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+# Character State: ch-05
+
+## Mira
+Location: Sparring Arena, Floor (collapsed against Dorian)
+Physical: Total mana depletion; cold-shock; minor somatic bruising from the kinetic inversion.
+Emotional: Reeling from the "perfect" balance achieved during the channel; protective of Dorian.
+Active obligations: Owes Dorian a debt for grounding her lethal kinetic load (Ch05) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Mira/Dorian "Binary Star" stability (Ch02) — UNRESOLVED; Mira/Ministry "Correction Clause" (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows she felt a "wild, terrifying joy" in the destructive potential of the Starfall pocket — Dorian does not know.
+Arc: 45% — Surrendered her role as "sole protector" of the Pyre by trusting her rival with her absolute power.
+Permanent: YES (First instance of "The Battery and the Lens" synergy; established total trust in Dorian's competence).
+
+## Dorian Solas
+Location: Sparring Arena, Floor (holding Mira)
+Physical: Severe magical exhaustion; nerve-scorch from kinetic overload; skin "flayed" sensation; right hand scarred with 'Binary Star' sigil.
+Emotional: Terrified by the loss of his "absolute zero" identity; experiencing involuntary dependency on Mira’s heat.
+Active obligations: Owes Aric/Elara medical restoration (Ch05) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Dorian/Mira somatic threshold limits (Ch03) — UNRESOLVED; Dorian/Ministry impact of arena disaster (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Knows his frost-wards failed due to his own distraction/tether interference — Mira/Lyra do not know.
+Arc: 40% — Transitioned from a passive observer of the tether to an active participant in "fusing" opposing magics.
+Permanent: YES (Manifested a "Paradox" spell; relationship shifted from professional rivalry to a visceral, biological need for her proximity).
+
+## Kaelen
+Location: Sparring Arena, tending to Aric.
+Physical: Singed eyebrows/robes from the steam blast.
+Emotional: Alarm and heightened suspicion toward the Chancellors’ erratic power.
+Active obligations: Owes Mira a report on student casualties (Ch05) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Kaelen/Dorian trust deficit (Ch02) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Noticed the Chancellors remained twined together after the danger passed — Ministry Observers do not know yet.
+Arc: 15% — Realized the merger is no longer just administrative but is physically warping reality.
+Permanent: NO
+
+## Lyra
+Location: Sparring Arena, tending to Elara.
+Physical: Shaken; spectacles cracked.
+Emotional: Professional horror at the failure of Spire stabilization lattices.
+Active obligations: Owes Dorian a calibration audit of the broken lattices (Ch05) — UNPAID.
+Open loops: Lyra/Ministry Starfall report (Ch05) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Documented the exact moment the Starfall pocket inverted the Mercury-Glass — The Chancellors do not know.
+Arc: 10% — Witnessed the first successful "Paradox" magic in centuries.
+Permanent: NO
+
+# World State: ch-05
+
+## NPC Memory
+- Aric (Pyre Student): TRAUMATIZED — Nearly boiled from the inside out — Likely to fear his own Chancellor’s "New" magic.
+- Elara (Spire Student): COMATOSE — Mana-stripped by the Starfall loop — Will remain a medical drain on Union resources.
+- Ministry Observers (Galleries): APPALLED — Witnessed a lethal failure of the Union's first public act — Will likely trigger the "Correction Clause."
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Ministry of Magic: HOSTILE — See the arena disaster as proof that the Chancellors cannot control their students or their bond.
+- Pyre Faculty: REBELLIOUS — Blame Dorian’s "interference" for the injury of their star student, Aric.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Starfall Drift: Active and accelerating. Pockets are now moving over civilized centers.
+- The Transition Stasis: A permanent magical landmark of frozen steam now exists in the arena center.
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