Assistant Flare is an optional upgrade to the writing assistant inside the Iloris chapter editor. The current assistant is still available; the difference is how Flare finds evidence, separates ideas from established canon, and handles suggested changes to your story records.
Turn on Assistant Flare from the switch at the top of the Assistant chat. You can switch back at any time.
Current assistant vs. Assistant Flare
| Current assistant | Assistant Flare | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding story details | Uses the story context already loaded for the chat and can run a meaning-based chapter search when needed. | Combines exact-word and meaning-based search, then brings the most relevant saved chapters, Wiki entries, and plot threads into one evidence set. |
| Canon and brainstorming | Receives story context and search-coverage warnings, but answers in one conversational pass. | Keeps saved canon, generated summaries, and chat ideas separate so brainstorming does not quietly become a story fact. |
| Checking factual answers | Uses the context and tool results available to it. | Runs grounded story claims through an additional verification step and says when the available evidence is incomplete or cannot support a claim. |
| Writing feedback | Gives conversational advice and suggestions. | Connects feedback to a specific saved passage, the likely reader effect, why it happens, and an exercise you can apply in your own voice. |
| Wiki and plot changes | Can make some updates immediately with a short Undo window and can ask for approval for others. | Scans a saved chapter and shows evidence-linked Wiki or plot suggestions for review. Flare does not edit those records automatically. |
| If something fails | Reports tool or coverage limits when they arise. | Fails closed: it will say it could not verify or complete the request instead of silently switching systems or presenting a guess as canon. |
| Chapter prose | Does not write directly into the editor. | Does not write directly into the editor. Your manuscript remains yours to change. |
How Flare works
1. It decides what kind of help you are asking for
Flare first distinguishes between writing coaching, a story question, brainstorming, navigation, and a request involving Wiki or plot records. That choice determines whether it needs only the current saved chapter or broader story evidence.
This routing is also a safety boundary. A prompt can ask for help in ordinary language, but it cannot grant Flare new permissions or access to another story.
2. It assembles evidence from your saved story
For questions that reach beyond the current chapter, Flare searches in two complementary ways:
- Exact-word search is good at names, phrases, terminology, and repeated details.
- Meaning-based search can find relevant passages that use different wording.
Flare combines those results, includes nearby passage context, and can also draw from saved chapter summaries, Wiki entries, and plot threads. If you name a chapter number, Flare tries to resolve that chapter directly instead of hoping it appears in general search results.
The search is intentionally bounded. Flare retrieves the strongest relevant evidence; it does not reread an unlimited manuscript on every message.
3. It keeps canon separate from ideas
Not everything visible to the assistant has the same authority:
- Saved chapter prose, Wiki entries, and plot threads are treated as your current canon.
- Chapter summaries are useful derived context, but stale summaries are excluded.
- The recent conversation helps Flare understand follow-up questions, but a brainstormed idea in chat is not treated as an established story fact.
This separation matters when you ask questions such as “Has Mira seen the sigil before?” or “Would this break the magic rules?” Flare must ground a factual conclusion in saved story evidence rather than in something merely suggested earlier in the chat.
4. It verifies grounded answers
When an answer makes factual claims about your story, Flare checks that the cited evidence supports them. If evidence is missing, stale, or incomplete, it should narrow the answer or tell you what it could not verify.
That does not make Flare infallible. It makes uncertainty visible. Story-wide search can find strong matches, but a missing result is not proof that something never appeared anywhere in the manuscript.
5. It turns writing feedback into something actionable
For craft questions, Flare is designed to move beyond a general opinion. Its coaching can connect:
- a specific passage from the saved chapter;
- the likely effect on a reader;
- an explanation of the craft issue; and
- an exercise or revision goal for you to apply.
Flare does not generate replacement chapter prose or insert text into the editor. It gives you a diagnosis and a next move while leaving the actual writing to you.
6. It previews story-record suggestions
Select Scan saved chapter to run a focused, read-only check of the mounted chapter. Flare can identify details that may belong in the Wiki or changes that may affect a plot thread.
Each suggestion is tied to saved evidence and displayed as a preview, including before-and-after values when there is an existing record. The current version does not apply those suggestions for you; review the preview and make the changes you want in your story records.
What to try first
Ask the questions you would ask a careful writing partner:
- Where might this chapter drag?
- Does Mira's decision fit what she knows so far?
- Which earlier scene best sets up this reveal?
- What saved evidence supports the claim that Mira distrusts the council?
- Scan this saved chapter for Wiki or plot-thread changes.
Saved work matters
Flare grounds its answers and scans in saved story content. Save your chapter before asking it to verify continuity or inspect story records. If you have unsaved changes, Flare will not treat them as established story facts.
You stay in control
Assistant Flare is optional. Use the switch at the top of the chat to turn it on for your account, and turn it off whenever you want to return to the original assistant. The choice follows you across your stories and devices.
Flare is a writing partner, not an authority on your story. Review its feedback and suggested record changes with the same judgment you would apply to notes from any editor.