staging: character-state-ch-08.md task=388c322a-4461-4223-9037-a03713ce5285

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-08.md

@@ -1,40 +1,40 @@
 # Character State: ch-08
 
 ## Lena Duval
-Location: Industrial drainage tunnels, beneath the Ninth Ward.
-Physical: Feverish; palm wound is stinging from salt contact; suffering from "Grid Hum" vertigo.
-Emotional: Exhausted but grimly determined; feeling the weight of her heritage.
-Active obligations: Owes Jax a debt of trust (ch-07) -- UNPAID; owes the Drowned Man a "tithe of salt" (ch-07) -- PAID.
-Open loops: Locket synchronization with industrial frequencies (ch-07) -- UNRESOLVED; drainage tunnel navigation (ch-08) -- UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-07--unresolved): Knows the Bayou Binding is being poisoned by the city grid -- Jax Harlan does not know the full extent of her power loss.
-Arc: 60% -- She has transitioned from surviving the city to actively manipulating its corrupt infrastructure to facilitate an escape.
+Location: Drainage junction beneath the Ninth Ward / "The Veins."
+Physical: Fever spiking; palm wound raw and weeping; experiencing "Grid Hum" vertigo and intense nausea.
+Emotional: Defiant; physically breaking under the pressure of industrial iron suppressing her magic.
+Active obligations: Owes Jax a debt of trust (ch-07) -- UNPAID.
+Open loops: Lena and Jax locket synchronization (ch-07) -- UNRESOLVED (Lena realized the locket vibrates in harmony with the energy grid).
+Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-07--unresolved): Aware that Terrebonne’s grid isn't just masking magic—it’s actively siphoning it via the "Great Flush" cycles.
+Arc: 65% -- Stopped running and is now using her mother’s locket to "tune" into the city's corruption to predict its movements.
 Permanent: YES
 
 ## Jax Harlan
-Location: Industrial drainage tunnels, beneath the Ninth Ward.
-Physical: Laceration on forearm is throbbing; boots soaked in brackish water; high physical strain from supporting Lena.
-Emotional: Hyper-vigilant and protective; growing distrust of the city's sudden structural "shifts."
-Active obligations: Must secure a path through the tunnels (ch-07) -- UNPAID; identify safehouse leak (ch-07) -- UNRESOLVED.
-Open loops: Origin of the brass-and-silicon scrambler (ch-07) -- UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: knows the location of the Terrebonne extraction point -- Lena does not know he considered turning back.
-Arc: 35% -- His commitment to Lena has shifted from tactical to personal as he navigates magic-saturated environments he previously avoided.
+Location: Drainage junction beneath the Ninth Ward.
+Physical: Forearm laceration bleeding through bandages; ears ringing from localized tremors; heavily strained.
+Emotional: Grudgingly impressed by Lena; feeling the weight of his "Tactical to Personal" shift.
+Active obligations: Secure path through tunnels (ch-07) -- IN PROGRESS; Identify safehouse leak (ch-07) -- UNRESOLVED.
+Open loops: Origin of the scrambler (ch-07) -- UNRESOLVED (Suspects tech leaked by a Terrebonne defector).
+Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-07--unresolved): Knows the Terrebonne extraction point is a trap, but hasn't told Lena to avoid breaking her focus.
+Arc: 40% -- Moving from protector to partner; acknowledges that logic cannot explain Lena's connection to the city's pulse.
 Permanent: YES
 
 # World State: ch-08
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- **The Drowned Man (Spirit):** SATISFIED -- Accepted the salt tithe offered by Lena in the tunnels -- Opened the rusted floodgates to allow them deeper into the subterranean network.
-- **Aunt Maribelle:** THWARTED -- Her tracer signal lost the pair once they entered the salt-lined drainage pipes -- Will likely escalate the physical search via Terrebonne.
+- The Drowned Man (Spirit): DEPARTED -- Withdrawn into the sludge after receiving the salt tithe -- Resulted in temporary cessation of water flow in Sector 4.
+- Aunt Maribelle (Coven Elder): ESCALATING -- Using local law enforcement proxies to monitor drainage outlets -- Increased pressure on the protagonists' escape.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- **Terrebonne Development Corp:** HUNGRY -- Increasing the voltage of the "Grid Hum" to flush out magical signatures in the tunnels.
-- **The Duval Coven:** FRUSTRATED -- Their connection to Lena is flickering due to the interference of the salt and iron in the city’s drainage veins.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: AGGRESSIVE -- Initiated "The Great Flush" ahead of schedule -- Forcing protagonists into hazardous secondary veins.
+- The Duval Coven: WEAKENED -- Signal to Lena severed by salt-lined walls -- Lena is isolated from traditional support.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- **The Great Flush:** The industrial pumping system is cycling, creating dangerous surges of salted water within the tunnels.
-- **The Grid Hum:** Frequency is spiking, causing minor structural tremors in older parts of the city.
+- The Great Flush (Active): High-pressure salt water surging through secondary veins; specific paths are impassable.
+- The Grid Hum (Critical): Frequency reached a "Harmonic Peak," causing Lena’s locket to heat up and vibrate violently.
+- Harmonic Bleed: The collision of city electricity and bayou magic is causing physical illness in Lena.
 
 ## Metadata
-- **Key Item:** The "Tithe of Salt" (consumed/paid); Scrambler Box (active, masking their heat signatures).
-- **Key Term:** **"Veins of the City"** -- The interconnected pipe and tunnel system that mimics natural bayou waterways.
-- **Mood:** Industrial, suffocating, murky, rhythmic.
+- Key Item: The Locket (Active Conductor); Scrambler Box (Low battery).
+- Mood: Claustrophobic, metallic, frantic, damp.