for continuity tracking.
 - **Flaw Sight used:** Enhanced recall only (bracelet focusing matrix sharpens imprints). No active observation.
 - **Notes:** The Sniff parallel is explicit — binding salts (Ch03) → ghostveil moss is the same dampening principle scaled up. What Mere did intuitively on a simple working, they now need to do on a lethal three-layer structure. Compact suppression of ghostveil moss growth sites flagged as suspicious: same organisation that classifies curses as unbreakable also controls the countermeasure.
 
+## Combat Log: Focusing Ring — First Field Use (Mine Dogs)
+- **Chapter:** Ch14
+- **Environment:** Velken's Drift mine, second gallery east fork. High ambient magical residue (decades of ore extraction leakage). Flaw Sight completely offline — raw saturation, no structure to process.
+- **Opponents:** Four mutated mine dogs — natural animals warped by sustained magical exposure. Oversized jaws and feet, compressed torso, hungry and aggressive.
+- **Performance:**
+  - **Working 1:** 12ft, clean kill. **Residue amplified** — more fire than intended. Ambient energy in stone added to output.
+  - **Working 2:** Dampened by different residue pocket. Fire-weave sputtered, weak hit. Ring vibrated at threshold (Carter's warning confirmed). Required melee supplement — elbow redirect into wall, finished with close-quarters fire.
+  - **Working 3:** 8ft, neutral residue, clean kill. No amplification or dampening.
+  - **Working 4:** 10ft, off Devod's walking-stick deflection. Clean kill.
+- **Reserve cost:** ~30% for four workings. Barrows reference: five workings against three crawlers cost 100% (Ch07).
+- **Ring calibration notes:** Vibration threshold is real and physical — learn the feel. Residue variability means output is unpredictable: same ring, same technique, different result depending on local concentration. Adjust by feel, not formula. Don't trust consistent output in variable-residue environments.
+- **Melee integration:** Held under pressure. Not smooth — residue forced manual adjustment on second dog. But muscle memory carried when magic stuttered. Fifteen years of dormancy, body remembered anyway.
+- **Assessment:** "Not dormant anymore. Active inventory. Accessible. Functional." Ring changes combat math: 5-6ft unassisted → 12-15ft ring-assisted = three times engagement distance. The Barrows crawler that scarred his neck wouldn't have gotten close.
+
 ## Equipment: Focusing Ring (Carter's Custom Build)
 - **Chapter:** Ch13
 - **Builder:** Jonael Carterson ("Carter")