diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md index c55b9c34..5eb0ea8b 100644 --- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md +++ b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md @@ -1,60 +1,62 @@ # Character State: Ch4 ## Lena Duval -Location: Jax Harlan’s boat (The *Ghost Drift*), navigating the Maurepas shortcut -Physical: Tremors in right hand; fever spiking; clothes damp with swamp water. -Emotional: Violated and desperate. +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": The consciousness within the roots (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED +- 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: The consequences of interrupting the "Rite of the First Sap" (Ch3) -- UNRESOLVED -- Lena and Jax: The flight from Widow’s Deep toward the city (Ch4) -- 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 fled her ancestral home, choosing an outsider’s help over her family’s demands for the first time. +- 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 from loading gear; eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. -Emotional: Protective and wary. +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 helping Lena escape (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED +- Jax and the Duval Coven: Potential retaliation for Lena's extraction (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED Known secrets: -- Knows Lena’s fever is not biological but "land-sick" -- Lena thinks he believes it's just the flu. -Arc: 5% -- Jax has committed to Lena’s cause, moving from an observer to an active participant in the Duval family conflict. +- 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: The Widow’s Deep (shores of the black pool) -Physical: Exhausted; throat raw from shouting commands. -Emotional: Coldly vengeful. +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 declared Lena an apostate, signaling a shift from manipulation to open pursuit. +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): MALICIOUS -- They watched Lena flee with an outsider; they now view her as a thief of their sacred bloodline. +- 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: Hostile -- Currently mobilizing to track Lena down using the "Blackening" as a guide. -- Terrebonne Development Corp: Lurking -- Increased presence felt through new dredging equipment arriving at the edge of the bend. +- 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 now appearing on trees outside of Widow’s Deep, following the path of Lena’s flight. -- Path of the Phlegethon: Local wildlife is migrating away from the development markers, creating an eerie silence in the marsh. \ No newline at end of file +- 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. \ No newline at end of file