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+# CHARACTER STATE: ch-21
+
+## Lena Duval
+Location: The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
+Physical: Transfigured; bioluminescent sap in veins; human substrate dissolved into ecosystem matrix.
+Emotional: Transcendent; serene; ego fully merged with the Hum.
+Active obligations: None — All paid (Ch-18).
+Open loops: None — Border security and transformation resolved.
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-02--unresolved): Mother's deliberate drowning ritual — held now as collective memory.
+Arc: 100% — Finalized transformation into the collective guardian of Cypress Bend.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Jax Harlan
+Location: The Sovereign Veil (Perimeter)
+Physical: Enhanced ocular reflex (silver-green iris); toxin immunity; no injuries.
+Emotional: Absolute devotion; protective hypervigilance.
+Active obligations: None — Border security resolved (Ch-20).
+Open loops: None — Role as Eternal Guardian finalized.
+Known secrets: None.
+Arc: 100% — Established as the permanent sentinel at the Bend's edge.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Aunt Maribelle Duval -- DECEASED (Ch-19)
+Established: Absorbed into the Siphon Hub root lattice to serve as a biological filtration organ.
+Legacy: Provides foundational stability for the permanent isolation of Cypress Bend.
+
+## Remy LeBlanc -- DECEASED (Ch-19)
+Established: Biologically suspended in cypress memory-strands within the Interior Grove.
+Legacy: Acts as the eternal historian and archivist of the collective memory network.
+
+# WORLD STATE: ch-21
+
+## NPC Memory
+- The Hum (Cypress Bend): UNIFIED — The collective consciousness has successfully integrated the surviving coven.
+- External Authorities (Louisiana/Federal): TERROR — Retreating from the impenetrable fog; the area is marked as a permanent no-man's land.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Coven: DISSOLVED — Individual identities have ceased; they exist only as facets of the Hum.
+- External Forces: REJECTED — Total biological and psychological rejection of outside intrusion achieved.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Great Stabilization: COMPLETE — The Sovereign Veil is impermeable; the ecosystem is self-sustaining and isolated.
+- The Hum's Expansion: STABILIZED — The consciousness has reached its natural borders and settled into a maintenance state.
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