# Character State: ch-08

## Mira
Location: Imperial High Court, Grand Balcony, Capital City
Physical: Severe magical exhaustion; tremors in hands; thermal bruising on collarbone.
Emotional: Betrayed and cold; a sharpened, lethal focus replacing her usual volatile heat.
Active obligations: Owes Dorian a shared defense strategy (Ch08) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: Mira/Dorian "High Court" exile (Ch08) -- UNRESOLVED; Mira/Emperor "Past and Rot" mystery (Ch01) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Knows the Emperor is feeding the Starfall into the ley-lines to sustain his own life -- Dorian does not know.
Arc: 85% -- Mira transitioned from a reluctant administrator to a revolutionary leader willing to burn the Empire to save the Accord.
Permanent: YES (Officially declared a rogue agent of the Throne; relationship with Dorian shifted to "Us against the World").

## Dorian Solas
Location: Imperial High Court, Grand Balcony, Capital City
Physical: Frost-marrow depletion; blood-rimmed eyes; cracked ribs from the Ministry's kinetic dampeners.
Emotional: Defiant; experiencing an unprecedented surge of protective rage that overrides his "absolute zero" logic.
Active obligations: Owes Mira a vow of sanctuary at the Spire (Ch08) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: Dorian/Ministry "Correction Clause" execution (Ch08) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Realized the "Founders' Binding" was designed to kill the Chancellors once the Starfall was stabilized -- Mira does not know.
Arc: 80% -- Dorian permanently abandoned his "Neutrality" and "Institutional Logic" to shield Mira from the Emperor’s executioners.
Permanent: YES (Renounced his Imperial title; declared the Crystalline Spire a sovereign territory in rebellion).

## Kaelen
Location: Pyre Academy, Command Center (via long-range scrying)
Physical: Uninjured.
Emotional: Terrified and ready for war; mobilizing the student vanguard.
Active obligations: Owes Mira a distraction at the border (Ch08) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: Kaelen/Lyra "Binary Star" deployment (Ch05) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Noticed the Imperial Censors moving toward the Spire's private library -- Lyra/Chancellors do not know.
Arc: 40% -- Accepted his role as the military commander of the "Union" resistance.
Permanent: NO

## Lyra
Location: Crystalline Spire, High Archives (via long-range scrying)
Physical: No injuries.
Emotional: Desperate; frantically erasing research that links the tether to the Emperor’s life force.
Active obligations: Owes Dorian the "Correction Clause" counter-spell (Ch08) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: Lyra/Imperial Censors "Archive Breach" (Ch08) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Found the specific frequency needed to sever the tether without killing them -- The Chancellors do not know.
Arc: 35% -- Shifted from a passive researcher to a focal point of the rebellion's intelligence.
Permanent: NO

# World State: ch-08

## NPC Memory
- High Inquisitor Vane (Ministry): HOSTILE -- Witnessed the Chancellors’ refusal to submit -- Will now execute a "Purge" of all Union-loyal students.
- The Emperor (Eternal Throne): ADVERSARIAL -- Revealed his true nature to the Chancellors -- Preparing to siege both academies.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Ministry of Magic: GENOCIDAL -- View the "Starfall Union" as a biological threat to the Emperor’s sovereignty.
- Pyre/Spire Students: RADICALIZED -- The news of the Chancellors' betrayal at Court has fused the rival houses into a unified resistance.

## Active World Events
- The Great Schism: The Empire is officially split. The Starfall Union is now a rogue state.
- The Starfall Convergence: The drift is centering over the Capital; the Emperor is actively accelerating the collapse to weaponize the mana.