diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md
index 38aa0419..6264f80e 100644
--- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md
+++ b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/polished/character-state-ch-17-final.md
@@ -1,52 +1,53 @@
-# Character State: ch-17 (FINAL)
+# Character State: ch-17
 
 ## Lena Duval
 - **Location:** The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
-- **Physical:** Apotheosis complete. Neural pathways fused with cypress roots; skin pulses with bioluminescent rhythm.
+- **Physical:** Apotheosis complete; neural pathways fused with cypress roots; skin pulses with bioluminescent rhythm.
 - **Emotional:** Transcendent serenity; personal ego merged with the Great Hum.
-- **Obligations:** Perpetual anchor/sentient soul of Cypress Bend.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Complete) — From runaway to the ecosystem’s living god.
+- **Active Obligations:** Owes Cypress Bend eternal anchoring — PAID.
+- **Open Loops:** Lena and the Great Hum symbiotic union — RESOLVED.
+- **Known Secrets:** Carries the knowledge of her mother’s calculated sacrifice; Jax remains unaware.
+- **Arc:** 100% — Transformed from a runaway seeking independence into the living god and sentient anchor of the ecosystem.
+- **Status:** Permanent Resident (Living Deity).
 
 ## Jax Harlan
 - **Location:** The Shallows (Perimeter)
-- **Physical:** Veil-enhanced biology; immune to external toxins; apex predatory instincts.
-- **Emotional:** Inhuman clarity; fierce, soul-bound devotion to Lena and the borders.
-- **Obligations:** Eternal Guardian of the Veil.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Complete) — From cynical outsider to supernatural protector.
+- **Physical:** Veil-enhanced biology; immune to external toxins; predatory instincts sharpened.
+- **Emotional:** Inhuman clarity; fierce, soul-bound devotion to the borders.
+- **Active Obligations:** Owes Lena perpetual protection of the Veil — UNPAID (Ongoing).
+- **Open Loops:** External world’s intrusion — RESOLVED via expulsion.
+- **Known Secrets:** Knows the exact sensory locations of every entity within the dead zone; the Coven is unaware of his total reach.
+- **Arc:** 100% — Completed transition from cynical outsider to the supernatural apex protector of the Bend.
 
 ## Aunt Maribelle Duval
 - **Location:** Subterranean Siphon Hub
-- **Physical:** Biological hybrid; integrated into the Hub’s life-force filtration systems.
-- **Emotional:** Contented utility; finds peace in service to the collective.
-- **Obligations:** Maintenance of the Bend’s biological integrity.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Complete) — From power-hungry matriarch to vital organ.
+- **Physical:** Biological hybrid; integrated into life-force filtration systems as a vital organ.
+- **Emotional:** Contented utility; finds peace in collective service.
+- **Active Obligations:** Owes the Great Hum maintenance of biological integrity — UNPAID (Ongoing).
+- **Arc:** 100% — Shifted from manipulative matriarch to a selfless biological component of survival.
 
 ## Remy LeBlanc
 - **Location:** The Interior Grove
-- **Physical:** Vitality sustained by the Heart Tree; aging halted.
-- **Emotional:** Peaceful resignation.
-- **Obligations:** "The Memory of the Human"—preserver of oral history/psychic records of the Transition.
-- **Arc:** 100% (Complete) — The living bridge between the past and the new reality.
+- **Physical:** Vitality sustained by the Heart Tree; biological aging halted.
+- **Emotional:** Peaceful resignation; nostalgia tempered by stability.
+- **Active Obligations:** Owes the ancestors the preservation of oral history — UNPAID (Ongoing).
+- **Known Secrets:** Knows the psychic signatures of every soul consumed by the Siphon.
+- **Arc:** 100% — Became the living bridge between human past and post-human reality.
 
-# World State: ch-17 (FINAL)
+# World State: ch-17
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- **The Coven:** Functioning as a high-priesthood, maintaining the Great Hum’s biological homeostasis.
-- **External World/TDC:** Total withdrawal. The Bend is officially designated a "Sentient Exclusion Zone."
+- **The Coven:** DEVOUT. Functioning as a high-priesthood to maintain the Great Hum’s homeostasis.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- **The Great Hum:** Absolute dominance. The swamp is a unified, conscious machine.
-- **Humanity (External):** Fearful and retracted; the Bend is recognized as sovereign, supernatural territory.
+- **The Great Hum:** DOMINANT. The swamp is now a unified, conscious machine.
+- **Humanity (TDC/External):** REJECTED. The Bend is recognized as sovereign, supernatural territory; total withdrawal achieved.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- **The Great Silence:** Permanent 5-mile EM dead zone; all non-biological technology fails via the Veil’s interference.
-- **Directed Evolution:** Rapid, Lena-guided transformation of local flora and fauna into a "Biological Cathedral."
+- **The Great Silence:** Permanent 5-mile EM dead zone established; technological failure via the Veil is absolute.
+- **Directed Evolution:** Lena-guided transformation of flora/fauna into a "Biological Cathedral" completed.
 
 ## Key Locations
-- **The Heart Tree:** Central node of Lena’s consciousness and the Bend’s power.
+- **The Heart Tree:** Central node of Lena’s consciousness.
 - **The Siphon Hub:** Subterranean network distributing refined life-force.
-- **The Veil:** Sentient, predatory fog boundary; the Bend’s immunity system.
-
-## Canonical Notes
-- **Magic:** Bayou Binding has evolved into Planetary Symbiosis. The debt is paid; the witch and the land are one.
-- **Tone:** Ethereal, horrific beauty; a post-human paradise established through biological sacrifice.
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+- **The Veil:** Sentient, predatory fog boundary surrounding the 5-mile zone.
\ No newline at end of file