Arcanea 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-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 [#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`) [#visual--typographic-contract-brand-packsarcaneadesignmd]

| 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 |