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+# Character State: ch-16
+
+## Elara Vance
+Location: The Great Atrium, Oakhaven
+Physical: Exhausted but stable; rib pain receding; Sigil on palm pulsing with a "low, rhythmic hum"
+Emotional: Resolute and visionary; feeling the weight of the "Age of Roots"
+Active obligations: Owes Kaelen protection (Ch-06)—UNPAID
+Open loops: Establishing new Council (Ch-15)—IN PROGRESS; Integrated society stability (Ch-16)—UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-15—unresolved): Knows Oakhaven Elders orchestrated initial Blight—Villagers; CARRIED (Ch-15—unresolved): Council Ledger secured—Elders
+Arc: 98% -- Transitioned from restorer to legislator, formally abolishing the "Age of Walls" to embrace the forest.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Kaelen
+Location: The Great Atrium, Oakhaven
+Physical: No injuries; standing at the edge of the Atrium clearing
+Emotional: Quietly supportive; contemplative regarding his own destiny
+Active obligations: None
+Open loops: Sun-Guard lineage revelation (Ch-15)—UNRESOLVED; Grove map secrets (Ch-15)—UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-15—unresolved): Hidden Sun-Guard caches—Elara; CARRIED (Ch-15—unresolved): Grove map location—Elara
+Arc: 92% -- Solidified role as the silent sentinel to the new era's laws.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Elder Bram -- DECEASED (Ch-16)
+Established: Collapsed in his cell as his life force was fully reclaimed by the root-cuffs during the Great Integration's surge.
+Legacy: His death marks the final end of the corrupt Old Council and removes the primary witness for the Blight trials.
+
+## Thorne Blackroot -- DECEASED (Ch-13)
+Established: Salt-white remains at Heart-Root boundary marker.
+Legacy: His absence allows the forest dwellers to return without fear of Blightweaver ambush.
+
+## Mira
+Location: The Great Atrium, Oakhaven
+Physical: Splashed with soil and sap; no injuries
+Emotional: Eager and industrious; hopeful
+Open loops: Directing the "First Sowing" (Ch-16)—IN PROGRESS
+Arc: 60% -- Shifted from a refugee needing saving to a leader of civil reconstruction.
+Permanent: NO
+
+# World State: ch-16
+
+## NPC Memory
+- Mira (Villager/Oakhaven): Eager -- Led the first ceremonial planting in the Atrium -- Strengthened the bond between Elara and the remaining citizens.
+- Remaining Elders (Oakhaven): Submissive -- Witnessed the Atrium's transformation -- Their political power is effectively non-existent.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- Villagers of Oakhaven: Rejuvenated -- They are actively tearing down stone partitions to let the forest in.
+- Forest Dwellers: Cautious/Returning -- Spirit-forms and exiles are beginning to enter the city limits for the first time in generations.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Great Integration: COMPLETE -- The city and forest are now a single biological entity.
+- The First Sowing: ACTIVE -- A civil initiative to plant food and medicine within the stone ruins.
+
+## Key Items/Evidence
+- Council Ledger: Secured in High Pavilion; remains the legal proof of the Elders' crimes.
+- Vessel Sigil: Permanent fixture on Elara's palm; functions as a stabilizer for the local ecosystem.
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