staging: character-state-ch-06 fix Kaelen=DECEASED butterfly cascade

the-starfall-accord/staging/character-state-ch-06.md

@@ -1,54 +1,59 @@
 # Character State: ch-06
 
 ## Mira
-Location: Imperial Palace, Grand Ballroom, Solstice Wing
-Physical: No injuries; high autonomic arousal; feet aching from formal silk slippers.
-Emotional: Professionally defiant but internally compromised; reeling from the "Harmonized Resonance" during the dance.
-Active obligations: Owes the Emperor a public display of stability (Ch06) — PAID; Owes Dorian a response to his "unplanned" physical proximity (Ch06) — UNPAID.
-Open loops: Mira/Dorian "Binary Star" public exposure (Ch06) — UNRESOLVED; Mira/Ministry "Inquisition Clause" threat (Ch06) — UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: Realized Dorian’s ice doesn't just "neutralize" her fire, it "amplifies" the sensory clarity of her magic — The Ministry does not know.
-Arc: 55% — Transitioned from a reluctant political partner to a somatic addict of their combined power.
-Permanent: YES (First public manifestation of "Grey" mana during the Solstice Waltz; established the pair as a singular tactical threat to the Throne).
+Location: Imperial Palace, Grand Ballroom, Solstice Wing (departing at chapter end).
+Physical: No injuries; high autonomic arousal; feet aching from formal silk slippers; residual thermal flush from the Harmonized Resonance waltz.
+Emotional: Professionally defiant but internally compromised — Kaelen's absence was the emotional spine of the night. Realized Dorian is now her only tethered anchor. Reeling from "Grey" mana manifestation during the Solstice Waltz.
+Active obligations: Owes the Emperor a public display of stability (Ch06) — PAID. Owes Dorian a response to his "unplanned" physical proximity (Ch06) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Mira/Dorian "Binary Star" public exposure (Ch06) — UNRESOLVED. Mira/Ministry "Inquisition Clause" threat (Ch06) — UNRESOLVED. Core fracture / Gala stabilization (Ch05) — ACTIVE 3-week clock.
+Known secrets: Realized Dorian's ice amplifies rather than neutralizes her fire's sensory clarity — the Ministry does not know. Noticed the Emperor was running a sensory stress test — Dorian knows too.
+Arc: 58% — From reluctant political partner to someone who understands that Dorian is the only person standing between her and exile. First public "Grey" mana moment.
+Permanent: YES (Grey mana manifestation witnessed by court; Dorian publicly defended her as "United Front" in court records).
 
 ## Dorian Solas
-Location: Imperial Palace, Grand Ballroom, Solstice Wing
-Physical: Severe thermal flush; right hand "branded" by Mira’s kinetic heat; minor mana-depletion.
-Emotional: Terrified by the breakdown of his "Absolute Zero" facade in front of the court; experiencing profound lingering attraction.
-Active obligations: Owes the Emperor a technical report on the Starfall stabilization (Ch05) — UNPAID.
-Open loops: Dorian/Mira somatic threshold limits (Ch02) — UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: Knows the Emperor is using the "Gilded Gala" as a sensory stress test to break their tether — Mira does not know.
-Arc: 60% — Formally abandoned the "Spire Protocols" of detachment to protect Mira’s reputation during the dance.
-Permanent: YES (Publicly broke his traditional "Ice" silence to defend a "Pyre" mage; relationship status shifted to "United Front" in court records).
+Location: Imperial Palace, Grand Ballroom, Solstice Wing (departing).
+Physical: Severe thermal flush; right hand "branded" by Mira's kinetic heat during waltz; minor mana-depletion.
+Emotional: Terrified by the breakdown of his "Absolute Zero" facade in front of the court. First time he chose Mira's emotional safety over strategic advantage. Profound lingering attraction.
+Active obligations: Owes the Emperor a technical report on Starfall stabilization (Ch05) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Dorian/Mira somatic threshold limits — UNRESOLVED. Frost-ward failure / suspected Vane sabotage (Ch04) — UNRESOLVED. Whether Paradox fusion is repeatable — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows the Emperor used the Gala as a sensory stress test — Mira now also knows.
+Arc: 62% — Formally abandoned the Spire Protocols of detachment to protect Mira's reputation during the dance. Clinical detachment no longer total.
+Permanent: YES (Publicly broke traditional "Ice" silence to defend a Pyre mage; relationship status shifted to "United Front" in court records).
 
