# Character State: ch-05

## Mira
Location: Sparring Arena, Floor (collapsed against Dorian)
Physical: Total mana depletion; cold-shock; minor somatic bruising from the kinetic inversion.
Emotional: Reeling from the "perfect" balance achieved during the channel; protective of Dorian.
Active obligations: Owes Dorian a debt for grounding her lethal kinetic load (Ch05) — UNPAID.
Open loops: Mira/Dorian "Binary Star" stability (Ch02) — UNRESOLVED; Mira/Ministry "Correction Clause" (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Knows she felt a "wild, terrifying joy" in the destructive potential of the Starfall pocket — Dorian does not know.
Arc: 45% — Surrendered her role as "sole protector" of the Pyre by trusting her rival with her absolute power.
Permanent: YES (First instance of "The Battery and the Lens" synergy; established total trust in Dorian's competence).

## Dorian Solas
Location: Sparring Arena, Floor (holding Mira)
Physical: Severe magical exhaustion; nerve-scorch from kinetic overload; skin "flayed" sensation; right hand scarred with 'Binary Star' sigil.
Emotional: Terrified by the loss of his "absolute zero" identity; experiencing involuntary dependency on Mira’s heat.
Active obligations: Owes Aric/Elara medical restoration (Ch05) — UNPAID.
Open loops: Dorian/Mira somatic threshold limits (Ch03) — UNRESOLVED; Dorian/Ministry impact of arena disaster (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Knows his frost-wards failed due to his own distraction/tether interference — Mira/Lyra do not know.
Arc: 40% — Transitioned from a passive observer of the tether to an active participant in "fusing" opposing magics.
Permanent: YES (Manifested a "Paradox" spell; relationship shifted from professional rivalry to a visceral, biological need for her proximity).

## Kaelen
Location: Sparring Arena, tending to Aric.
Physical: Singed eyebrows/robes from the steam blast.
Emotional: Alarm and heightened suspicion toward the Chancellors’ erratic power.
Active obligations: Owes Mira a report on student casualties (Ch05) — UNPAID.
Open loops: Kaelen/Dorian trust deficit (Ch02) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Noticed the Chancellors remained twined together after the danger passed — Ministry Observers do not know yet.
Arc: 15% — Realized the merger is no longer just administrative but is physically warping reality.
Permanent: NO

## Lyra
Location: Sparring Arena, tending to Elara.
Physical: Shaken; spectacles cracked.
Emotional: Professional horror at the failure of Spire stabilization lattices.
Active obligations: Owes Dorian a calibration audit of the broken lattices (Ch05) — UNPAID.
Open loops: Lyra/Ministry Starfall report (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: Documented the exact moment the Starfall pocket inverted the Mercury-Glass — The Chancellors do not know.
Arc: 10% — Witnessed the first successful "Paradox" magic in centuries.
Permanent: NO

# World State: ch-05

## NPC Memory
- Aric (Pyre Student): TRAUMATIZED — Nearly boiled from the inside out — Likely to fear his own Chancellor’s "New" magic.
- Elara (Spire Student): COMATOSE — Mana-stripped by the Starfall loop — Will remain a medical drain on Union resources.
- Ministry Observers (Galleries): APPALLED — Witnessed a lethal failure of the Union's first public act — Will likely trigger the "Correction Clause."

## Faction Attitudes
- The Ministry of Magic: HOSTILE — See the arena disaster as proof that the Chancellors cannot control their students or their bond.
- Pyre Faculty: REBELLIOUS — Blame Dorian’s "interference" for the injury of their star student, Aric.

## Active World Events
- The Starfall Drift: Active and accelerating. Pockets are now moving over civilized centers.
- The Transition Stasis: A permanent magical landmark of frozen steam now exists in the arena center.