staging: character-state-ch-16.md task=f199b96c-c896-4ef5-9a5f-f2f014be5c7f

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-16.md

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+# Character State: ch-16
+
+## Lena Duval
+Location: The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
+Physical: Non-corporeal; integrated with the cypress root network; cyan-bioluminescent skin.
+Emotional: Transhuman tranquility; detached from individual human suffering.
+Active obligations: Maintaining the Veil (Ch15) -- UNPAID (Ongoing).
+Open loops: The Burden of Memory (Ch15) -- UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch15--unresolved): Witness to her mother’s ritual; CARRIED (Ch15--unresolved): Holds the silver locket as a tether to humanity.
+Arc: 100% -- Permanent. She has fully accepted her role as the sentient core of the wood.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Jax Harlan
+Location: Security Annex ruins / Inner Perimeter
+Physical: Green Fever infection; iridescent skin; scarred right hand.
+Emotional: Protective and vigilant.
+Active obligations: Identifying the TDC mole to prevent future incursion (Ch15) -- UNPAID.
+Open loops: Jax/TDC [The "Black Box" transmitter communication] (Ch15) -- UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch15--unresolved): Knows the exact location/nature of the TDC Black Box.
+Arc: 100% -- Permanent. He has accepted his role as the physical guardian and conduit for the Heart Tree.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Aunt Maribelle Duval -- DECEASED (Ch15)
+Established: Consumed by the Great Hum during the dissolution of the Coven.
+Legacy: Her absence allowed the Heart Tree to assert total dominance over the Bend.
+
+# World State: ch-16
+
+## NPC Memory
+- Remaining Duval Elders (Cypress Bend): SUBMISSIVE -- They have abandoned magic rituals to serve as "Grave-Tenders" for the swamp's growth.
+- TDC Survivors (Regional Command): TERRIFIED -- The total loss of the Siphon Hub has forced a transition to "Black Zone" containment tactics.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Great Hum: DOMINANT -- Expanding its sentient influence to digest all remaining industrial infrastructure.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: DEFEATED -- Shifting focus to an electronic "cordon" to prevent the sentient swamp from spreading further.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Grand Recission: Status: PERMANENT. Heavy machinery and structures within the Bend are being decomposed by accelerated fungal and root growth.
+- The Great Silence: Status: ACTIVE. A permanent 5-mile EMP radius around the Heart Tree prevents any standard electronic communication.
+
+## Key Objects/Locations
+- The Heart Tree: The pulsing nexus of the sentient ecosystem.
+- The TDC Black Box: A shielded transmitter in the Annex ruins; it represents the only potential breach in the Great Silence.
+- The Silver Locket: Merged with the Heart Tree’s bark; it is the sole repository of Lena’s human memories.