# Chromatic and Diatonic Magic ## Overview Harmonic resonance magic in Mercury's Republic exists in two major systems: the ancient Chromatic system and the modern Diatonic (8-mode) civic system. These systems determine how resonance is accessed, channeled, and expressed through spellcraft and divine interaction. --- ## The Ancient Chromatic System - **Structure**: Based on the full 12-tone chromatic scale (C, C♯, D, D♯, E, F, F♯, G, G♯, A, A♯, B). - **Functionality**: Allowed for access to all harmonic Forms. Each pitch corresponded to a metaphysical mode or emotional vector. - **Advantages**: - Full expressive and elemental range. - Enabled cross-modal casting (mixing harmonic modes). - Used by early heroes, ancient temples, and primal cults. - **Drawbacks**: - Unstable and prone to harmonic dissonance without mastery. - Difficult to encode into standardized crystal matrices. - **Status**: Largely forbidden or lost. Survives in myth, ruins, and outlaw enclaves. --- ## The Diatonic 8-Mode Civic System - **Structure**: A narrowed and regulated system based on 8 standardized harmonic modes. - **Modes in Use** (examples): Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Aeolian, Mixolydian, Ionian, Locrian (defensive/chaotic), and Hypodorian. - **Functionality**: Each licensed spell crystal is tuned to a single mode, restricting resonance to one emotional or elemental spectrum. - **Advantages**: - Stable, safe for public use and infrastructure. - Easier to train and enforce bureaucratically. - **Drawbacks**: - Prohibits mixed-modal or adaptive casting. - Excludes entire ranges of harmonic potential. - **Status**: The state-enforced standard throughout Mercury’s Republic. --- ## Jasper Wren’s Breakthrough Jasper uncovers resonance patterns buried beneath Lindum Colonia's infrastructure tied to the ancient chromatic system. By experimenting with untuned crystals, he rediscovers the ability to access multiple harmonic frequencies in a single construct. This enables: - Improvised, adaptive magic - Reintroduction of mythic cross-modal spellcraft - Disruption of state control over harmonic regulation This discovery reopens the path to myth-era resonance techniques and sets the stage for a new, revolutionary form of magic. --- ## Political Framing | System | State View | Mythic View | |--------------|------------------|----------------------| | Chromatic | Dangerous relic | Pure, original magic | | Diatonic (8) | Civilized, stable| Oppressive limit | The chromatic system represents freedom, ancient power, and chaos. The diatonic system represents safety, order, and control.