staging: character-state-chapter-ref.md task=09d39a9a-3071-4e36-bd92-42cb2c6d727d

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md

@@ -1,38 +1,56 @@
-Since no PASS 1 narrative prose was provided in the preceding turn for this specific session, I am duty-bound by the Extraction Mode instructions to report based on the current context window. If you provide the chapter text, I will extract the state immediately.
-
-As of this moment:
-
-# Character State: Ch[X]
+# Character State: Ch1
 
 ## Lena Duval
-Location: Cypress Bend (The Bayou)
-Physical: No injuries; smells of magnolia and mud.
-Emotional: Guarded and weary.
-Active obligations: Owes Aunt Maribelle Duval her presence at the upcoming ritual (Ch[X]) -- UNPAID.
-Open loops: Lena and Jax Harlan [The nature of the darkness in the grove] (Ch[X]) -- UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch[0]--unresolved): Blames herself for her mother's drowning.
-Arc: 05% -- Acknowledged the pull of the cypress roots despite her desire to leave.
-Permanent: NO
+Location: The Duval ancestral cabin, Cypress Bend bayou
+Physical: Feverish and exhausted; palm is raw from a fresh blood-oath cut.
+Emotional: Defensive and burdened by ancestral duty.
+Active obligations: 
+- owes The Land a blood-debt for the fog illusion (Ch1) -- UNPAID
+- owes Maribelle Duval her presence at the full moon rite (Ch1) -- UNPAID
+Open loops: 
+- [Lena & Jax] The purpose of Jax's sudden return to Cypress Bend (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
+- [Lena & The Land] The "rot" Lena sensed in the cypress roots (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: 
+- knows she intends to leave for New Orleans in three days -- Aunt Maribelle
+- knows the ritual fog was thinner than usual -- the rest of the coven
+Arc: 5% -- After years of avoidance, Lena used her blood to defend the grove, acknowledging her tether to the land is stronger than her desire to leave.
+Permanent: YES
 
 ## Jax Harlan
-Location: Boat dock, Cypress Bend
-Physical: No injuries.
-Emotional: Stoic but curious.
-Active obligations: None.
-Open loops: Jax and Lena [Trusting each other during swamp runs] (Ch[X]) -- UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: None.
-Arc: 02% -- Agreed to help Lena navigate the deeper, "unmapped" channels.
+Location: Captain’s deck of the *Black Gator*, Cypress Bend docks
+Physical: No injuries; smells of diesel and salt.
+Emotional: Determined but wary.
+Active obligations: 
+- owes Lena Duval an explanation for his return (Ch1) -- UNPAID
+Open loops: 
+- [Jax & Developers] The contract Jax is carrying for the shoreline survey (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: 
+- knows he was hired by an outside firm to map the "unclaimed" marsh -- Lena Duval
+Arc: 2% -- Returned to his childhood home acting as an unwitting catalyst for the town's conflict.
 Permanent: NO
 
-# World State: Ch[X]
+## Aunt Maribelle Duval
+Location: The Duval ancestral cabin, porch
+Physical: High vitality for her age; hands stained with ritual herbs.
+Emotional: Cruel satisfaction and possessiveness.
+Active obligations: 
+- owes the coven a successful harvest ritual (Ch1) -- UNPAID
+Open loops: 
+- [Maribelle & Lena] The grooming of Lena to take over the lineage (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: 
+- knows the exact nature of how Lena's mother died -- Lena Duval
+Arc: 1% -- Reasserted her dominance over Lena by forcing her hand during the developer's scouting.
+Permanent: NO
+
+# World State: Ch1
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- Aunt Maribelle Duval (The Coven/The Manor): DOMINANT -- Demanded Lena's return to "proper" training -- Lena felt suffocated.
-- Remy LeBlanc (The Town): FRIENDLY -- Provided information on developers' movements -- Lena feels a sense of loyalty.
+- Remy LeBlanc (Docks): Friendly/Nervous -- Witnessed Lena summoning the fog -- Is now terrified the developers will bring "city law" down on the swamp witches.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- Swamp Witches: Strained -- The coven views Lena as a wayward asset rather than a leader.
-- Property Developers: Aggressive -- Actively surveying the edges of the cypress grove.
+- Swamp Witches: Insular/Protective -- Fearful of the encroaching surveyors and looking to Lena for a sign of strength.
+- Outsiders/Developers: Aggressive -- Viewing the bayou as "dead space" ripe for drainage and construction.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- The Rising Fever: The land is "sick" due to nearby construction, causing the cypress roots to bleed sap.
+- The Encroachment: Surveyors have officially crossed the "Silver Line" into Duval territory; tension is at a breaking point.
+- The Waning Moon: Three days remain until the monthly blood-rite that sustains the grove's boundary.