staging: polished/character-state-ch-15-final.md task=b085a6f7-72e7-4aff-9665-afb08e99b6b6

projects/echoes-of-the-forest/staging/polished/character-state-ch-15-final.md

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+# FULL MODE: Chapter 15 Polished State Extraction
+
+## CHARACTER STATE: ch-15 [POLISHED - CANONICAL]
+
+### ELARA VANCE
+**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven  
+**Physical:** Ribs mending; right palm Sigil glowing steady emerald-gold; exhaustion visible but resolute  
+**Emotional:** Reverent, grounded in purpose; profound reconnection to land established  
+**Active Obligations:** Owes Kaelen protection (Ch-06)—UNPAID  
+**Open Loops:** Establishing new Council (IN PROGRESS); will shape governance in coming chapters  
+**Secrets Carried:** Council Ledger secured; knows Oakhaven Elders orchestrated initial Blight (UNRESOLVED)  
+**Arc Progress:** 95% realized—transitioned from reluctant claimant to intentional leader; architect of Oakhaven's rebirth  
+**Status:** Permanent POV character
+
+### KAELEN
+**Location:** The Great Atrium, Oakhaven  
+**Physical:** Bruising fading; posture relaxed; singed cuff marks healing  
+**Emotional:** Relieved but introspective; burden of secrets heavier in new harmony  
+**Active Obligations:** None  
+**Open Loops:** Sun-Guard lineage revelation (UNRESOLVED); Grove map secrets (UNRESOLVED)  
+**Secrets Carried:** Hidden Sun-Guard caches; Grove map location (unshared with Elara)  
+**Arc Progress:** 90%—accepted service to Vessel as redemption beyond survival  
+**Status:** Permanent supporting character
+
+### ELDER BRAM
+**Location:** Holding Cells beneath Pavilion, Oakhaven  
+**Physical:** Shrunken, pale; living root-cuffs binding; persistent cough  
+**Emotional:** Despairing; views forest growth as sentence, not blessing  
+**Open Loops:** Trial/Sentencing for treason (UNRESOLVED)  
+**Secrets:** "Controlled Blight" conspiracy EXPOSED  
+**Arc Progress:** 100%—complete fall from grace; symbolic relic of corruption  
+**Status:** Permanent antagonist/prisoner; arc concluded
+
+### THORNE BLACKROOT
+**Status:** DECEASED (Ch-13). Salt-white remains at Heart-Root boundary marker; Blight heralds cannot cross. Legacy active.
+
+---
+
+## WORLD STATE: ch-15 [POLISHED - CANONICAL]
+
+### Environmental
+- **Great Integration:** Oakhaven physically merged—nature and stone indistinguishable
+- **Forest Spirits:** Harmonious; reinforce architecture with flowering vines; no longer assault walls
+- **Blight Pockets:** Vessel Sigil acts as compass toward remaining corruption; threat diminished but not eliminated
+
+### Faction Attitudes
+- **Villagers of Oakhaven:** UNIFIED; division erased; collective identity established
+- **Remaining Elders (3):** SHAMED; retreated; influence neutralized by forest presence
+- **Mira (NPC):** DEVOTED; organized first Atrium planting; looks to Elara for legislative guidance
+
+### Active Mandates
+- **New Mandate:** Elara declared end of "Age of Walls"; inviting forest dwellers to return
+- **Council Reformation:** Early stages; Elara shapes governance alongside reformed leadership
+
+### Key Items/Evidence
+- **Council Ledger:** Secured in High Pavilion; legal basis for upcoming trials
+- **Vessel Sigil:** Dimmed to steady rhythmic pulse; no longer causes pain; compass function active
+
+### Narrative Momentum
+- **Immediate:** Elder Bram's trial; disclosure of conspiracy
+- **Emerging:** Integration of forest dwellers; establishing new laws under Elara's guidance
+- **Unresolved:** Kaelen's lineage secrets; remaining Blight pockets; long-term sustainability of merged society