  We investigate the dynamics of space-time filling five-branes wrapped on
curves in heterotic and orientifold Calabi-Yau compactifications. We first
study the leading N=1 scalar potential on the infinite deformation space of the
brane-curve around a supersymmetric configuration. The higher order potential
is also determined by a brane superpotential which we compute for a subset of
light deformations. We argue that these deformations map to new complex
structure deformations of a non-Calabi-Yau manifold which is obtained by
blowing up the brane-curve into a four-cycle and by replacing the brane by
background fluxes. This translates the original brane-bulk system into a
unifying geometrical formulation. Using this blow-up geometry we compute the
complete set of open-closed Picard-Fuchs differential equations and identify
the brane superpotential at special points in the field space for five-branes
in toric Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces. This has an interpretation in open mirror
symmetry and enables us to list compact disk instanton invariants. As a first
step towards promoting the blow-up geometry to a supersymmetric heterotic
background we propose a non-Kaehler SU(3) structure and an identification of
the three-form flux.
