# Character State: ch-05

## Queen Seraphine
Location: Oakhaven Outskirts, The Shattered Glass-Line
Physical: Left forearm bleeding through silk wraps; severe sensory vertigo and hemomantic exhaustion.
Emotional: Violated and desperate; reeling from the forced psychic intimacy with Aldric.
Active obligations: Owes Aldric Thorne a formal response to the Bilateral Seal (ch-01) — PAID.
Open loops: [Seraphine & Aldric] The shared sensory intrusion of the blood-bond (ch-05) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-03—unresolved): The Blight has breached the inner glass-line; the Lowen-Court is already compromised.
Arc: 35% — She has accepted that the blood-link is a two-way breach she can no longer wall off.
Permanent: YES

## King Aldric
Location: Oakhaven Outskirts, The Shattered Glass-Line
Physical: Right hand trembling; black veins established at the neck; physical drainage from stabilizing the perimeter.
Emotional: Protective but cold; focused on the immediate tactical failure of the wards.
Active obligations: Owes Seraphine the protection of the Thorne-Valerius borders (ch-03) — UNPAID.
Open loops: [Aldric & Seraphine] The revelation of the execution of his brother (ch-03) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: None.
Arc: 30% — Forced to anchor his power in Seraphine's physical presence to prevent a total collapse.
Permanent: YES

## Captain Kaelen
Location: The Breach Point, Oakhaven
Physical: Minor lacerations; soot and crystalline dust covering armor.
Emotional: Pragmatically horrified; witnessing the mutation of the Blighted first-hand.
Active obligations: Absolute silence regarding the Queen’s flagging physical stamina (ch-03) — UNPAID.
Open loops: [Kaelen & Seraphine] The cost of his intervention against the High Priestess (ch-03) — UNRESOLVED.
Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-03—unresolved): Knows the Queen nearly collapsed during the walk to the cellar.
Arc: 20% — Recognizes that conventional steel is becoming obsolete against the evolving threat.
Permanent: YES

## High Priestess Malcorra
Location: The Sanctum of the Crimson Cathedral, Aethelgard (Off-screen)
Physical: Not described.
Emotional: Calculated; monitoring the resonance frequency of the sovereigns.
Active obligations: Owes the Crimson Cathedral a "purified" sovereign (ch-02) — UNPAID.
Open loops: None.
Known secrets: CARRIED (ch-03—unresolved): Does she hear the ancestors, or is she a high-functioning schizophrenic?
Arc: 15% — Static.
Permanent: NO

# World State: ch-05

## NPC Memory
- High Provost Vane (Oakhaven): BROKEN -- Witnessed the "Red Winter" apparitions within the Blight -- Begging for a mercy-kill that was denied.

## Faction Attitudes
- The Lowen-Court: PANICKED -- The failure of the Oakhaven seal suggests the King’s blood is thinning.
- The Blighted: ADAPTIVE -- Displaying "Red Winter" mimicry to lure soldiers into the mist.

## Active World Events
- The Oakhaven Breach: CRITICAL -- The glass-line is physically dissolved; the town Hinterland is lost.
- The Sanguine Marriage: STABILIZING -- The bond has moved from a "leak" to a "tether" following the perimeter crisis.