diff --git a/INTENT.md b/INTENT.md
index 2545ef7..da0c77d 100644
--- a/INTENT.md
+++ b/INTENT.md
@@ -1,5 +1,20 @@
 # INTENT
 
+> **NetKingdom layering review — 2026-08-28.** This repository's role was reviewed
+> against the NetKingdom IT-security layer model: **Taxonomy → Tooling → Engines →
+> Staff**, layered by determinism and by the kind of artifact each layer produces.
+> Findings and the argument behind them:
+> `gate-house/history/2026-08-28-security-layer-model-and-gate-house-recut.md`.
+> The model as currently stated is `gate-house/INTENT.md` § "Where Gate House Sits";
+> it is ruled to become a `net-kingdom/canon/standards/` standard, not yet written.
+>
+> The layer rule that binds every repository: **Staff never touches tooling
+> directly. It acts only through engine APIs.**
+>
+> **This repository is Engine — deterministic API for a modeled concept.** Add the layer label. Credential custody, materialization, and lifecycle remain secrets-engine's. Two boundaries to make explicit: the decision that authority exists is access-engine's, and the doctrine governing when and how authority may be materialized is gate-house's. secrets-engine implements; it does not author the rules or render the decision.
+>
+> *This note records what should change. The body below is not yet adapted.*
+
 > This file captures why this repository exists, the direction it is moving
 > toward, and the kind of system it is meant to become. It is intentionally
 > aspirational and stable, not a description of current implementation.