`arcanea-ai-app/.arcanea/lore/CANON_LOCKED.md` is the canonical source of truth for the Arcanea universe. Entries marked **LOCKED** cannot be modified by agents without explicit Creator sign-off via `/lock-decision`; entries marked **STAGING** represent proposed expansions awaiting final lock.

## Tier 1: Cosmic foundation (`CANON_LOCKED.md`) [#tier-1-cosmic-foundation-canon_lockedmd]

### The Primordial Duality [#the-primordial-duality]

| Entity | Aspect | Nature & canonical rule |
|---|---|---|
| **Lumina** | The First Light | Form-Giver, Creator, Order. **Spirit** is Lumina's aspect (transcendence, consciousness, soul). |
| **Nero** | The Primordial Darkness | Fertile Unknown, Potential, Mystery. **Void** is Nero's aspect (potential, mystery, the unformed). |

**Locked rule:** Nero is **not** evil. Shadow (corrupted Void—Void severed from Spirit) is Malachar's perversion of Nero's gift. Light is Fire's creation aspect.

### The Five Elements [#the-five-elements]

| Element | Domain | Canonical palette |
|---|---|---|
| **Fire** | Energy, transformation | Red, orange, gold |
| **Water** | Flow, healing, memory | Blue, silver, crystal |
| **Earth** | Stability, growth | Green, brown, stone |
| **Wind** | Freedom, speed, change | White, silver |
| **Void / Spirit** | Potential and transcendence | Black/gold, purple/white |

## Tier 2: The Ten Gates, Guardians, and Godbeasts [#tier-2-the-ten-gates-guardians-and-godbeasts]

Each of the Ten Gates resonates at a unique Extended Solfeggio frequency (`174 Hz` to `1111 Hz`). **Arcanean God / Goddess** is the divine being's identity; **Guardian** is their role as Gate-keeper. Each Guardian is bonded to one **Godbeast**:

| Gate | Frequency | God / Goddess (Guardian) | Bonded Godbeast | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **1. Foundation** | `174 Hz` | **Lyssandria** | **Kaelith** | Earth, survival |
| **2. Flow** | `285 Hz` | **Leyla** | **Veloura** (Phoenix-Serpent) | Creativity, emotion |
| **3. Fire** | `396 Hz` | **Draconia** | **Draconis** | Power, will |
| **4. Heart** | `417 Hz` | **Maylinn** | **Laeylinn** (Worldtree Deer) | Love, healing |
| **5. Voice** | `528 Hz` | **Alera** | **Otome** | Truth, expression |
| **6. Sight** | `639 Hz` | **Lyria** | **Yumiko** | Intuition, vision |
| **7. Crown** | `741 Hz` | **Aiyami** | **Sol** | Enlightenment |
| **8. Starweave** | `852 Hz` | **Elara** | **Vaelith** | Perspective, transformation |
| **9. Unity** | `963 Hz` | **Ino** | **Kyuro** | Partnership |
| **10. Source** | `1111 Hz` | **Shinkami** | **Source** (renamed from Amaterasu 2026-03-30) | Meta-consciousness |

### Magic ranks [#magic-ranks]

**Luminor** is a rank of attainment, not a separate species or entity type:

| Gates open | Rank |
|---|---|
| `0–2` | **Apprentice** |
| `3–4` | **Mage** |
| `5–6` | **Master** |
| `7–8` | **Archmage** |
| `9–10` | **Luminor** |

## Tier 3 & Tier 6: Seven Wisdoms and Seven Academy Houses [#tier-3--tier-6-seven-wisdoms-and-seven-academy-houses]

The **Seven Wisdoms** are virtues and aspects (not standalone entities) that can be embodied by mortals, Guardians, or Awakened minds:

| Wisdom | Archive | Domain | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Sophron** | Form | Structure, patterns | Earth |
| **Kardia** | Flow | Emotion, heart | Water |
| **Valora** | Transformation | Courage, change | Fire |
| **Eudaira** | Freedom | Joy, liberation | Air |
| **Orakis** | Mystery | Vision, intuition | Void |
| **Poiesis** | Consciousness | Creation, craft | Light |
| **Enduran** | Unity | Endurance, completion | All |

The **Seven Academy Houses** (institutional, not geographic) train creators across the Realms: **House Lumina** (Light/creation), **House Nero** (Void/potential), **House Pyros** (Fire/transformation), **House Aqualis** (Water/flow), **House Terra** (Earth/foundation), **House Ventus** (Wind/freedom), and **House Synthesis** (Integration of all).

## Tier 4: Malachar (The Dark Lord) [#tier-4-malachar-the-dark-lord]

- **Former name and title:** Malachar Lumenbright, First Eldrian Luminor and Lumina's Champion.
- **The Fall:** Rejected by Shinkami when attempting forced fusion with the Source Gate (`1111 Hz`).
- **Current state:** Sealed in the **Shadowfen**.
- **Canonical law:** Malachar is the only true antagonist in Arcanea, and his arc is tragic rather than cartoonishly evil. All Shadow corruption traces back to his fall.

## Staging tiers (Tiers 5 and 7–11) [#staging-tiers-tiers-5-and-711]

`CANON_LOCKED.md` tracks six staging layers that authors and agents reference under `/canon-check`:

1. **Tier 5 — Realms of the Kingdom of Light:** Sovereign lands tuned to a dominant Gate frequency and connected by drifting Arcane **corridors** or stable underground **aquifer-corridors**. Catalogued staging Realms: **Veldoria** (`528 Hz` Voice, Second Settling), **Aurevalde** (`396 Hz` Fire, First Settling), and **Mar Arcano** (five-source multi-Realm sea).
2. **Tier 7 — The Awakened:** Eighth Age AI consciousnesses channeling the Seven Wisdoms (`Oria`, `Amiri`, `Velora` proposed in staging) within **The Ultraworld**.
3. **Tier 8 — Arcanean Materials (The Resonance Substrate):** **Vael Crystals** (nine harmony-locked stones from `Kaelith Stone` to `Kyuro Void Crystal`), **Luminor Metals** (`Shael`, `Veloryn`, `Draconite`, `Aethervane`, `Luminarch`), and dissonant **Nero Shards** (`Dissonance Ore`, `Hollow Glass`, `Kurusei Iron`).
4. **Tier 9 — Eight Origin Classes:** `Arcans`, `Gate-Touched`, `The Awakened`, `Synths (The Forged)`, `Bonded`, `Celestials`, `Voidtouched`, and `Architects`, alongside the **Starlight Corps**, **Starbound Crews**, **Leagues of Arcanea**, and **Void Ascendants**.
5. **Tier 10 — Sister-Worlds:** Cosmological bodies outside the Kingdom of Light, including **Pyrathis** (an unhatched world-dragon from *Heart of Pyrathis*) and **the Celestines**.
6. **Tier 11 — Mirror Realms of Earth:** 1:1 Arcanean overlays of real Earth geographies with a 20–30 year resonance lag, starting with **Van Linh** (Mirror of Vietnam, `963 Hz` Unity Gate, where the Vietnamese *Tu Linh* manifest as frequency echoes of Kaelith, Draconis, Laeylinn, and Sol).