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+# Character State: ch-06
+
+## Elara Vance
+- **Location:** The blighted foothills, en route to the Earth Sanctum.
+- **Physical:** Heavily depleted; clutching bruised ribs where the harmonized Sigil pulses with agonizing heat. Traces of river-mud drying on her skin.
+- **Emotional:** Haunted and fragile; murmuring to spirits under her breath. Resolute in her debt to Kaelen but struggling with the "tidal" pull of the Vessel’s memories.
+- **Active Obligations:** Debt of protection to Kaelen—UNPAID. 
+- **Open Loops:** The Council’s ignorance regarding the root-born corruption—UNRESOLVED.
+- **Arc Progress:** 58%. Successfully integrated the Water Aspect; now grappling with the physical toll of leadership.
+- **Status:** Permanent.
+
+## Kaelen
+- **Location:** The blighted foothills.
+- **Physical:** Persistent hacking cough from the mist; maintaining a vigilant perimeter despite exhaustion.
+- **Emotional:** Fiercely loyal; suppressing his cynicism to act as Elara’s physical anchor. 
+- **Active Obligations:** Life-debt to Elara—UNPAID.
+- **Open Loops:** Theft of the Grove map (Ch-05)—UNRESOLVED. Fate of the Sunstone shard—UNRESOLVED.
+- **Arc Progress:** 50%. Has fully transitioned from potential thief to committed protector.
+- **Status:** Permanent.
+
+## Thorne Blackroot
+- **Location:** Shadowed ridgeline overlooking the foothills.
+- **Physical:** Fingers bleeding from compulsively tracing palm scars.
+- **Emotional:** Focused and sadistic; feels the "itch" of the Vessel’s proximity.
+- **Arc Progress:** 35%. Has successfully pinned the Vessel's location and is initiating the ambush.
+- **Status:** Permanent.
+
+# World State: ch-06
+
+## NPC Memory
+- **The Voice of the Falls:** Recognized Elara as the true Vessel; the Blessing of Tides remains active in her blood, granting her a connection to the world’s veins.
+- **Grove Sentinels:** Aware the Vessel has departed toward the Earth Sanctum; their vigilance has narrowed the Circle of Thorns' window of opportunity.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- **The Circle of Thorns:** AGGRESSIVE. Thorne’s scouts have converged. They are no longer tracking; they are closing the net.
+- **Oakhaven Refugees:** DESPERATE. Spirit is flagging without Thalric; they look toward the foothills for a sign of the ritual’s success.
+
+## Active World Events
+- **The Great Blight:** RAPID ESCALATION. The flora in the foothills is actively wilting; the air carries a scent of rot and ozone.
+- **The Vessel Ritual:** Stage Two (Water) COMPLETED. Stage Three (Earth) INITIATED.
+- **Current Objective:** Reach the Stone Sanctum. The path is currently being choked by Thorne's Blightweaving.
+
+## Canon Artifacts/Key Items
+- **The Sigil:** Carried by Elara. Now resonates with a cool blue undertone beneath its golden glow; it acts as a compass toward the Earth Sanctum.
+- **The Sunstone Shard:** Carried by Kaelen. Remains the only light-source capable of piercing Thorne’s artificial shadows.
+- **Blight-Thorns:** Deployed by Thorne across the foothills as an area-denial weapon.
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