THE LEEPER ARCHIVE

ARCHIVE 002 · CHAPTER 05 · CANON PACK

A LIFE BEFORE
THE INHERITANCE.

Source-linked characters, rooms, documents and choices from The Heir.

FIRST-EDITION STUDY · 14 CANON ENTRIES · 7 UNTESTED TCG CANDIDATES · A2-CH05-20260926-R1

Historical canon pack: these claims and numbered evidence links document the 26 September 2026 text. The novel has since been revised. A “revised passage” link appears only when the cited wording survives in the revised chapter; other claims await editorial verification.

Existing Heir character concept for Marian Vale
Marian Vale · Character conceptExisting approved art, not a depiction of an acceptance ceremony or the former schoolroom. The clean master remains separate from card text.

Established material

A2-CHAR-MARIAN · Character

Marian Vale

Thirty-four; brought up in the former school and supported by a remaining family settlement. She answers identity questions but does not accept the estate, appoint the return office or acquire a public office. Security for her home is a genuine temptation, not merely a burden.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 1 revised passage ↗, paragraph 12 revised passage ↗, paragraph 44 revised passage ↗, paragraph 100 revised passage ↗, paragraph 114 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

Existing Heir portrait is a symbolic character study, not a literal depiction of this morning. Its costume, scroll and ruins are not new scene facts.

A2-CHAR-LEDA · Character

Leda Fenn

Marian’s housemate for six years. Her repairs business supports household upkeep. She wants security for the terrace, attends the inquiry with Marian’s consent and insists that the immediate needs of the displaced guests continue to matter. Their relationship is not further classified.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 8 revised passage ↗, paragraph 23, paragraph 70 revised passage ↗, paragraph 101 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

No new portrait approved. Show a practical repair worker in a domestic setting, not another courtly character on a balcony.

A2-CHAR-EDE · Character

Tomas Ede

Civil-register clerk accompanying the district guide. He checks the identity entries, explains the limits of his authority and witnesses Marian’s specific reply. He neither installs an heir nor brings an acceptance instrument with the initial inquiry.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 12 revised passage ↗, paragraph 30, paragraph 34 revised passage ↗, paragraph 104

Illustration continuity

No new portrait approved. Visitor seated at the old school table with a narrow case; no general’s costume.

A2-CHAR-KEST · Character / voice over receiver

Iona Kest

The examiner confirms the limited purpose of the identity questions and the unresolved scope of succession. She advises independent assistance and prevents a failure to answer being represented as consent.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 74 revised passage ↗, paragraph 80 revised passage ↗, paragraph 86 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

Present through the wall receiver; no physical visit or new likeness established.

A2-PLACE-SCHOOLROOM · Place

The Former Schoolroom

A room in a leased house once owned by a banker and then used as a school. The table’s compass marks and the mother’s cupboard remain. Displaced guests use the house; it is not a palace acquired through the succession.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 22 revised passage ↗, paragraph 23, paragraph 118 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

A future place illustration should show a working household, damaged window, reused table and bedding; no invented royal emblems.

A2-PLACE-TERRACE · Place

The Terrace Gate

The boundary between the domestic inquiry and public expectations. Neighbours gather without established organised affiliation. The guard remains outside and is still watching the gate after the visitors leave.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 59 revised passage ↗, paragraph 107 revised passage ↗, paragraph 116 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

Ensemble or threshold composition. Do not depict a coronation, an armed siege or a vast rally.

A2-OBJ-FAMILY-TIN · Artifact / evidence

The Family Certificate Tin

Contains family certificates, the mother’s stopped watch and a blue ribbon from the school’s final morning. The certificates help answer local identity questions; the keepsakes do not themselves prove succession.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 33 revised passage ↗, paragraph 34 revised passage ↗, paragraph 115

Illustration continuity

Object still life; keep inscriptions unreadable unless established. No complete invented genealogy.

A2-OBJ-IDENTITY-REQUEST · Record

Identity Inquiry Only

The initial written request and case ask for identity information. Participation is distinct from accepting property or public authority; no acceptance instrument is brought in the first case.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 21 revised passage ↗, paragraph 30, paragraph 74 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

Controlled typography must preserve the distinction between inquiry and consent.

A2-OBJ-HOLDINGS-LIST · Record

The Principal Holdings List

Lists assets administered through the estate, including the company holding the terrace lease. It is not an adjudicated list of assets which Marian inherits; the public-use question remains open.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 42, paragraph 43 revised passage ↗, paragraph 52 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

An editorial layout may list the named categories without invented values, corporate names or holdings.

