# Albermaine · The Pariah research and implementation ledger

Verified 2026-09-30. Scope: **The Pariah**, Anthony Ryan, **The Covenant of Steel**, Book 1 (2021), and every place currently authored in `world.js` and `ambris.js`. This is a bounded audit, not exhaustive novel or trilogy coverage. No later-book events are staged.

## Sources actually inspected

1. **Primary map:** [Western Albermaine, original plate](https://anthonyryan.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Western-Albermaine.jpg). Visually inspected at 1440×1755 from the original 1504×1833 image. The author's [Map Room](https://anthonyryan.net/map-room/) labels this image **Map from The Pariah**. The map plate, not the Map Room homepage, supports the individual coordinates and geographic names. No cartographer credit is visible on the plate.
2. **Primary novel sample:** [Orbit / OverDrive authorized sample](https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=9a2d295b-7c71-4f8f-9eaa-09e3c23d6c2a), reached from [Livebrary's ebook listing](https://livebrary.overdrive.com/library/availablenow/media/5949924). Read the **Dramatis Personae**, **Chapters One–Three**, and the **available portion of Chapter Four** through the reader's accessible text mode. The table of contents exposes later titles but marks Chapter Five onward unavailable; those chapters were not accessed. Use the section/paragraph locators below, not the reader's reflow-dependent page numbers. The source is the novel text, not the library synopsis.
3. **Primary bibliographic and naming context:** [Hachette / Orbit, The Pariah, ISBN 9780316430777](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/anthony-ryan/the-pariah/9780316430777/), Description and publication fields. Confirms the kingdom name **Albermaine** and the book/series. The map's narrower title is *The Western Duchies of Albermaine*. Thus `worldName: Albermaine` is appropriate; the scene name *Western Albermaine* describes the mapped scope. This does not verify metadata for other series.
4. **Qualified secondary:** [Orell Füssli reader discussion, post /119](https://bookcircle.orellfuessli.ch/d/18551-neue-leserunde-der-paria-von-anthony-ryan/119). Only its search-index excerpt was accessible; opening the page failed. It says the northward voyage begins at Farinsahl. This is low-confidence supplemental support for a maritime reading, **not** proof of harbour architecture. The published map independently places Farinsahl by the coast.

Exact per-place sources, locators, confidence, limits and design decisions are in `research.json`. Invented internal castle buildings have empty evidence/source arrays rather than misusing the regional map as proof.

## Geographic registration retained

North up. Reference display inner frame [8,8]–[1428,1743]. Scene transform `[x−718,y−876]`. All original coast/island arrays, traced boundary arrays and six black-dot anchor positions are retained. The northeast cartouche obscures geography: no hidden terrain is reconstructed. Coast crenulations are simplified; this is not a survey. Anchor centres are the **black dots**, not the circled numerals above them.

| Place | Display anchor | Primary map locator | Text verified |
|---|---:|---|---|
| Couravel | 1151,1033 | Legend 1 and dot | Chapter Four: Pots recalls the storming of its citadel. |
| Castle Ambris | 360,908 | Legend 2 and dot | Chapter Two: royal letter places a force at the castle. Chapter Four: southern wall, moat, main gate and town. |
| Olversahl | 520,159 | Legend 3 and dot | Dramatis Personae: Berrine Jurest serves its Library of King Aeric; Maritz Fohlvast is its Lord Elderman. |
| The Pit Mines | 653,792 | Legend 4 and dot | Dramatis Personae: named inmates and the Lord Warden of the King's Mines. Chapter Four: forced labour comparison. |
| Callintor | 701,702 | Legend 5 and dot | Dramatis Personae: Ascendant Hilbert and Arnild identify the sanctuary town, Shrine to Martyr Callin and scriptorium. |
| Farinsahl | 173,962 | Legend 6 and dot | No direct Farinsahl passage in the checked sample; qualified secondary as above. |

The eight regional labels are individually recorded: **Cordwain**, **Shavine Marches**, **Alundia**, **Alberis**, **Althiene**, **Dulsian**, **Caerith Wastes**, **The Fjord Geld**. The two named water features are **Cronsheldt Sea** and **Bay of Shalvis**. Their map labels establish names and relative geography, not architectural traditions, mountain belts, crops or climate. In particular, *Wastes* is not evidence for a sand desert.

Chapter One supports a deep **Shavine Forest**, a road at its northern fringe and elm trees. Its new world place and canopy lie approximately in the Marches; neither the forest polygon nor a route is traced from the political map. Unverified forest stamps in Cordwain and Alberis were removed. Chapter Three explicitly calls the Fjord Geld the northernmost duchy; the existing island/inlet trace supplies its distinctive geography.

