# Character State: ch-15 [POLISHED - CANONICAL]

## ELARA VANCE
**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven.
**Physical:** Ribs mending but tender; right palm Sigil glowing steady emerald-gold; exhaustion visible but resolute.
**Emotional:** Reverent, weary, grounded in purpose; profound reconnection to the land established.
**Active Obligations:** Owes Kaelen protection (Ch-06)—UNPAID.
**Open Loops:** Establishing the new Council (Ch-15)—IN PROGRESS; will shape governance structure in coming chapters.
**Secrets Carried:** Council Ledger secured; knows Oakhaven Elders orchestrated initial Blight (UNRESOLVED—will surface in trials).
**Arc Progress:** 95% → REALIZED architect of Oakhaven's rebirth; transitioned from reluctant claimant to intentional leader.
**Status:** Permanent POV character.

## KAELEN
**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven.
**Physical:** Bruising fading; posture relaxed; singed cuff marks healing.
**Emotional:** Relieved but introspective; burden of secrets heavier in new light of harmony.
**Active Obligations:** None.
**Open Loops:** Sun-Guard lineage revelation (Ch-13)—UNRESOLVED; Grove map secrets—UNRESOLVED.
**Secrets Carried:** Hidden Sun-Guard caches; Grove map location (both unshared with Elara).
**Arc Progress:** 90% → Accepted service to Vessel as redemption path beyond survival.
**Status:** Permanent supporting character.

## ELDER BRAM
**Location:** The Holding Cells beneath Pavilion, Oakhaven.
**Physical:** Shrunken, pale; living root-cuffs binding him; persistent cough.
**Emotional:** Despairing; views forest growth as sentence, not blessing.
**Open Loops:** Trial/Sentencing for treason—UNRESOLVED; legal proceedings pending.
**Secrets Revealed:** "Controlled Blight" conspiracy—EXPOSED (Ch-14).
**Arc Progress:** 100% → Complete fall from grace; symbolic relic of old corruption.
**Status:** Permanent antagonist/prisoner; arc concluded.

## THORNE BLACKROOT
**Status:** DECEASED (Ch-13). Salt-white remains at Heart-Root serve as boundary marker; Blight heralds cannot cross. Legacy active.

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# World State: ch-15 [POLISHED - CANONICAL]

## Environmental
- **The Great Integration:** Oakhaven physically transformed into "living city"—nature and stone indistinguishable.
- **Forest Spirits:** Harmonious; reinforce architecture with flowering vines; no longer assault walls.
- **Blight Pockets:** Vessel Sigil acts as compass toward remaining corruption sites; threat diminished but not eliminated.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Villagers of Oakhaven:** UNIFIED; division between "town" and "wild" erased; collective identity established.
- **Remaining Elders (3):** SHAMED; retreated from public life; influence neutralized by forest presence.
- **Mira (NPC):** DEVOTED; organized first Atrium planting; looks to Elara for legislative guidance.

## Active Mandates
- **The New Mandate:** Elara formally declared end of "Age of Walls"; inviting surrounding forest dwellers to return.
- **Council Reformation:** In early stages; Elara will shape governance alongside reformed leadership.

## Key Items/Evidence
- **Council Ledger:** Secured in High Pavilion; legal basis for upcoming trials.
- **Vessel Sigil:** Dimmed to steady rhythmic pulse; no longer causes pain; compass function active.

## Narrative Momentum
- Immediate: Elder Bram's trial; disclosure of Council conspiracy.
- Emerging: Integration of forest dwellers into Oakhaven; establishing new laws under Elara's guidance.
- Unresolved: Kaelen's lineage secrets; remaining Blight pockets; long-term sustainability of merged society.