# Character State: ch-02

## Isabella Voss
- **Location:** The Bridal Chamber, High Tower, Blackthorn Keep.
- **Physical:** Hemomantic exhaustion; fresh bleeding from wrist scars beneath gloves; stinging from the Peace Vow.
- **Emotional:** Violated and icily resolute; her mask of "regal correction" is slipping into predatory focus.
- **Active Obligations:** Owes Damien Blackthorn a sanctioned heir (ch-01) — UNPAID; Owes Reginald Thorne Voss bloodline assets (ch-01) — UNPAID.
- **Open Loops:** Management of the blood-pact ink (ch-02) — UNRESOLVED.
- **Known Secrets:** Bleeding beneath her gloves; the true severity of her scarring; her successful manipulation of Damien’s blood to create a temporary anchor—binding his agency to her survival.
- **Arc (20%):** Shifted from passive hostage to active manipulator by linking Damien’s safety to her own via the blood-ink pact.
- **Status:** Permanent.

## Damien Blackthorn
- **Location:** The Bridal Chamber, High Tower, Blackthorn Keep.
- **Physical:** Uninjured, but physically bound and magically tethered by the blood-ink anchor.
- **Emotional:** Shocked, humiliated, and darkly impressed by Isabella’s audacity.
- **Active Obligations:** Owes Isabella protection and containment per the Treaty (ch-01) — UNPAID; Bound to Isabella’s physical safety by the blood-ink pact (ch-02) — UNPAID.
- **Open Loops:** Testing the limits of Isabella’s hemomancy (ch-01) — RESOLVED; Consummation of the alliance (ch-01) — UNRESOLVED.
- **Known Secrets:** Has now seen the evidence of the "Unmarked Vessel" violation; realizes he is tethered to her life.
- **Arc (15%):** Shifted from absolute predator to a tethered participant in Isabella’s survival game.
- **Status:** Permanent.

# World State: ch-02

## NPC Memory
- **High Priest Malakor (Blackthorn Keep):** DISGUSTED. Isabella’s refusal to kneel during the sealing rite is seen as a breach of protocol, increasing suspicion of the "Nightbloom Witch."
- **Blackthorn Guards (Hallways):** ADMIRING. View Damien’s entry as a conquest, reinforcing Isabella’s image as a trophy.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Nightbloom Coven:** SILENT. Abandoned Isabella to save the collective.
- **Blackthorn Coven:** DISMISSIVE. Expecting a quick domestic surrender; unaware of the magical subversion occurring in the High Tower.

## Active World Events
- **The Peace Vow:** ACTIVE. Magical pulse punishing Isabella’s dissent with internal pain.
- **The Treaty of Thorns:** ACTIVE. Diplomatic framework mandating the union.
- **The Unmarked Vessel Clause:** ACTIVE. Isabella has secretly breached this; Damien has confirmed the breach but is now compromised by the anchor.
- **The Blood-Ink Anchor:** ACTIVE. A localized magical bond created by Isabella during the consummation attempt that links Damien’s life to her own.

## Global Variables
- **Location:** Blackthorn Keep (The High Tower).
- **Tension Level:** Extreme (Nuclear standoff).
- **Political Climate:** Forced Annexation / Fragile Peace.