# Legends of Clal — Project Context

This is Josh Holladay's fantasy novel series, written under the pen name J. A. Holladay. This file is NOT auto-loaded the way a root `CLAUDE.md` is (it's deliberately named `legends-claude.md`, not `CLAUDE.md`) — it's read on demand by the `/legends-prime` command at the start of a session on this project.

## What This Is

**Series:** Legends of Clal — an 8-book fantasy series with a Heaven/Earth, fall-of-the-second-son cosmology at its core (see `illian-world-lite.md`).
**Book 1:** *The Dragon Summoner* (aka "The Summoned") — currently being finished and edited. This is the only active priority right now.
**Author:** Josh Holladay — designer/creator/singer-songwriter, not a professional novelist by trade, writing this over 4+ years (2022-2026) across many scattered drafts, now consolidated.

## Current Priority

**Finish and fix Book 1. Everything else waits.**

Confirmed sequencing (do not skip ahead):
1. Settle structural questions (plot holes, character decisions, villain identity, mentor consolidation)
2. Build a lightweight Book-1-only continuity index (characters, subplots, who-knows-the-secret-when)
3. Manuscript hygiene pass (strip leftover editing placeholders, fix naming issues)
4. Full edit pass on Book 1 (structure + the cliché fixes)
5. **Only after Book 1 ships:** master world bible + full 8-book skeleton

Do not get pulled into building the full master world bible or drafting Books 2-8 before Book 1 is done — this has been an explicit, repeated decision, not an oversight.

## File Map

All of this lives in `/opt/fusionloop-aios/Legends of Clal/`:

| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `legends-claude.md` | This file — project context |
| `legends-log.md` | Append-only decision log — what's been decided, one line each, dated. Check this first for "have we already answered this?" |
| `legends-history.md` | Session-by-session narrative changelog — what happened each session, in prose |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/illian-world-lite.md` | The lore/cosmology bible-lite: the First Family, the crystals, the RISHK, the 8-book arc, central themes, and a running **Open Questions** list — check this before inventing any new lore |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/book1-scene-outline.md` | Full scene-by-scene breakdown of Book 1 as currently drafted, plus a "Threads to Resolve" section |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/book1-continuity-index.md` | **The lightweight continuity index** — character roster, locations, magic-system rule, climax structure, and the consolidated hygiene-pass checklist, all reconciled against `legends-log.md`. Load this before doing hygiene-pass or edit-pass work instead of re-deriving from the outline + log each time. |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/LOC - B1 - AI.md` | **The working manuscript copy** — this is the only novel file that should ever be edited |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/Four-To-Finish -- Docs/LOC - B1 - REWRITE WORKBOOK.md` | **The rewrite copy (built 2026-10-20 at Josh's request).** Full Book 1 text, unchanged, with a rewrite brief before every chapter (locked beats, details to add, prompts, fixes) and inline `→ FIX / KEEP / DRAGON / PROMPT` markers. Josh rewrites here. `LOC - B1 - AI.md` stays untouched as the pre-rewrite copy. Regenerated by a script, so if the briefs need updating after Josh starts writing in it, edit by hand; don't regenerate over his prose. |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/Four-To-Finish -- Docs/series-notes-books-2-8.md` | Notebook for Books 2–8: locked items, Book 1 seeds that must pay off, open questions, labeled suggestions. Park-it file, not active work. |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/Four-To-Finish -- Docs/old-notes-findings.md` | Results of the 2026-10-20 archive pass. What the 2008–2025 notes confirm, answer, add, or conflict with. Includes the found spell matrix. |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/Four-To-Finish -- Docs/questions-for-josh.md` | 35 numbered questions with options and a lean, for Josh to answer by number. Log each answer to `legends-log.md` as it comes in. |
| `Mentors and Coaches/` | Notes from coaching and editor calls, one folder per person. |
| `Legends of Clal - AI/2026-07-23-session-transcript.md` (and future dated transcripts) | Verbatim session archives — deep reference only, not for regular reading |
| `july2026-novelcrafter-import/` | Original clean import — **read-only, never edit** |
| `legends of clal hub - july 22 2026/` | The full 4-year, 450MB archive of every draft, world-bible fragment, character sheet, and asset ever made for this series — **read-only, reference material, never edit**. Treat as a source to mine, not a place to work. |

## Working Rules

- **Never touch the original archive or import files.** All editing happens in `LOC - B1 - AI.md`. The originals stay untouched as reference/backup.
- **Log every real decision** to `legends-log.md` the moment it's made — don't let a decision live only in chat history.
- **Check `illian-world-lite.md`'s Open Questions before inventing new lore.** If Josh hasn't settled something, flag it as a question back to him rather than silently deciding his canon for him.
- **Structural fixes before prose edits.** Don't polish a scene that might get cut or rewritten once a plot hole is resolved.
- **Non-technical audience.** Josh is a creative, not a software engineer — no jargon, direct plain-English collaboration, like working with a co-writer/developmental editor.