staging: character-state-ch-05.md task=337c21fb-2dc1-4d7e-ac46-2934e00ebb8f

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-05.md

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # Character State: ch-05
 
 ## Lena Duval
-Location: A dingy safehouse apartment, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans.
-Physical: Severe magical withdrawal; "The Severing" has left her with a bone-deep ache and shivering; no new physical injuries.
-Emotional: Disoriented and grieving the loss of her psychic connection to the land.
+Location: A rain-slicked alleyway behind a flooded jazz club, French Quarter, New Orleans.
+Physical: Shivering; fever broken but replaced by icy depletion; "phantom limb" sensation where the swamp connection was; soaked garments.
+Emotional: Disoriented and grieving; overwhelmed by the sensory "noise" of the city; hollowed out.
 Active obligations: 
 - Owes the land a "balancing of scales" (Ch1) -- UNPAID
 - Owes Jax Harlan a conversation about the "unnatural" events (Ch2) -- UNPAID
@@ -12,38 +12,38 @@ Open loops:
 - Lena and the "Whisper": Mother’s voice in the roots (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
 - Lena and the surveyors: Removal of markers (Ch2) -- UNRESOLVED
 - Lena and the Rite: Consequences of interruption (Ch3) -- UNRESOLVED
-- Lena and the City: Navigating a world without the "hum" of the swamp (Ch5) -- 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 she intended 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: 45% -- Lena has survived the immediate trauma of the psychic "break" from her home, shifting from flight to a desperate state of adaptation.
+Arc: 45% -- Lena has survived the immediate psychic shock of the Severing but realizes that New Orleans offers no sanctuary from her internal void.
 Permanent: YES
 
 ## Jax Harlan
-Location: Lower Ninth Ward safehouse, New Orleans.
-Physical: Fatigued from the overnight run; remains alert; no injuries.
-Emotional: Heavy with the weight of responsibility; wary of the city’s concrete shadows.
+Location: Decaying pier beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge.
+Physical: Exhausted; heavy breathing; hands steadying Lena; no new injuries.
+Emotional: Vigilant and wary; feels "out of depth" in the city but remains tethered to Lena’s safety.
 Active obligations: 
 - Owes Lena protection in the city (Ch4) -- UNPAID
+- Owes the boat's owner a repair for the engine strain (Ch5) -- UNPAID
 Open loops:
 - Jax and the Duval Coven: Potential retaliation for Lena's extraction (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
-- Jax and the safehouse: Maintaining their cover in a hostile neighborhood (Ch5) -- UNRESOLVED
 Known secrets: 
 - CARRIED (Ch4--unresolved): Knows Lena’s fever is "land-sick" (unnatural) -- Lena thinks he believes it is a standard illness.
-Arc: 10% -- Jax has fully committed to Lena’s survival over his own professional neutrality by entering the city's underworld on her behalf.
+Arc: 15% -- Jax has fully committed to being Lena's anchor in a world (the city) that he clearly despises.
 Permanent: YES
 
 # World State: ch-05
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- Aunt Maribelle (Widow’s Deep): RELENTLESS -- Though not present, her "shadow" is felt as Lena experiences the pain of the severed bond.
-- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- Actively performing the rituals that cause Lena's current withdrawal symptoms.
+- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- They have lost Lena's physical presence but are performing the "Hollowing" ritual to bridge the distance.
+- Aunt Maribelle (Widow’s Deep): OBSESSED -- She began burning Lena’s childhood possessions to maintain a sympathetic link.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- The Duval Coven: Vengeful -- Treating Lena’s departure as a theft of communal power, focusing on "The Severing" to force her return.
-- Terrebonne Development Corp: Opportunistic -- Increasing pressure on the weakened bayou now that a primary defender (Lena) has fled.
+- The Duval Coven: Relentless -- Using city-based "anchors" (old blood relatives) to track Lena's urban location.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: Active -- Their construction lights are visible near the city limits, encroaching on the very places Lena fled to.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- The Severing: Narrative event where Lena’s magical senses have gone dark, replaced by physical pain and a "hollow" feeling.
-- The Urban Wall: The magical "static" of New Orleans' iron, concrete, and noise acts as a barrier preventing easy tracking by the Coven.
+- The Great Mute: The supernatural silence of the bayou has been replaced by the "Dissonance"—the jarring, magical static Lena feels in New Orleans.
+- The Severing: COMPLETE — Lena's psychic umbilical cord to the cypress groves has snapped, causing physical and magical withdrawal symptoms.
+- Project Phlegethon: Escalate — Heavy machinery identified at the Industrial Canal suggests the project is surrounding the city.