# Character Sheet: Elara

## Identity
- Full name: Elara Vance
- Age: [Unknown]
- Role: protagonist
- Faction/School: Elderwood Vessel (harmonizer of primal Aspects)

## Voice Signature
(REQUIRED -- this section is injected into every chapter to enforce consistent voice.)
- Stress expression scale: "a quiet breath" = minor | "roots tangle my thoughts" = upset | "the waters rage in me!" = furious
- Verbal tic: mutters "by the roots" when invoking resolve or swearing an oath
- Sentence length pattern: measured and rhythmic when calm or channeling, fragmented and urgent when depleted
- What they REACH FOR: tactile (traces runes or grips natural talismans to ground herself)
- What they NEVER say: casual slang or modern idioms (e.g., never "no big deal" or "whatever")
- Imperfection signature: stammers with water-related metaphors when spiritually drained (e.g., "I... I flow... no, I mean falter")
- One example line of their dialogue that could not belong to any other character:
  "The falls whisper what the roots already know—debt binds us deeper than stone, Kaelen."

## Magic / Power / Special Ability
- School/Discipline: Aspect Harmonization (Vessel Ritual)
- Core principle: True power flows from surrender to the land's ancient memories, balancing self with elemental forces
- Signature move or approach: Enters trance to commune with spirits (e.g., harmonized Water Aspect at Shimmering Falls), gaining temporary blessings like tidal resilience
- Limitation: Heavy spiritual depletion after use; risks overwhelming visions or physical collapse (bruised ribs from prior strain)
- Shared uncertainty: Does harmonization preserve the self, or does the land's memory erode the harmonizer's identity?

## Arc
- Want: Complete the Vessel Ritual to halt the Great Blight and save Oakhaven
- Need: Fully embrace sacrificial leadership, honoring the dead like Thalric without resentment
- Fatal flaw: Overwhelming reluctance to burden others, leading her to shoulder crises alone
- Wound: Loss of her village's spiritual leader (Elder Thalric's death in ch-05), thrusting unwanted responsibility upon her
- Transformation: Becomes the confident Vessel who weaves allies into the ritual's harmony, paying debts through shared purpose

## Relationships
- Kaelen: Protective companion + mutual life-debts create tense loyalty; she shields him as he shielded her trance
- Mira: Anxious villager ally + Elara feels distant guilt over leaving her to manage Oakhaven's refugees
- Circle of Thorns: Hostile antagonists + their blight-spreading scouts embody the corruption she secretly knows originates from the roots

## Notes for Writers
- Physical habit or tell: Unconsciously traces the faint glow of the Sigil on her palm when resolute, wincing if it brushes her bruised ribs.
- Speech quirk specific to this character: Weaves Elderwood lore into oaths (e.g., "As the Elderwood bends but does not break..."), even mid-argument.
- Readers must NEVER see this character do or say: Never laughs freely or mocks foes—her humor is dry self-deprecation only; never says "I can't" outright.
- In exhaustion, she sways like mist-shrouded reeds, murmuring to invisible spirits before responding.
- Tracks mud or dew from her damp clothing everywhere, leaving subtle trails that NPCs notice and comment on.