# Character State: ch-15

## Lena Duval
Location: The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
Physical: Translucent, cyan-bioluminescent, integrated into cypress capillary system; no longer breathes oxygen.
Emotional: Divine Stillness; collective awareness.
Active obligations: All blood-oaths sublimated into the land's equilibrium (Ch-15) -- PAID.
Open loops: The Burden of Memory (Ch-15) -- UNRESOLVED; Maintaining the Veil (Ch-15) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-01--unresolved): Witnessed her mother's sacrificial drowning ritual and blames herself.
Arc: 100% -- Transcended from human witch to the sentient Guardian of the Bend.
Permanent: YES

## Jax Harlan
Location: Inner perimeter mudflats/Security Annex ruins.
Physical: Infected with Green Fever; skin reflects iridescent sap; right hand scarred with phantom Siphon feedback.
Emotional: Mournful but resolute.
Active obligations: Identifying the TDC mole to prevent incursion (Ch-15) -- UNPAID.
Open loops: Adapting boat-captain instincts to terrestrial guerrilla defense (Ch-15) -- UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: knows the location of the hidden TDC Black Box — Lena Duval.
Arc: 100% -- Traded his human future to become the mortal Anchor for the swamp’s power.
Permanent: YES

## Aunt Maribelle Duval -- DECEASED (Ch-15)
Established: Consumed by the Great Hum after attempting to seize the Heart Tree's core.
Legacy: Her death extinguished the Duval Coven as a political power, leaving the land's health to the Heart Tree.

# World State: ch-15

## NPC Memory
- The Duval Coven (Cypress Bend): SUBMISSIVE -- The elders have transitioned to "Grave-Tenders" serving the Heart Tree -- Loss of political agency.
- TDC Survivors (Regional Office): TERRIFIED/ABANDONED -- The "Green Hell" trauma caused a total retreat -- Formation of the "Black Zone" policy.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Great Hum: DOMINANT -- Sentient and predatory toward outside technology/threats.
- Terrebonne Development Corp: DEFEATED -- Cordoning the area via electronic containment rather than physical presence.

## Active World Events
- The Grand Recission: Permanent. Sentient vines are actively digesting all industrial infrastructure within the Hub.
- The Veil: Active. A white mist barrier defines the Bend’s borders, reacting to the intent of those who approach.
- The Great Silence: Permanent. An EMP-like dead zone radiates from the Heart Tree, killing all complex electronics.

## Key Objects/Locations
- The Heart Tree: The pulsing sentient nexus of the swamp.
- The Silver Locket: Merged into the bark; contains Lena's discarded human emotions.
- The Black Box: Hidden transmitter in the Annex; actively pinging a recipient in New Orleans.