From 55bcd10f7ea88e4ca33f264d46765c7142d8c5a4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: PAE Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:01:00 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] staging: character-state-chapter-ref.md task=6a2c6ced-21ae-44f4-8023-87ffc0a7d808 --- .../staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md | 61 ++++++++++--------- 1 file changed, 32 insertions(+), 29 deletions(-) diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md index b30249df..2be404c2 100644 --- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md +++ b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-chapter-ref.md @@ -1,51 +1,54 @@ # Character State: Ch1 ## Lena Duval -Location: The Duval home / Cypress Bend outskirts -Physical: Fatigued; palm is pricked and bleeding from a blood-oath binding. -Emotional: Resentful and trapped. +Location: The Duval ancestral cabin, Cypress Bend bayou +Physical: Feverish and exhausted; palm is raw and sliced from a blood-oath casting. +Emotional: Defiant but deeply unsettled. Active obligations: -- owes Aunt Maribelle Duval her presence and obedience (Ch1) -- UNPAID +- Owes the land a "balancing of scales" for the fog she summoned (Ch1) -- UNPAID +- Owes Aunt Maribelle an audience regarding the "inheritance" (Ch1) -- UNPAID Open loops: -- Lena and Maribelle [Future of the Duval lineage] (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED +- Lena and Aunt Maribelle: The struggle over Lena’s refusal to join the coven (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED +- Lena and the encroaching developers: The physical presence of survey markers in the grove (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED Known secrets: -- knows she intends to leave Cypress Bend for the city -- Maribelle Duval (does not know the depth of Lena's desperation) -Arc: 05% -- Lena has officially failed to transition away from the swamp, finding herself physically and magically re-bound to her aunt’s house. +- Knows she intends to flee to New Orleans within the week -- Aunt Maribelle does not know. +- Knows the "whisper" in the cypress roots sounded like her mother's voice -- No one else knows. +Arc: 5% -- Lena successfully uses her magic to protect her home but realizes the "land-debt" is tightening its grip on her, making escape harder. Permanent: YES -## Maribelle Duval -Location: The Duval home porch -Physical: Aging but steady; smells of pipe tobacco and stagnant water. -Emotional: Triumphant and controlling. -Active obligations: -- owes Lena a "place" in the coven hierarchy (Ch1) -- UNPAID +## Aunt Maribelle Duval +Location: The porch of the Duval ancestral cabin, departing toward the deeper swamp. +Physical: No injuries; moves with an unnatural, fluid grace despite her age. +Emotional: Calculating and patient. +Active obligations: None. Open loops: -- Maribelle and Lena [The Grooming of the Heir] (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED +- Aunt Maribelle and Lena: Grooming Lena to take the mantle of "Grove Keeper" (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED Known secrets: -- knows the specifics of the ritual that claimed Lena's mother -- Lena (knows only the trauma, not the mechanical "why") -Arc: 05% -- Successfully forced Lena to draw blood for a warding ritual, reasserting her dominance over her niece. +- Knows the exact date the developers plan to clear-cut the Eastern bend -- Lena does not know. +Arc: 2% -- Reasserted her dominance over the family narrative by forcing Lena to use blood magic. Permanent: YES ## Jax Harlan -Location: The docks / Swamp outskirts -Physical: No injuries; hands grease-stained from boat engine work. -Emotional: Guarded but curious. -Active obligations: None. +Location: The Blackwater skiff, docked at the Duval pier. +Physical: Soaked from the unnatural fog; no injuries. +Emotional: Skeptical but protective. +Active obligations: +- Owes Lena a "quick exit" if she decides to leave (Ch1) -- UNPAID Open loops: -- Jax and Lena [Connection through the swamp run] (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED -Known secrets: -- knows the hidden channels through the Blackwood Thicket -- The Town Council -Arc: 02% -- Established as the only person Lena treats with "raw honesty" outside of her family. -Permanent: NO +- Jax and Lena: The tension between his "outsider" logic and her "insider" magic (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED +Known secrets: None. +Arc: 1% -- Witnessed the bayou react to Lena’s blood for the first time, cracking his shell of skepticism. +Permanent: YES # World State: Ch1 ## NPC Memory -- Remy LeBlanc (Cypress Bend): Friendly -- Provided Lena with the necessary supplies (and gossip) for her failed departure -- Remains Lena’s primary source of non-magical information. +- Remy LeBlanc (The Bait Shop): AFRAID -- Witnessed the "black-water" rising earlier that morning -- Warned Lena to stay inside. ## Faction Attitudes -- Swamp Witches (Duval Coven): Insular and manipulative -- Seeking to retain their power by binding the younger generation to the land. -- Outsiders/Developers: Encroaching -- Mentioned as a distant threat that justifies Maribelle's aggressive recruitment. +- Swamp Witches (Duval Coven): Insistent -- They view Lena as a vital, missing battery for their waning power. +- Developers (Terrebonne Development Corp): Aggressive -- They have begun placing physical markers on protected land, ignoring historical pacts. ## Active World Events -- The Binding: Maribelle has initiated a series of blood-rituals to strengthen the town's perimeter against external "progress." \ No newline at end of file +- The Awakening: The cypress trees are "weeping" sap at an accelerated rate, a sign of magical instability in the Bend. +- The Encroachment: Surveyors are moving closer to the Duval property line. \ No newline at end of file