-## Kaelen
-Location: Ballroom Gallery, Oversight Station
-Physical: No injuries.
-Emotional: Simmering resentment; professional jealousy regarding the Chancellors’ "resonance."
-Active obligations: Owes Mira a tally of Ministry spies present (Ch06) — PAID.
-Open loops: Kaelen/Ministry "Correction" plotting (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: Witnessed the exact moment the Chancellors' mana merged into a "Grey" aurora — The General public missed the technical detail.
-Arc: 20% — Shifted from suspicious observer to a potential defector, feeling "replaced" by the Chancellors' bond.
-Permanent: NO
+## Kaelen — DECEASED (Ch04)
+Established: Killed in Ch04 arena disaster when the inverted Starfall vortex slammed him into the basalt wall.
+Legacy: Mira's grief for Kaelen was the emotional spine of Ch06 — she reflexively looked for him in the ballroom and found only absence; his death is Vane's political weapon.
 
 ## The Emperor (Malchor)
-Location: The Eternal Throne, Ballroom Dais
-Physical: No injuries.
-Emotional: Calculating and predatory; pleased by the "instability" demonstrated by the tether.
-Active obligations: Owes the Chancellors a renewal of the Academy Charters (Ch06) — UNPAID.
-Open loops: Emperor/Starfall Accord "Control Clause" (Ch01) — UNRESOLVED.
-Known secrets: Intends to lead the "Grey" mana for his own kinetic batteries — The Chancellors do not know.
-Arc: 10% — Transitioned from a distant ruler to an active saboteur of the Chancellors' autonomy.
-Permanent: NO
+Location: Imperial Palace, throne dais.
+Emotional: Satisfied observer — the Grey mana manifestation gave him intelligence on the Chancellors' combined threat level.
+Active obligations: Awaits Dorian's stabilization report — UNPAID.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Vane (High Inquisitor)
+Location: Imperial Palace, ministry observation gallery.
+Emotional: Calculating — observed the Grey mana. Now has additional evidence for the dissolution petition.
+Permanent: NO.
+
+## Aric (Acting Senior Proctor)
+Location: Ignis-Glacies Academy — holding the fire students together in the Chancellors' absence.
+Emotional: Volatile; barely coping with acting proctor role. Kaelen's absence is destabilizing student morale.
+Permanent: NO.
 
 # World State: ch-06
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- High Nobility (Imperial Court): SHOCKED — Witnessed the "Binary Star" waltz — Increasing rumors that the Chancellors are "Soul-Bound" rather than just colleagues.
+- Emperor Malchor: WATCHFUL — witnessed Grey mana; now treats Mira/Dorian as a singular tactical threat to the Throne.
+- Vane: HOSTILE + ARMED — has Grey mana evidence; Gala ultimatum clock still active (3 weeks from Ch05).
+- Court aristocracy: AWED and SUSPICIOUS — saw the Binary Star resonance during the waltz.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- The Imperial Ministry: HOSTILE/VIGILANT — View the Chancellors' resonance as a potential coup-level threat.
-- Spire/Pyre Faculty: DIVIDED — Seeing their leaders unified is causing an identity crisis within the student ranks.
+- The Ministry/Inquisition: ESCALATED THREAT — Grey mana added to dissolution file. Gala ultimatum still governs.
+- The Imperial Court: WATCHING — the Chancellors are no longer just a merger experiment but a political power.
+- Pyre/Spire students: HOLDING THEIR BREATH — Chancellors away at Gala; Aric barely keeping order.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- The Starfall Drift: Severe; the aurora is now visible in the Capital during the day.
-- The Solstice Merger: Phase Two begins; the schools must now share a singular curriculum and mana-well.
+- The Core Fracture: Hairline crack still present. Gala ultimatum: ~3 weeks to harmonize.
+- The Grey Mana Event: Witnessed by court; will be reported to Ministry. New political threat level.
+- The Accord: Existential threat from Vane's dissolution petition, now reinforced by Grey mana evidence.
+- Kaelen's Death Inquiry: Active at Ministry level. Used as political weapon by Vane.