## Location-specific compositions shipped

- **Couravel:** angular fortified citadel, polygon keep and open streets with irregular building footprints. Citadel existence is sourced; its plan and palette are authored.
- **Castle Ambris, world symbol:** irregular curtain, lower southern segment, compact keep, miniature moat band and buildings to the east. Detailed geometry remains original. The world moat is a proportional ground symbol; the separate local scene contains the actual carved water.
- **Olversahl:** Library of King Aeric represented by an asymmetric long-range-and-court composition, with nearby timber-roofed houses. Library function is sourced; its architecture is not.
- **Callintor:** distinct shrine massing, polygon apse, transept, writing range and sheltered court. No generic town tower stands in for the scriptorium or shrine.
- **The Pit Mines:** four descending ground levels, switchback access ramp, dark working faces, two open pit-prop frames, one four-legged timber lifting gantry, spoil rocks and one small service shelter. The ground reads as an excavation. **Ore, exact depth, terrace count, ramp route, timber frames and lifting mechanism were not established in the accessible sample.** They are explicitly interpretive in the place description and research row.
- **Farinsahl:** coastal lane composition with low stores, an L-shaped building and a small landing platform. Quay and building plans are interpretive; no verified port plan is claimed.

No architectural style here is labelled canonical merely because it resembles medieval Europe. Stone, slate, timber and thatch are a restrained art vocabulary. World structures explicitly disable ornamental additions that could dwarf their normalized footprints. Styled buildings can receive the parent's shared facade relief; this pack does not duplicate it.

## Ambris / Ambriside corrections and local coverage

Chapter Four is decisive for the spatial correction: the **town of Ambriside** is on flat ground east of the castle's main gate, follows the **Leevin River**, and that river feeds the **moat**. The south-facing defences are lower, with the narrowest moat there. The earlier steep southern village and unconnected castle terrace were unsupported.

| Local place ID | Displayed place | Status and limit |
|---|---|---|
| `curtain` | Castle defences | Text supports relative southern height; perimeter, wall dimensions and towers are original. |
| `gatehouse` | Main gate | Gate and eastern town relationship supported; southern orientation, twin towers and bridge design interpreted. |
| `moat` | Castle moat | Confirmed water feature and connection; widths, depth and water level interpreted. |
| `leevin-river` | Leevin River | Name and relationships supported; exact course and compass bearing interpreted. |
| `village` | Ambriside | Existing ID retained, renamed and moved east. Town functions are sourced; every street and building footprint is authored. |
| `keep` | Keep · imagined | Internal plan, donjon, turrets and roof walk not verified. |
| `great-hall` | Great hall · imagined | Internal hall and service ranges not verified. |
| `chapel` | Chapel · imagined | No chapel established in the checked sample. This is not Callintor's shrine. |
| `woodland` | Wooded approach · interpreted | Regional forest context is sourced; the local grove and fields are invented. |
| `alwyn` | Alwyn Scribe · cameo | Character and visit to town supported; costume, pose and precise placement invented. |

The local scene remains available pending parent/user clarification. **Do not remove it merely on the dictation “Garrard of Castle Ambris.”** No Garrard was verified in these sources. If removal is confirmed, the parent should remove the `ambris` manifest entry and world portal together, retain `castle-ambris` as a world landmark, and update the ten local research rows if their scene is retired. This agent has not edited `book.js`, catalog metadata or the shared engine.

## Engine checks and limits

- Read `docs/ARCHITECTURE.md` §§4.2–4.5, `atlas.js` polygon helpers, `architecture.js`, `terrain.js`, `geometry.js` and the pack validator before authoring.
- The checked terrain code supports negative **radial hills** and signed ridge heights, but does not implement a `mesas` field or polygon hills. The mine instead uses **ordered `terrain.flatten` polygons with decreasing target heights**, which demonstrably lower the existing surface. No unsupported primitive was introduced.
- `terrain.cuts` generates water and is therefore reserved for the **Ambris moat and Leevin**, not the mine. Mine floor stays above sea level. Sampled rim/benches/floor before the small gantry pad adjustment: approximately **9.80, 8.34, 4.46, 1.31** scene-height units, with water level **0**. Heights are illustrative.
- The mine ramp consists of bounded, graded ground patches painted as a continuous access track. Heightfield resolution smooths narrow benches; they are not a metric engineering model. The lifting frame uses existing narrow halls for posts and elevated wall beams, with no machinery mesh dependency.
- Ambris uses nine moat segments plus a connected river cut at the same water level. The town pad is flat at height 6. No walkable interior or street-mode entry is added. There is one lightweight, static character cameo.
- `node tools/validate-scene.js assets/data/the-pariah/book.js assets/data/the-pariah/world.js assets/data/the-pariah/ambris.js`: **0 errors, 0 warnings**.
- `node tools/geometry-test.mjs the-pariah/world the-pariah/ambris --quiet`: **both pass**, with finite geometry and no warnings. The checked repository has no `Atlas.validateScene` function; its existing pack validator was used.
- `node tools/research-audit.mjs the-pariah`: **passes**. Null placement sources and empty evidence/source arrays are retained for wholly invented internal castle features.
- Exact research/scene ID, name and kind coverage check: **27/27 places** — **17 world**, **10 local**. Research statuses: **10 supported**, **12 partial**, **5 interpretive**. Supported means the stated geographic claim is supported, not that every artistic decision is canon.
- Browser inspection verified the excavated mine, Callintor’s shrine/scriptorium footprint, Olversahl’s library court, Farinsahl’s coastal landing and the castle/moat/eastern-town relationship. Full novel architectural coverage remains unverified; all architectural dimensions are authored. No licensed map pixels, novel text, remote runtime service, paid service, commits or deployment are added.

Parent integration: retain the six measured world anchors; preserve `scene.street.human` for proportional shared facades; integrate or retire Ambris only after clarification. No new engine primitive is required.