# Character State: ch-17

## Elara Vance
**Location:** The Heart of the Weeping Grove, Elderwood
**Physical:** Spiritual exhaustion; bruised ribs; palm Sigil glowing with harmonized resonance
**Emotional:** Transcendent and resolute; heavy peace with sacrifice; edges of identity dissolution
**Active Obligations:** 
- Owes Kaelen protection (Ch-17) — UNPAID
- Owes Oakhaven survival through Ritual completion (Ch-17) — ACTIVE (CRITICAL)
**Open Loops:** 
- [Elara & Thorne] Final confrontation over Vessel artifacts (Ch-17) — UNRESOLVED
- [Elara & Self] Does harmonization preserve identity or erode it? (Ch-17) — UNRESOLVED (INTENSIFYING)
**Known Secrets:** 
- CARRIED (Ch-05--unresolved): Great Blight fed by Elderwood's ancient roots
**Arc:** 85% — Transitioned from reluctant survivor to self-accepting Vessel; now grappling with loss of individual self.
**Permanent:** YES

## Kaelen
**Location:** The Heart of the Weeping Grove, Elderwood
**Physical:** Minor lacerations; heavy fatigue; steady hands
**Emotional:** Fiercely loyal; quiet awe; protective resolve
**Active Obligations:** 
- Owes Elara his life (Ch-17) — UNPAID (driving force)
**Open Loops:** 
- [Kaelen & Thorne] Exploitation of deserter past (Ch-17) — UNRESOLVED
- [Kaelen & Self] Can he shed deserter instincts permanently? (Ch-17) — UNRESOLVED (CRITICAL)
**Known Secrets:** 
- CARRIED (Ch-17--unresolved): Location of hidden cache in Southern Wilds
**Arc:** 80% — Abandoned deserter instincts to become the Vessel's primary guardian.
**Permanent:** YES

## Thorne Blackroot
**Location:** The Heart of the Weeping Grove, Elderwood
**Physical:** Searing magical burns on arms; blackened veins pulsing with Blight corruption
**Emotional:** Fanatical; desperate; unraveling control over his own fate
**Active Obligations:** 
- Owes Circle of Thorns a cleansed Grove (Ch-17) — UNPAID (FAILING)
**Open Loops:** 
- [Thorne & Blight] Master or instrument? (Ch-17) — UNRESOLVED (CRITICAL CLIMAX POINT)
- [Thorne & Redemption] Can he sever the Blight's heart? (Ch-17) — UNRESOLVED (FINAL CHOICE PENDING)
**Known Secrets:** 
- CARRIED (Ch-17--unresolved): Ritual to invert Vessel power
- CARRIED (Ch-17--unresolved): Hidden humanity beneath vengeance
**Arc:** 75% — Tethered physical form to Blight to prevent failure; now losing autonomy.
**Permanent:** YES

# World State: ch-17

## NPC Memory
- Grove Spirits (The Heart): RESPONSIVE — Having been agitated, they now begin to answer Elara's harmonization calls — Strengthens the Vessel's connection to the land.

## Faction Attitudes
- Circle of Thorns: AGGRESSIVE — Pushing final Blightweaver assault on the Heart.
- Oakhaven Survivors: DESPERATE — Faith is entirely placed in the ritual as outskirts are breached.

## Active World Events
- The Vessel Ritual: FINAL STAGE — Localization points stabilized; the Heart is the final threshold.
- The Great Blight: PEAK — Ecosystem collapse at Grove edges; feeding accelerating toward the center.