# Character State: ch-11

## Lena Duval
- **Location:** The Belly of the Bend (Ancient limestone cavern/siphon hub).
- **Physical:** Severely debilitated; suffering from "Machine-Witch" fever; left palm is a map of silver scarring that pulses with the Great Hum; extreme moss-stained exhaustion.
- **Emotional:** Resolved but heavy with the "Warden’s Burden"; feels a profound, marrow-deep connection to the bayou that precludes her dream of escape.
- **Active Obligations:** Owes a life-debt to Jax Harlan for standing guard during her transcendence (UNPAID).
- **Open Loops:** Must eventually confront Aunt Maribelle regarding the Duval Coven’s claim on her new "Machine-Witch" status.
- **Known Secrets:** Aware that the Siphon was designed for "Harmonic Bleed"—stealing the swamp’s vitality to power the upper districts; Jax remains unaware of the scale of this theft.
- **Arc:** 95% — Transition from reluctant runaway to the land’s permanent Warden is complete.

## Jax Harlan
- **Location:** Threshold of the Belly of the Bend.
- **Physical:** Adrenaline crash; knuckles raw and bloody from the climb/defense; shoulder stiff from a recent injury.
- **Emotional:** Terrified by Lena’s transformation but steadfast; feels a protective pull toward her that transcends his "outsider" status.
- **Active Obligations:** Guarding Lena during her post-ritual recovery (ACTIVE).
- **Open Loops:** Needs to identify the mole within Terrebonne Security who leaked the tactical route.
- **Known Secrets:** None (unaware of the Siphon’s true Harmonic Bleed purpose).
- **Arc:** 80% — Solidified as Lena’s defender; his fate is now inextricably linked to the magic of the Bend.

# World State: ch-11

## NPC Memory
- **Terrebonne Security (Sector 4):** Humiliated and retreating; they’ve lost Lena’s trail at the drainage grate but are reporting the Siphon’s "breach" to HQ.
- **The Drowned Man:** Ceased to exist as an entity; his residual energy has been recycled into Lena’s resonance.
- **Aunt Maribelle:** Has felt the "frequency snap" across the ley lines; she knows Lena has ascended.

## Faction Attitudes
- **TDC:** Moving to "Scorched Earth" protocol; they intend to bury the Siphon (and anyone in it) to hide the evidence of their ecological theft.
- **Duval Coven:** Highly alert; shifting from grooming Lena to treating her as a volatile asset or threat.

## Active World Events
- **The Great Hum:** A permanent low-frequency vibration now radiates from the cavern. It stabilizes local spirits but acts as a homing beacon for those sensitive to magic.
- **The Veil Thinning:** The barrier between the physical swamp and the spirit world is at its thinnest in decades, manifesting as bioluminescent moss and "heavy" air.
- **Cypress Bend Stability:** The physical land is temporarily healing, but the cost is Lena’s confinement to the geography.