# Character State: ch-03

## Queen Seraphine
Location: The Crimson Cathedral, Sanctuary Threshold
Physical: Severely depleted; pallor like bone-ash. Her hands carry a fine, rhythmic tremor from the hemomantic drain of the Cathedral’s containment rituals.
Emotional: Calcified. She has transitioned from panic to a state of predatory pragmatism; her fear for Elara has been sharpened into a weapon against the Clergy.
Active obligations: Must formalize the Union of the Spilled Wine with Aldric Thorne to stabilize the wards and preempt a Clergy-led coup.
Open loops: Needs to negotiate the "blood-tithe" with Malcorra to unlock the Bilateral Seal.
Known secrets: The Blight has begun to mimic the hum of the Cathedral’s own ward-stones, masking its infiltration.
Arc: 25% — She has publicly prioritized the Thorne alliance over Council isolationism.

## King Aldric
Location: The Crimson Cathedral, Sanctuary Threshold
Physical: Unnaturally still; his presence causes the Cathedral’s incense to curl toward him—a physical reaction to his outland blood.
Emotional: Guarded. He views the Cathedral as a strategic fortification with failing structural integrity rather than a holy site.
Active obligations: Needs the physical Seal to tether his borders before the Lowen-Court is entirely consumed by shadow.
Open loops: A fragile, wordless truce with Seraphine established during the tactical silence of the breach.
Known secrets: He recognizes the "vibration" in the stones as the same frequency that preceded the fall of the Lowen-Court’s outer ring.
Arc: 15% — Transitioned from invader to a resented, fundamental component of Aethelgard’s defense.

## High Priestess Malcorra
Location: The Altar of the Weeping Vein
Physical: Radiating cold, ozone-drenched stillness. Her fingers weave ambient blood-links with compulsive precision.
Emotional: Absolute. She perceives the Thorne-Valerius union as a theological infection and a threat to Cathedral supremacy.
Active obligations: To execute the "Purification of the Sovereignty" via the Sanguine Vow.
Open loops: Is the "Sacrilege" she hears a divine warning or the Blight’s psychic interference?
Known secrets: The "Red Ledger" is prepared to strike the Valerius name from existence should Seraphine falter.
Arc: 20% — Shifted from advisory oversight to active theological obstruction.

# World State: ch-03

## NPC Memory
- The Clergy: HOSTILE — They have witnessed Aldric Thorne stand on hallowed stones without burning; they view the Goddess’s silence as a call to purge the throne.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Crimson Cathedral: Militant/Defensive — The Spire is in lockdown; novices are armed with ritual daggers.
- The Lowen-Court: Endangered — Reports via blood-ink suggest border shadows no longer retreat during daylight.

## Active World Events
- The Sanguine Parley: 28 hours remain on the Thorne proposal.
- The Resonant Hum: The Cathedral stones are vibrating at a frequency causing minor nosebleeds—a sign of the Blight’s proximity.
- The Bilateral Seal: The artifact is prepared but inert; it requires a "harmonized" drop of blood from both sovereigns to activate the ancient wards.