A2-OBJ-CONTINUITY-PROPOSAL · Record

The Continuity Proposal

A separate return-office proposal to manage any interest later established for Marian. It would permit subordinate representatives and responses to claims. Marian leaves the appointment unsigned and asks about authorisation, payment and discretion.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 90 revised passage ↗, paragraph 96 revised passage ↗, paragraph 102

Illustration continuity

A conceptual blank signature field, not a finished historical instrument; names and legal terms must come from the prose.

A2-OBJ-RENT-DEMAND · Record / artifact

The Neighbour’s Rent Demand

A neighbour seeks relief concerning a demand issued by the company on the holdings list. Marian promises to ask and deliver the answer, not to waive charges or assert ownership.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 64 revised passage ↗, paragraph 66 revised passage ↗, paragraph 113

Illustration continuity

Do not invent a price, an account number, a debt amount or a promise of cancellation.

A2-OBJ-MARIAN-REPLY · Record

Marian’s Limited Reply

Signed correspondence asks questions about the proposed appointment and withholds authority for the return office to act meanwhile. Ede witnesses the enclosures and the unsigned appointment; this is not a blanket renunciation of succession.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 102, paragraph 105 revised passage ↗, paragraph 109 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

Typeset companion with separate fields for what was signed and what was not.

A2-OBJ-SCHEDULE9-COPY · Record

The Schedule Evidence Packet

Probate’s new evidence and qualifications reach the house. They constrain how the estate may be described, without settling ownership of each asset or solving supply failures.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 52 revised passage ↗, paragraph 55, paragraph 91 revised passage ↗

Illustration continuity

Reuse the exact Chapter 4 clause only with its evidence status. No claim that the whole estate transfers immediately.

A2-EVENT-PUBLIC-NAMING · Event

Called Heir Before Acceptance

The public label spreads during the identity inquiry. Marian recognises that her requests may travel farther before any lawful inheritance is settled. Her denial does not erase that practical advantage.

First-edition chapter evidence (archived): paragraph 59 revised passage ↗, paragraph 109 revised passage ↗, paragraph 112

Illustration continuity

A domestic threshold encounter, not a triumphant acceptance ceremony.

TCG candidates, not finished cards

Untested candidates. No approved costs, power, rarity or rules text; V0.3 remains unchanged.

A2-C05-F01 · Figure · Infrastructure / Influence

Leda Fenn, Keeping the House

Helps maintain a friendly Place during disruption by committing a Figure or another limited resource. Domestic work has a cost, rather than producing unlimited shelter value.

Unresolved design question: Can the benefit use existing exhaustion and repair timing without creating a new permanent protection layer?

Story sources: Leda Fenn, The Former Schoolroom

A2-C05-F02 · Figure · Knowledge / Authority

Tomas Ede, Limited Commission

Makes the target and scope of one Record interaction explicit. Establishing identity must not transfer ownership or make unrelated statements true.

Unresolved design question: Which existing Verify or Dispute effects are eligible, and what prevents repeated free verification?

Story sources: Tomas Ede, Identity Inquiry Only

A2-C05-P01 · Place · Influence / Infrastructure

The Former Schoolroom

Offers bounded refuge or recovery at the cost of capacity for another use. It should matter that a shared room cannot do everything simultaneously.

Unresolved design question: Define one benefit and a clear opportunity cost rather than a universal safe zone.

Story sources: The Former Schoolroom, Leda Fenn

A2-C05-R01 · Record · Knowledge

The Family Certificate Tin

Provides a preserved source for a later verification. Possessing the source is distinct from resolving the whole succession.

Unresolved design question: Should it recover one Record or enable one check? Test only one role before assigning statistics.

Story sources: The Family Certificate Tin

A2-C05-R02 · Record · Authority / Knowledge

Principal Holdings

Tests a claim over a named asset which remains open to challenge with contrary evidence. Listing an asset must not confer immediate permanent control.

Unresolved design question: Clarify the declaration-and-hold timing and the way an opposing Record can challenge the claim.

Story sources: The Principal Holdings List, The Schedule Evidence Packet

A2-C05-E01 · Event · Knowledge / Authority

Withhold the Mandate

Interrupts one proposed delegation or copying effect while leaving unrelated permissions intact. A refused appointment is not a citywide cancellation.

Unresolved design question: Limit eligible effects and duration so that a cheap Event cannot negate every opponent action.

Story sources: The Continuity Proposal, Marian’s Limited Reply

A2-C05-E02 · Event · Influence

The Name at the Gate

Explores influence acquired before a formal claim is verified, with a visible liability if the promised outcome cannot be supported.

Unresolved design question: Keep the liability readable and playable; do not equate popular attention with permanent Authority.

Story sources: Called Heir Before Acceptance, The Neighbour’s Rent Demand

Continuity locks

Companion records

A2-009 — Marian Vale · A2-010 — The Crown of Contracts