staging: character-state-ch-05.md task=337c21fb-2dc1-4d7e-ac46-2934e00ebb8f

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-05.md

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # Character State: ch-05
 
 ## Lena Duval
-Location: A safehouse apartment above a jazz club, French Quarter, New Orleans.
-Physical: Fever broken but weak; faint scarring on right palm; phantom "tug" in her chest.
-Emotional: Isolated and unmoored; experiencing the "hollow" of being disconnected from the swamp.
+Location: A dingy safehouse apartment, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans.
+Physical: Severe magical withdrawal; tremors in both hands; deathly pale; phantom pains where the "link" was severed.
+Emotional: Isolated and unmoored; experiencing profound grief for the lost connection to the land.
 Active obligations: 
 - Owes the land a "balancing of scales" (Ch1) -- UNPAID
 - Owes Jax Harlan a conversation about the "unnatural" events (Ch2) -- UNPAID
@@ -16,45 +16,34 @@ Known secrets:
 - CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows she intends to flee to New Orleans within the week -- Aunt Maribelle does not know.
 - CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows the "whisper" sounded like her mother's voice -- No one else knows.
 - CARRIED (Ch2--unresolved): Knows she found a survey marker labeled "Project Phlegethon" -- Jax and Maribelle do not know.
-Arc: 45% -- Lena has successfully transitioned into New Orleans but realizes the city offers no magical protection, only a different kind of exposure.
+Arc: 45% -- Lena has realized that escaping the swamp did not end its influence; she is now a "ghost" in the city, haunted by what she left behind.
 Permanent: YES
 
 ## Jax Harlan
-Location: Living room of the French Quarter safehouse.
-Physical: Exhausted; heavy eyelids; no new injuries.
-Emotional: Frustrated by the lack of "normalcy" in the city; wary of New Orleans' own shadows.
+Location: Interior of a safehouse, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans.
+Physical: Exhausted; smelling of diesel and salt; minor bruising on shoulders from carrying Lena.
+Emotional: Determined but out of his depth; feeling the weight of the "debt" he's incurred by crossing the Duval family.
 Active obligations: 
 - Owes Lena protection in the city (Ch4) -- UNPAID
-Open loops:
+- Owes a debt to "Cutter" for the safehouse (Ch5) -- UNPAID
+Open loops: 
 - Jax and the Duval Coven: Potential retaliation for Lena's extraction (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
 Known secrets: 
 - CARRIED (Ch4--unresolved): Knows Lena’s fever is "land-sick" (unnatural) -- Lena thinks he believes it is a standard illness.
-Arc: 15% -- Jax has committed to staying with Lena in the city rather than returning to the safety of his usual routes.
-Permanent: YES
-
-## Remy LeBlanc
-Location: French Quarter safehouse / local jazz haunts.
-Physical: Scrawny; energetic; smelling of chicory and cheap tobacco.
-Emotional: Relieved to see Lena; nervous about the "weight" she brought with her.
-Active obligations: 
-- Owes Lena a place to hide (Ch5) -- PAID
-Open loops:
-- Remy and the Urban Coven: Mentioned rumors of city magic noticing Lena's arrival (Ch5) -- UNRESOLVED
-Known secrets:
-- Knows the "Quiet Men" (developers) have been asking about Duval women in the city -- Lena and Jax do not know.
-Arc: 10% -- Reintroduced as Lena’s primary urban anchor and information source.
+Arc: 10% -- Jax has officially transitioned from "transport" to "guardian," committing to Lena's safety even within the city.
 Permanent: YES
 
 # World State: ch-05
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- Aunt Maribelle (Widow’s Deep): ABSENT -- Last seen invoking the "Blackening" at the city limits.
-- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- Actively seeking a way to bridge the gap between the bayou and the city.
+- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- They are performing "scrying" rituals to find the boat's destination.
+- Aunt Maribelle (Widow’s Deep): VENGEFUL -- She has begun a ritual using Lena’s discarded hair to track her.
+- Cutter (New Orleans): NEUTRAL/WARY -- Provided the safehouse but warned Jax that "swamp business" stays at the door.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- The Duval Coven: Relentless -- Using ancestral ties to track Lena despite the distance.
-- Terrebonne Development Corp: Probing -- Now operating within New Orleans to find the "missing" Duval heir.
+- The Duval Coven: Relentless -- Using blood-tracking to bridge the gap between the bayou and the city.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: Opportunistic -- Beginning to move machinery into the areas Lena abandoned.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- The Echo: A spiritual resonance felt in the French Quarter as Lena’s severed magic reacts to the city’s concrete environment.
-- Project Phlegethon: Mentioned in city permits found by Remy, linking the swamp development to New Orleans infrastructure.
+- The Echo: A supernatural resonance felt in New Orleans whenever Lena tries to use her locket; it suggests the city has its own, different "pulse."
+- Project Phlegethon: Testing begins in the marshlands (off-screen), causing wildlife to migrate further into the city canals.