The Magika

Secret Spell · nineteen elements · three orders · one law

Secret Spell is a rhythm-driven, turn-based creature-collector. A young wizard and the anima he gathers travel an archipelago whose corruption isn't a poison or an army — it's the world losing its beat. Combat resolves in measures: you commit an action during one bar, it lands on the next downbeat, and how cleanly you hit decides how hard it lands.

Magic here is not words. A spell is an act performed exactly on the Measure — the pulse everything in the world moves on. Chain the right actions across your party, each landed on the beat and all on the same target, and they resolve into a Cadence: a secret spell.

The nineteen elements sit in three orders. Elementia is raw matter. Astrologika is matter given a manner of motion — a sign is an element × a modality. Divinita are the three conditions any world needs to exist at all: Weight, Sequence and Semblance. Everything below follows from three rules the chart enforces without exception.

The Wheel

Laid out as the archipelago itself — the three Divinita bound at the centre, the four Elementia on the inner ring, the twelve signs in zodiac order on the outer wheel with the cardinal signs on the compass points. Shape carries order (● Elementia, ◆ Astrologika, ★ Divinita) and ▲ ■ ◆ carry modality, so nothing here depends on colour alone.

ESWNIgna → Terra : 2× dominantIgna → Arieta : 2× dominantIgna → Leona : 2× dominantIgna → Sagittaria : 2× dominantIgna → Aquaria : 0× nullTerra → Aria : 2× dominantTerra → Taura : 2× dominantTerra → Virga : 2× dominantTerra → Caprica : 2× dominantAria → Igna : 0× nullAria → Aqua : 2× dominantAria → Gemina : 2× dominantAria → Libra : 2× dominantAria → Aquaria : 2× dominantAqua → Igna : 2× dominantAqua → Cancera : 2× dominantAqua → Scorpia : 2× dominantAqua → Piscea : 2× dominantArieta → Terra : 2× dominantArieta → Aria : 2× dominantArieta → Aqua : 2× dominantArieta → Taura : 4× lethalArieta → Caprica : 0× nullArieta → Gravita : 2× dominantTaura → Igna : 2× dominantTaura → Aria : 2× dominantTaura → Aqua : 2× dominantTaura → Sagittaria : 4× lethalTaura → Piscea : 0× nullTaura → Tempora : 2× dominantGemina → Igna : 2× dominantGemina → Terra : 2× dominantGemina → Aqua : 2× dominantGemina → Libra : 0× nullGemina → Spectra : 2× dominantCancera → Igna : 2× dominantCancera → Terra : 2× dominantCancera → Aria : 2× dominantCancera → Piscea : 0× nullCancera → Gravita : 2× dominantLeona → Terra : 2× dominantLeona → Aria : 2× dominantLeona → Aqua : 2× dominantLeona → Tempora : 2× dominantVirga → Igna : 2× dominantVirga → Aria : 2× dominantVirga → Aqua : 2× dominantVirga → Gemina : 0× nullVirga → Spectra : 2× dominantLibra → Igna : 2× dominantLibra → Terra : 2× dominantLibra → Aqua : 2× dominantLibra → Scorpia : 0× nullLibra → Gravita : 2× dominantScorpia → Igna : 2× dominantScorpia → Terra : 2× dominantScorpia → Aria : 2× dominantScorpia → Virga : 0× nullScorpia → Tempora : 2× dominantSagittaria → Terra : 2× dominantSagittaria → Aria : 2× dominantSagittaria → Aqua : 2× dominantSagittaria → Arieta : 4× lethalSagittaria → Spectra : 2× dominantCaprica → Igna : 2× dominantCaprica → Aria : 2× dominantCaprica → Aqua : 2× dominantCaprica → Taura : 0× nullCaprica → Gravita : 2× dominantAquaria → Igna : 2× dominantAquaria → Terra : 0× nullAquaria → Aqua : 2× dominantAquaria → Tempora : 2× dominantPiscea → Igna : 2× dominantPiscea → Terra : 2× dominantPiscea → Aria : 2× dominantPiscea → Arieta : 0× nullPiscea → Cancera : 0× nullPiscea → Spectra : 2× dominantGravita → Igna : 4× lethalGravita → Terra : 4× lethalGravita → Aria : 4× lethalGravita → Aqua : 4× lethalGravita → Taura : 2× dominantGravita → Gemina : 2× dominantGravita → Leona : 2× dominantGravita → Virga : 2× dominantGravita → Scorpia : 2× dominantGravita → Sagittaria : 2× dominantGravita → Aquaria : 2× dominantGravita → Piscea : 2× dominantTempora → Igna : 4× lethalTempora → Terra : 4× lethalTempora → Aria : 4× lethalTempora → Aqua : 4× lethalTempora → Arieta : 2× dominantTempora → Gemina : 2× dominantTempora → Cancera : 2× dominantTempora → Virga : 2× dominantTempora → Libra : 2× dominantTempora → Sagittaria : 2× dominantTempora → Caprica : 2× dominantTempora → Piscea : 2× dominantSpectra → Igna : 4× lethalSpectra → Terra : 4× lethalSpectra → Aria : 4× lethalSpectra → Aqua : 4× lethalSpectra → