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

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

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-# Character State: Ch3
+# Character State: Ch4
 
 ## Lena Duval
-Location: The Widow’s Deep (shores of the black pool)
-Physical: Heightened fever; tremors; right hand bleeding through bandages from cypress roots.
-Emotional: Terrified but defiant.
+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.
 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
@@ -11,37 +11,50 @@ Open loops:
 - Lena and the "Whisper": The consciousness within 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
 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: 25% -- Lena confronted Maribelle directly and physically disrupted a coven ritual, choosing to protect the cypress over the coven's traditions.
+Arc: 35% -- Lena has physically fled her ancestral home, choosing an outsider’s help over her family’s demands for the first time.
+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.
+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
+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.
 Permanent: YES
 
 ## Aunt Maribelle Duval
 Location: The Widow’s Deep (shores of the black pool)
-Physical: Eyes filmed with ritualistic milky-white haze; physically drained from the interrupted rite.
-Emotional: Furiously determined and increasingly authoritarian.
+Physical: Exhausted; throat raw from shouting commands.
+Emotional: Coldly vengeful.
 Active obligations: None.
 Open loops: 
-- Maribelle and the Coven: Completing the "Rite of the First Sap" (Ch2) -- UNRESOLVED (Interrupted)
+- Maribelle and the Coven: Completing the "Rite of the First Sap" (Ch2) -- 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: 10% -- Maribelle has dropped her maternal facade, revealing her willingness to sacrifice Lena's health for the land's power.
+Arc: 15% -- Maribelle has declared Lena an apostate, signaling a shift from manipulation to open pursuit.
 Permanent: YES
 
-# World State: Ch3
+# World State: Ch4
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): AGITATED -- Witnessed Lena disrupt the ritual; they view her as a "blight" on the lineage and a threat to their safety.
+- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): MALICIOUS -- They watched Lena flee with an outsider; they now view her as a thief of their sacred bloodline.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- The Duval Coven: Hostile -- Lena’s refusal to complete the Rite caused a magical backlash that injured their pride and spiritual connection.
-- Terrebonne Development Corp: Threatening -- Presence felt through "unnatural" silence and Project Phlegethon markers near the ritual site.
+- 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.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- The Humming: Magical vibration intensified into a physical thrum rippling the swamp water following the ritual's failure.
-- The Blackening: Oily black sap weeping from cypress bark in the Widow’s Deep, spreading due to the land's distress.
-- Project Phlegethon: Development plans to dredge the deep are confirmed via physical markers found on the outskirts of coven territory.
+- 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.