# Character State: Ch4

## Lena Duval
Location: The *Ghost Drift*, navigating the Maurepas shortcut toward the city line.
Physical: High fever; right hand tremors; skin damp/clammy; exhaustion.
Emotional: Terrified but resolute; feeling the "tear" of leaving the land.
Active obligations: 
- Owes the land a "balancing of scales" for the fog (Ch1) -- UNPAID
- Owes Jax Harlan a conversation about the "unnatural" events (Ch2) -- UNPAID
- Owes Jax Harlan safe passage/cooperation during flight (Ch4) -- UNPAID
Open loops: 
- Lena and the "Whisper": Mother’s voice in the roots (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
- Lena and the surveyors: Physical removal of markers (Ch2) -- UNRESOLVED
- Lena and the Rite: Consequences of interruption (Ch3) -- UNRESOLVED
- Lena and Jax: The flight toward New Orleans (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
Known secrets: 
- CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows she intends to flee to New Orleans within the week -- Aunt Maribelle does not know.
- CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows the "whisper" sounded like her mother's voice -- No one else knows.
- CARRIED (Ch2--unresolved): Knows she found a survey marker labeled "Project Phlegethon" -- Jax and Maribelle do not know.
Arc: 35% -- Lena has physically crossed the threshold of the swamp's interior, choosing an outsider’s protection over family tradition.
Permanent: YES

## Jax Harlan
Location: The *Ghost Drift* (cockpit), Maurepas shortcut.
Physical: Scuffed knuckles; bloodshot eyes; alert and tense.
Emotional: Protective; increasingly unsettled by the supernatural signs following the boat.
Active obligations: 
- Owes Lena safe passage to the city line (Ch4) -- UNPAID
Open loops:
- Jax and the Duval Coven: Potential retaliation for Lena's extraction (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
Known secrets: 
- Knows Lena’s fever is "land-sick" (unnatural) -- Lena thinks he believes it is a standard illness.
Arc: 5% -- Jax has transitioned from a neutral guide to a fugitive accomplice against the Duval family.
Permanent: YES

## Aunt Maribelle Duval
Location: Shore of the black pool, Widow’s Deep.
Physical: Throat raw; signs of aging accelerated by the "Blackening" ritual.
Emotional: Scornful and vindictive.
Active obligations: None.
Open loops: 
- Maribelle and the Coven: Completing the "Rite of the First Sap" (Ch2) -- UNRESOLVED
- Maribelle and Lena: The hunt for the "Apostate" (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
Known secrets: 
- CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows the exact date the developers plan to clear-cut the Eastern bend -- Lena does not know.
- CARRIED (Ch2--unresolved): Knows the developers are paying the local sheriff -- Lena and Jax do not know.
- CARRIED (Ch3--unresolved): Knows the "Blackening" is a defense mechanism she is actively triggering -- Lena does not know.
Arc: 15% -- Maribelle has officially designated Lena as an enemy of the bloodline.
Permanent: YES

# World State: Ch4

## NPC Memory
- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- They witnessed Jax taking Lena; they view the boat as a vessel of theft.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Duval Coven: Aggressive -- Mobilizing to retrieve Lena.
- Terrebonne Development Corp: Lurking -- Their presence (dredgers) is the catalyst for the Coven's desperation.

## Active World Events
- The Blackening: Oily sap is bleeding from trees along the Maurepas shortcut, marking the boat’s path.
- Migration: The swamp has gone silent as animals flee the path of the "Project Phlegethon" markers.