diff --git a/projects/echoes-of-the-forest/staging/character-state-ch-10.md b/projects/echoes-of-the-forest/staging/character-state-ch-10.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2ae5b4ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/echoes-of-the-forest/staging/character-state-ch-10.md
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# Character State: ch-10
+
+## Elara Vance
+Location: The Inner Sanctum of the Heart-Root (The Great Weave).
+Physical: Right palm is a mass of silver-white scar tissue; internal bleeding slowed by ritual resonance; profound spiritual exhaustion.
+Emotional: Transcendent; a sense of deep, humming clarity displacing personal fear.
+Active obligations: Owes Kaelen protection (ch-06) — UNPAID; owes Thalric a debt of legacy (ch-05) — PAID (Ritual initiated).
+Open loops: Elara/Council regarding blight origins (ch-06) — UNRESOLVED; The Vessel Ritual completion (ch-10) — UNRESOLVED (In-progress).
+Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-06--unresolved): Knows the Blight's origin is tied to the Council’s early failed experiments.
+Arc: 95% — She has ceased being a witness to the forest and has become its voice, stepping into the center of the Great Weave.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Kaelen
+Location: The Threshold of the Heart-Root (sealing the entrance).
+Physical: Severe blood loss; left arm mangled and unresponsive; vision tunneling toward darkness.
+Emotional: Defiant; a grim, final peace found in the clarity of a last stand.
+Active obligations: Owes Elara a life-debt (ch-04) — PAID (Buying her the time for the ritual).
+Open loops: Kaelen/Sunstone full potential (ch-06) — RESOLVED (Used to ground the ritual); Kaelen/Missing Grove map (ch-02) — UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: knows he is the last of the Sun-Guard bloodline — Elara does NOT know.
+Arc: 90% — He has transitioned from a survivor seeking penance to a selfless martyr for the forest's future.
+Permanent: NO
+
+# World State: ch-10
+
+## NPC Memory
+- **The Forest Spirits** (Heart-Root): REAWAKENED — The resonance of the Root-Key has stirred the ancient consensus of the trees — They are providing the "Heavy Silence" to protect the ritual.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- **Circle of Thorns**: DEVASTATED — Their influence is being stripped away as the Blight-Storm is pulled inward, leaving their followers powerless and exposed.
+- **Council of Oakhaven**: OBSOLETE — The scale of the Heart-Root's awakening has rendered their political and magical authority irrelevant.
+
+## Active World Events
+- **The Great Weave**: ACTIVE — The final stage of the Vessel Ritual is merging the Heart-Root's memory with Elara's consciousness.
+- **The Convergence**: ONGOING — The Great Blight is being suctioned into the Heart-Root to be filtered/recycled by the ritual energy.
+
+## Canon Artifacts/Key Items
+- **The Sigil**: Permanently etched into Elara's palm; no longer burns, but glows with a steady, cooling light.
+- **The Root-Key**: Disintegrated into pure light; its essence is now the bridge between Elara and the Heart-Root.
+- **The Sunstone Shard**: Shattered during the stand at the threshold; its remaining light is anchoring the physical space of the Sanctum.
\ No newline at end of file