# Character State: ch-16 [POLISHED]

## Elara Vance
**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven
**Physical:** Exhausted but stable; rib pain receding; Sigil on palm pulsing with low, rhythmic hum
**Emotional:** Resolute and visionary; bearing the weight of the "Age of Roots"
**Active Obligations:** Owes Kaelen protection (Ch-06)—UNPAID
**Open Loops:** 
- Establishing new Council (Ch-15)—IN PROGRESS
- Integrated society stability (Ch-16)—UNRESOLVED
**Known Secrets (Carried):**
- Oakhaven Elders orchestrated initial Blight (Ch-15—unresolved)
- Council Ledger secured in High Pavilion (Ch-15—unresolved)
**Arc:** 98% — Transitioned from restorer to legislator; formally abolished "Age of Walls"; embraced forest integration as irreversible future
**Status:** Permanent protagonist

## Kaelen
**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven
**Physical:** No injuries; standing at Atrium's edge
**Emotional:** Quietly supportive; contemplative about his own destiny
**Active Obligations:** None
**Open Loops:**
- Sun-Guard lineage revelation (Ch-15)—UNRESOLVED
- Grove map secrets (Ch-15)—UNRESOLVED
**Known Secrets (Held by Elara):**
- Hidden Sun-Guard caches
- Grove map location
**Arc:** 92% — Solidified role as silent sentinel to new era's laws
**Status:** Permanent character

## Mira
**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven
**Physical:** Splashed with soil and sap; no injuries
**Emotional:** Eager and industrious; hopeful
**Active Obligations:** Directing the "First Sowing" (Ch-16)—IN PROGRESS
**Arc:** 60% — Shifted from refugee to leader of civil reconstruction
**Status:** Non-permanent; expendable if narrative requires

## Elder Bram
**Status:** DECEASED (Ch-16) — Life force reclaimed by root-cuffs during Great Integration surge
**Legacy:** Final witness removed; Old Council's end marked

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# World State: ch-16 [POLISHED]

## Key Events (Complete)
- **The Great Integration:** COMPLETE — City and forest are now a single biological entity
- **Elder Bram's Death:** Marks the end of corrupt Old Council
- **The First Sowing:** ACTIVE — Civil initiative to plant food/medicine within stone ruins

## Faction Status
- **Villagers of Oakhaven:** Rejuvenated — Actively tearing down stone partitions; embracing forest integration
- **Forest Dwellers:** Cautious/Returning — Spirit-forms and exiles entering city limits for first time in generations
- **Remaining Elders:** Submissive — Political power non-existent; compliant witnesses

## Critical Items
- **Council Ledger:** Secured in High Pavilion; legal proof of Elders' crimes
- **Vessel Sigil:** Permanent fixture on Elara's palm; ecosystem stabilizer; low-hum resonance indicates stable harmony

## Threshold Crossed
Age of Walls → Age of Roots: irreversible. Society's biological and legal foundations are now entwined with forest consciousness.

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**CHAPTER 16 STATUS:** POLISHED AND LOCKED