# CLAUDE.md — Book 1: "The Unbreakable Curse" (Working Title)

This file contains Book 1-specific instructions. The series-level CLAUDE.md at the project root governs voice, world, characters, formatting, and continuity rules.

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## Chapter Development Workflow

Each chapter follows a 5-stage pipeline documented in `WORKFLOW.md`:

1. **Seed** — Author fills `chXX-input.md` (copied from `chapter-input-template.md`)
2. **Scene Breakdown** — Claude proposes scene plan, author approves
3. **Draft** — Interactive scene-by-scene drafting into `chXX-draft.md`
4. **Revision** — Full-chapter review, saved to `chXX-final.md`
5. **Continuity Update** — Update world/character files with new canon

See `WORKFLOW.md` for full details. See `chapter-input-template.md` for the reusable input format.

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## Premise

Phelan Varrant is broke, stretching every copper, and has a very specific list of things he will and won't do for money. When a client arrives through proper Guild channels with a dying family member — cursed with a working that is, by every established authority, impossible to break — Phelan takes the case because the fee is significant and the problem is interesting. In that order.

## Opening Situation

- Phelan lives in a rented shack on the dockside
- He has plans for a house. He has drawings. He has no money.
- The love interest knows about the plans. She has not been asked anything officially. They both understand this.
- He owes the Guild quarterly dues and would rather not think about that.

## The Case

A person (identity: Ned Floundry) is dying from a curse with a known kill timeline — weeks at most. The curse is considered unbreakable by the Arcane Compact. Two registered curse-breakers have already failed. The client is desperate enough to hire "Necessary Services."

**Phelan's solution — Three Methods for Three Problems:**
- Through deep analysis (and one brutal hyperfocus crash), Phelan identifies that the curse is not one working but three nested layers, each designed to reinforce the others
- Each layer has a different flaw — and each requires a different solution:
  - **Layer 1 (Degradation Curse):** Cracked using **ghostveil moss** as a dampening agent — a rare herb that suppresses magical energy, creating a window for conventional curse-breaking. Procured via a mine expedition to Velken's Drift. Mere's botanical expertise is essential for harvesting and preparation
  - **Layer 2 (Stabilizer):** Defeated by **Phelan's forge-and-redirect exploit** — the same technique from the death ward, adapted to feed the stabilizer false data so it attacks its own system. The bracelet's focusing matrix is critical for precision
  - **Layer 3 (Dead Man's Switch/Anchor):** Bypassed using **Devod Fields' unconventional idea** — "if you can't unlock the lock, move what it's locked to." Ghostveil moss at an altered concentration accelerates Ned's life-force drift so the anchor loses its grip and fires into empty space. Devod's concept, Phelan's technical execution
- Execution order: Layer 3 first (anchor loosened) → Layer 2 second (stabilizer confused) → Layer 1 last (degradation cracked during herb window)
- The cure is genuinely team-built — herb + exploit + unconventional idea, each contributed by a different person

## Themes

- Competence as a form of care (Phelan solves problems because he can, which is as close to empathy as he gets)
- The cost of isolation vs. the cost of connection
- Building something (literally and figuratively) when you never had a foundation

## Milestone Beats

*(expand in `/outline/book1-outline.md`)*

1. Opening — establish Phelan's life, voice, financial situation, the land
2. Case introduction — client arrives, stakes established. Family pipeline to Devod planted
3. First investigation — Ch11: Phelan reads the curse at bedside, identifies three nested layers. Ch12 Scene 1: processes observations into solutions, identifies herb requirement (ghostveil moss)
4. Devod + mother revelation — Phelan goes to Devod alone (Ch12 Scene 2). Case intel (Ned's Compact concerns, Velken's Drift mine). Mother revealed as owning Thresholds, controlling Mere's income, forcing Devod out via ultimatum. Mere doesn't know
5. Complication — Compact pressure: bribe (house money, refused — extra weight because it could solve Mere's situation), regulatory threats (Ch13). Mere/Devod first forced proximity. Mine expedition prepared
6. Mine expedition — team retrieves ghostveil moss from Velken's Drift. Action beat with mine creatures and Compact-tied bandits. Conspiracy evidence deepens
7. Full analysis — all pieces assembled. Devod's "move the lock" idea solves Layer 3. Hyperfocus crash (vulnerability moment)
8. The three-method cure — climax. Anchor drift (Devod's concept) → stabilizer confusion (forge-and-redirect) → degradation crack (herb window). Team-dependent execution
9. Resolution + personal beat — the case closes, Phelan rents larger home (asks Mere to move in). Mine evidence strengthens conspiracy thread for series. Mother/Thresholds ownership planted for Book 2