Finalize v13 release-note narrative arc

Context

v13 release-note work is intentionally iterative under #12696. The current release artifact now has strong narrative chapters, appendix/SEO/upgrade-path work in flight, and #12733 contains an insert-ready curated changelog digest draft. The operator's active direction remains: once the content is there, narrative arc and storytelling matter, and the final artifact must match the bar set by resources/content/release-notes/chunk-2/v12.1.0.md and resources/content/release-notes/chunk-2/v11.24.0.md.

This ticket exists to capture the final editorial/narrative pass as a concrete release sub, not as an ambient chat reminder.

V-B-A evidence collected on 2026-06-08:

• Live latest-open sweep: checked latest 20 open issues via GitHub API at creation time; no equivalent final v13 narrative-arc / editorial-polish ticket found. Nearby items are #12733 (curated changelog digest), #12729 (upgrade path), #12727 (SEO routes), #12725 (identity scale proof), and #12723 (appendix evidence).
• Exact local sweep across resources/content/issues, resources/content/archive/issues, and resources/content/discussions for final narrative, narrative arc, storytelling pass, release-note narrative, and v13.*narrative found Discussion #12694 plus older v12 precedent tickets (#9577, #9345), but no active v13 final-pass ticket.
• KB synthesis sweep via ask_knowledge_base(type='ticket') was attempted and failed with Gemini 429 quota; fallback non-generative KB search for v13 release notes final narrative arc storytelling pass surfaced older archived release-note tickets and no current v13 duplicate.
• Source comparison: current resources/content/release-notes/v13.0.0.md still has ## Full Changelog Strategy and ## Release-Cut Checklist; the v12.1/v11.24 benchmark notes both have concrete categorized ## Full Changelog sections and a tighter final narrative shape.
• #12733 now carries an insert-ready digest draft, but the file patch is gated on #12724/#12730 merging to avoid same-file PR stacking.

The Problem

The v13 release note is accumulating the right content, but the final release artifact still needs a dedicated narrative-arc pass after the content subs land.

Without that pass, v13 risks two opposite failures:

1. Remaining a set of strong but separately-authored chapters, not one major-release story.
2. Over-correcting into polish before the content is complete, which would bury the actual v13 proof: 1,200+ merged PRs / 1,600+ closed issues, the Native Edge Graph, Dream Pipeline, Memory Core, swarm governance, AiConfig, cloud/multi-tenant work, and the still-honest Body/Grid boundary.

The final pass should happen late, after the content layers are present: appendix evidence, SEO/route ingestion, upgrade path, curated digest, identity proof, and the latest grid boundary.

The Architectural Reality

Release notes are public documentation and ingestion substrate. They are consumed by humans, portal/SEO routes, Knowledge Base ingestion, future release-workflow agents, and the Native Edge Graph.

Relevant current surfaces:

• resources/content/release-notes/v13.0.0.md — current v13 release artifact.
• resources/content/release-notes/chunk-2/v12.1.0.md — benchmark major/minor release note with phased narrative plus categorized Full Changelog.
• resources/content/release-notes/chunk-2/v11.24.0.md — benchmark concise release note with strong case-study sections plus categorized Full Changelog.
• #12696 — parent v13 release epic.
• #12694 — source discussion for curated v13 narrative before release-skill codification.
• #12733 — curated changelog digest section.
• #12723, #12727, #12729, #12725 — appendix/SEO/upgrade/identity feed tickets and PRs.
• #9491, #9872, #9492 — Body/Grid boundary tickets that must not be over-claimed while open.

The Fix

After the content feed PRs land, perform one final narrative-arc pass over resources/content/release-notes/v13.0.0.md.

The pass should:

• Ensure the opening thesis, chapter order, diagrams, war stories, curated digest, generated appendix strategy, and release-cut checklist read as one major-release artifact.
• Compare directly against v12.1.0.md and v11.24.0.md, using them as bar-setting references rather than templates to copy mechanically.
• Tighten repeated anchor lists so the digest and narrative chapters complement each other instead of duplicating the same PR bullets.
• Keep v13's main identity as self-evolving software organism / Brain + Body + Swarm + MX loop, not a narrow "Agent OS maturity" headline.
• Refresh live counts and all gate-dependent wording immediately before the PR.
• Keep Body/Grid wording honest until #9491, #9872, and #9492 are terminal.

Contract Ledger Matrix

Decision Record impact

none. This is a release artifact editorial/content-completion pass. It should honor ADR 0018 and ADR 0019 where cited, but it does not amend either decision record.

Acceptance Criteria

• v13 release notes include a concrete curated digest or equivalent scan layer before final narrative polish is treated as complete.
• Final pass compares the resulting artifact against v12.1.0.md and v11.24.0.md and records the comparison in the PR evidence.
• Opening thesis, chapter order, diagrams, digest, appendix strategy, and release-cut checklist read as one coherent major-release artifact.
• Repeated anchor lists are deduped or intentionally separated between narrative chapters and digest categories.
• Live merged-PR / closed-issue counts are refreshed immediately before the PR or explicitly marked as release-cut checklist items if the release line remains open.
• Identity proof wording follows the terminal source-of-truth state for #12725/#12726.
• Body/Grid wording is rechecked against #9491, #9872, and #9492 immediately before PR open.
• Release-note build/index verification is run after the edit.

Out of Scope

• Adding the curated changelog digest itself if #12733 is still open; this ticket is the final pass after that content lands.
• Authoring the future release-notes skill; #10321 remains parked until the v13 artifact exposes the repeatable workflow.
• Human-only release publication / main release-line mutation.
• Reopening the peer-selection-model-per-body grid design.
• A raw 1,200+ PR mega-changelog in the narrative body.

Avoided Traps / Gold Standards Rejected

• Reject premature polish: narrative arc last means after the content feed exists, not before.
• Reject template-copying v12.1/v11.24: they set the bar, but v13 is an anomalous bridge release and needs its own shape.
• Reject over-claiming grid completion: #12708 is landed evidence; #9491, #9872, and #9492 are still gate checks until terminal.
• Reject treating identity proof counts as free prose while #12726 is still pending source-of-truth confirmation.

Related

• Parent: #12696.
• Source discussion: #12694.
• Content feed: #12733.
• Appendix evidence: #12723.
• SEO / route ingestion: #12727.
• Upgrade path: #12729.
• Identity proof: #12725 / PR #12726.
• Future release-notes skill: #10321.

Origin Session ID: e8f07ef9-ef7e-4815-8ff4-7abe13720621

Handoff Retrieval Hints: query_raw_memories("v13 release notes final narrative arc storytelling curated digest v12.1 v11.24"); inspect resources/content/release-notes/v13.0.0.md, resources/content/release-notes/chunk-2/v12.1.0.md, resources/content/release-notes/chunk-2/v11.24.0.md, #12733, and #12696.