staging: character-state-ch-15.md task=888604e7-a9d6-4a61-b486-20acf6c7373a

projects/echoes-of-the-forest/staging/character-state-ch-15.md

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+# Character State: ch-15
+
+## ELARA VANCE
+Location: The Great Atrium, Oakhaven.
+Physical: Ribs mending but tender; right palm Sigil glowing with a stabilized emerald-gold light; exhaustion setting in.
+Emotional: Reverent and weary; feels a profound sense of reconnection to the land.
+Active obligations: Owes Kaelen protection (Ch-06)—UNPAID.
+Open loops: Establishing the new Council (Ch-15)—UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-14--unresolved): Possesses the Council Ledger; knows the Oakhaven Elders orchestrated the initial Blight.
+Arc: 95% -- Transitioned from a claimant to the realized architect of Oakhaven’s rebirth through the Ritual of Integration.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## KAELEN
+Location: The Great Atrium, Oakhaven.
+Physical: Significant bruising on forearms; posture relaxed for the first time in weeks; clothes singed at the cuffs.
+Emotional: Relieved and pensive; the burden of his secrets feels heavier in the new light.
+Active obligations: None.
+Open loops: Revealing his Sun-Guard lineage to Elara (Ch-13)—UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-14--unresolved): Knows the hidden Sun-Guard caches; knows the Grove map location.
+Arc: 90% -- Accepted that his service to the Vessel is his path to true redemption, beyond mere survival.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## ELDER BRAM
+Location: The Holding Cells beneath the Pavilion, Oakhaven.
+Physical: Shrunken and pale; coughing from the damp; hands bound by living root-cuffs.
+Emotional: Despairing; he views the forest's growth as a sentence rather than a blessing.
+Active obligations: None.
+Open loops: Trial/Sentencing for treason (Ch-14)—UNRESOLVED.
+Known secrets: Orchestrated the "Controlled Blight"—REVEALED (Ch-14).
+Arc: 100% -- Complete fall from grace; now a symbolic relic of the old world’s corruption.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## THORNE BLACKROOT -- DECEASED (Ch-13)
+Established: Perished at the Heart-Root when his attempt to corrupt the core resulted in calcification.
+Legacy: His salt-white remains serve as a boundary marker that the Blight's heralds cannot pass.
+
+# World State: ch-15
+
+## NPC Memory
+- Mira (Oakhaven): DEVOTED -- Organized the first planting in the Atrium; she now looks to Elara for legislative guidance.
+- The Elders (Oakhaven): SHAMED -- The remaining three members have retreated from public life, their influence neutralized by the forest's presence.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Villagers of Oakhaven: UNIFIED -- The successful ritual has erased the division between "town" and "wild," creating a collective identity.
+- The Forest Spirits: HARMONIOUS -- They no longer assault the walls but instead reinforce the architecture with flowering vines.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Great Integration: Oakhaven has been physically transformed into a "living city" where nature and stone are indistinguishable.
+- The New Mandate: Elara has formally declared the end of the Age of Walls, inviting the surrounding forest dwellers to return.
+
+## Key Items/Evidence
+- Council Ledger: Secured in the High Pavilion; serves as the legal basis for the upcoming trials.
+- The Vessel Sigil: Dimmed to a steady, rhythmic pulse; it no longer causes pain but acts as a compass toward remaining Blight pockets.