# Character State: ch-04

## King Aldric
Location: The Great Hall, Castle Sangue
Physical: Burning sensation in the throat; mild tremors in hands from silver-toxin ingestion; deathly pale.
Emotional: Violated and cold; experiencing a deepening of the blood-bond’s sensory bleed.
Active obligations: Owes Seraphine the protection of the Thorne-Valerius borders (ch-03) — UNPAID.
Open loops: [Aldric & Seraphine] The revelation of the execution of his brother (ch-03) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: None.
Arc: 35% — Transitioned from a wary guest to a target of internal Valerius treachery, forcing a physical reliance on Seraphine's intervention.
Permanent: YES

## Queen Seraphine
Location: The Great Hall, Castle Sangue
Physical: Armored and rigid; experiencing phantom pain in her own throat as she filters the toxin from Aldric via the link.
Emotional: Predatory and furious; she has pivoted from diplomat to executioner to preserve the Vow.
Active obligations: Owes Aldric Thorne a formal response to the Bilateral Seal (ch-01) — PAID.
Open loops: [Seraphine & Aldric] The shared sensory intrusion of the blood-bond (ch-05) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-03—unresolved): The Blight has breached the inner glass-line; the Lowen-Court is already compromised.
Arc: 40% — Chose the survival of the Thorne King over the loyalty of her own High Provost, cementing the Vow over her own people.
Permanent: YES

## High Provost Vane — DECEASED (ch-04)
Established: Executed by Queen Seraphine via hemomantic heart-stop after attempting to poison King Aldric with silver-dust.
Legacy: His death creates a power vacuum in the Lowen-Court and signals to the nobility that the Sanguine Vow is absolute.

## Captain Kaelen
Location: The Great Hall, Castle Sangue
Physical: Uninjured; hand remains on the hilt of his sword.
Emotional: Hyper-vigilant; wary of the remaining nobles and the Queen's physical tax.
Active obligations: Absolute silence regarding the Queen’s flagging physical stamina (ch-03) — UNPAID.
Open loops: [Kaelen & Seraphine] The cost of his intervention against the High Priestess (ch-03) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-03—unresolved): Knows the Queen nearly collapsed during the walk to the cellar.
Arc: 20% — Recognizes that the internal threat of the Court is as lethal as the Blight at the perimeter.
Permanent: YES

# World State: ch-04

## NPC Memory
- The Lowen-Court Nobility (Castle Sangue): TERROR — Witnessed the Queen kill one of their own to protect a Thorne King; the room is silenced and compliant.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Lowen-Court: TERRIFIED/SUBMISSIVE — The execution of Vane has temporarily suppressed the plotting against the marriage.
- The Crimson Cathedral: OBSERVANT — The failure of the poison is noted as a strengthening of the blood-bond.

## Active World Events
- The Oakhaven Breach: CRITICAL — Status remains active at the eastern edge; the royal party remains at Castle Sangue dealing with the assassination attempt.
- The Silver Toxin incident: RESOLVED — The perpetrator is dead; the King is stabilized but weakened.
- The Sanguine Marriage: Blood-bond is active; the shared physical toll of the toxin has deepened the psychic connection between the Sovereigns.