staging: character-state-ch-05.md task=ab7e4dcf-b414-40e9-9bb0-a70dcf9c0a95

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-05.md

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+# Character State: ch-05
+
+## Lena Duval
+Location: A safehouse apartment above a jazz club, French Quarter, New Orleans.
+Physical: Fever broken but weak; faint scarring on right palm; phantom "tug" in her chest.
+Emotional: Isolated and unmoored; experiencing the "hollow" of being disconnected from the swamp.
+Active obligations: 
+- Owes the land a "balancing of scales" (Ch1) -- UNPAID
+- Owes Jax Harlan a conversation about the "unnatural" events (Ch2) -- UNPAID
+- Owes Jax Harlan protection in the city (Ch4) -- UNPAID
+Open loops: 
+- Lena and the "Whisper": Mother’s voice in the roots (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
+- Lena and the surveyors: Removal of markers (Ch2) -- UNRESOLVED
+- Lena and the Rite: Consequences of interruption (Ch3) -- 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: 45% -- Lena has successfully transitioned into New Orleans but realizes the city offers no magical protection, only a different kind of exposure.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Jax Harlan
+Location: Living room of the French Quarter safehouse.
+Physical: Exhausted; heavy eyelids; no new injuries.
+Emotional: Frustrated by the lack of "normalcy" in the city; wary of New Orleans' own shadows.
+Active obligations: 
+- Owes Lena protection in the city (Ch4) -- UNPAID
+Open loops:
+- Jax and the Duval Coven: Potential retaliation for Lena's extraction (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: 
+- CARRIED (Ch4--unresolved): Knows Lena’s fever is "land-sick" (unnatural) -- Lena thinks he believes it is a standard illness.
+Arc: 15% -- Jax has committed to staying with Lena in the city rather than returning to the safety of his usual routes.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Remy LeBlanc
+Location: French Quarter safehouse / local jazz haunts.
+Physical: Scrawny; energetic; smelling of chicory and cheap tobacco.
+Emotional: Relieved to see Lena; nervous about the "weight" she brought with her.
+Active obligations: 
+- Owes Lena a place to hide (Ch5) -- PAID
+Open loops:
+- Remy and the Urban Coven: Mentioned rumors of city magic noticing Lena's arrival (Ch5) -- UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets:
+- Knows the "Quiet Men" (developers) have been asking about Duval women in the city -- Lena and Jax do not know.
+Arc: 10% -- Reintroduced as Lena’s primary urban anchor and information source.
+Permanent: YES
+
+# World State: ch-05
+
+## NPC Memory
+- Aunt Maribelle (Widow’s Deep): ABSENT -- Last seen invoking the "Blackening" at the city limits.
+- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- Actively seeking a way to bridge the gap between the bayou and the city.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Duval Coven: Relentless -- Using ancestral ties to track Lena despite the distance.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: Probing -- Now operating within New Orleans to find the "missing" Duval heir.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Echo: A spiritual resonance felt in the French Quarter as Lena’s severed magic reacts to the city’s concrete environment.
+- Project Phlegethon: Mentioned in city permits found by Remy, linking the swamp development to New Orleans infrastructure.