From 4b66647cb58f1cc6d5de93e180db5230b773bdc0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: PAE Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:37:29 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] staging: character-state-chapter-ref.md task=09d39a9a-3071-4e36-bd92-42cb2c6d727d --- .../staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md | 45 ++++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-) diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md index a96b84a3..c55b9c34 100644 --- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md +++ b/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. \ No newline at end of file +- 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