staging: polished/character-state-ch-06-final.md task=468698c9-e838-46ff-9e9b-f50e4e3f5942

projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-06-final.md

@@ -1,44 +1,40 @@
 # Character State: ch-06
 
 ## Lena Duval
-**Location:** Safehouse, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans.
-**Physical:** Massive sensory "static" from the city's concrete; tremors in her hands. Severely nauseated by her mother’s silver locket, which is now vibrating with a rhythmic, mechanical hum rather than natural pulses. Her connection to the "Pulse" is severed/distorted.
-**Emotional:** Claustrophobic, vulnerable, and "magically blind." Struggling with the psychological intrusion of Aunt Maribelle's voice.
-**Active Obligations:**
-- Owed to Jax: Explanation of "Project Phlegethon" (UNPAID).
-- Self-preservation: Must find a way to silence the "white noise" and Maribelle (ACTIVE).
-**Open Loops:**
-- Nature of the Severing: Is she losing her power or is the frequency of the world changing? (UNRESOLVED).
-- The Locket: Determining why it has synced with industrial machinery (UNRESOLVED).
-**Arc Progress:** 50% — Lena realizes her "static" is actually a tuning issue; she is sensing the industrial/artificial takeover of the ley lines.
+- **Location:** Safehouse basement, Lower Ninth Ward (Evacuating).
+- **Physical:** Nauseous and trembling; thumb bleeding from a ritual prick; sensory overload due to "industrial resonance."
+- **Emotional:** Claustrophobic and desperate; feeling "magically blind" as if the world’s pulse has been replaced by a machine.
+- **Active Obligations:** Owes Jax a full explanation of Project Phlegethon — UNPAID.
+- **Open Loops:** The Frequency Shift intrusion (Maribelle) — UNRESOLVED; The Silver Locket's mechanical synchronization — UNRESOLVED.
+- **Known Secrets:** Knows Project Phlegethon is a Duval/Terrebonne plot to rewrite ley lines into industrial frequencies — SHARED (with Jax).
+- **Arc (50%):** Realizes her "static" is actually a tuning issue; she is beginning to sense the artificial takeover of the land’s rhythm.
 
 ## Jax Harlan
-**Location:** Safehouse, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans.
-**Physical:** Tense, shoulder bruised, low-grade exhaustion.
-**Emotional:** Protective but increasingly suspicious of the security breach.
-**Active Obligations:**
-- Extraction: Getting Lena to the New Orleans contact despite the leak (ACTIVE).
-**Open Loops:**
-- The Mole: Identifying how the safehouse was compromised so quickly (UNRESOLVED).
-**Arc Progress:** 25% — Transitions from a hired escort to a vested investigator of the Duval/Terrebonne conspiracy.
+- **Location:** Safehouse, Lower Ninth Ward (Extraction).
+- **Physical:** Adrenaline-fueled tension; bruised shoulder; bracing for a fighting retreat.
+- **Emotional:** Deeply suspicious of the city’s security; frustrated by the breach; protective of Lena.
+- **Active Obligations:** Owes Lena extraction to a viable contact — ACTIVE.
+- **Open Loops:** Identity of the safehouse leak — UNRESOLVED.
+- **Arc (25%):** Transitioning from hired escort to vested investigator of the Duval/Terrebonne conspiracy.
 
 # World State: ch-06
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- **Aunt Maribelle:** Pierced the safehouse's spiritual wards; her voice is no longer bound by distance. She is actively hunting Lena through the "Frequency Shift."
-- **The "Neutral" Contact:** Remains unmet; their reliability is now questionable given the breach.
+- **Aunt Maribelle:** SUCCESSFUL INTRUSION—She used the new frequency to pierce the safehouse wards and psychically assault Lena.
+- **The Neutral Contact:** COMPROMISED—The safehouse location was leaked; the contact is now a suspected traitor or compromised asset.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- **The Duval Coven:** Predatory; using the "Urban Wall" failure to reclaim Lena as their "engine" for the Bend.
-- **Terrebonne Development Corp:** Moving into the "Heart of the Bend"; their machinery is physically altering the magical resonance of the region.
+- **The Duval Coven:** Predatory; tracking Lena’s biometric/magical signature via the new Frequency Shift.
+- **Terrebonne Development Corp:** Hostile; their machinery is actively drowning out natural ley lines.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- **The Frequency Shift:** A fundamental change in the background "noise" of the world. The organic pulse of the swamp is being overwritten by the mechanical rhythm of Project Phlegethon.
-- **Urban Wall Failure:** The concrete and iron of the city are no longer providing Lena sanctuary from psychic intrusion.
-- **The Leak:** The safehouse is no longer a "cold" location.
+- **The Frequency Shift:** The background magical pulse of the region is being overwritten by an artificial, mechanical rhythm (Project Phlegethon).
+- **Urban Sanctuary Failure:** The concrete and iron of New Orleans no longer pulse with the "neutrality" Lena expected; the city is now a trap.
+- **The Breach:** The Ninth Ward safehouse is no longer secure; Jax and Lena are in active flight.
 
 ## Metadata
-- **Key Item:** Silver Locket (Vibrating mechanically; a literal "tuning fork" for the new industrial frequency).
-- **Key Term:** "Industrial Resonance."
+- **Key Item:** Silver Locket (vibrating with a mechanical hum; a tracking beacon).
+- **Key Term:** "Industrial Resonance" (The synthesized magic of Terrebonne).
 - **Mood:** Industrial horror, claustrophobic, high-tension.
-- **Current Conflict:** Escape vs. Entrapment within a compromised sanctuary.
+- **Current Conflict:** Escape from a compromised urban sanctuary while Lena is "magically blind."
+- **Voice Check:** Lena mutters "gator's truth" regarding the shifting pulse; twists her locket compulsively as she hides the depth of her fear.