The Ten Gates & locked canon
The locked spine of Arcanea — what holds in CANON_LOCKED.md, what can bend, and the visual design contract.
LiveChecked against
arcanea-ai-app/.arcanea/lore/CANON_LOCKED.md, starlight-design-intelligence/brand-packs/arcanea/DESIGN.md, TRUTH.mdArcanea is a creative operating system and story universe governed by a locked canonical spine (arcanea-ai-app/.arcanea/lore/CANON_LOCKED.md). New books, worlds, music, and creator tools expand inside the canon rather than mutating its foundation.
The Ten Gates architecture
The Ten Gates form the fixed progression and capability framework across the Arcanea Academy, Guardians, and Luminor specialists. Series, missions, and spinouts add detail inside a Gate, but the Gate's element, frequency, and Guardian law stay untouched. Any draft that contradicts CANON_LOCKED.md is rejected by /canon-check before publication.
What holds vs. what bends
| Layer | Governance rule |
|---|---|
| World structure & Ten Gates | Locked (CANON_LOCKED.md). Read-only to agents; canon promotions require /lock-decision and founder sign-off. |
| Naming & lineage | Locked. Names derive from the world's linguistic roots; no ad-hoc lore mutations mid-chapter. |
Magic physics (scientific-magic) | Locked. Cost follows power; energy conservation and Gate resonance rules bind every artifact. |
| Villages, side arcs, & Starbound Crews | Open for expansion. New crews (/crew-assemble), missions (/crew-mission), and local stories expand freely inside a Gate's law. |
Visual & typographic contract (brand-packs/arcanea/DESIGN.md)
| Token / role | Value | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantean Teal | #00bcd4 | Primary interface accent and intelligence signal |
| Cosmic Blue | #0d47a1 | Deep structural accent |
| Arcanean Gold | #ffd700 | Crown / Gate highlight and achievement accent |
| Cosmic Void | #0b0e14 | Primary dark reading canvas |
| Typography | Geist (UI/body), Instrument Serif (editorial display), Geist Mono (code/data) | Sentence case across all interface labels and headings |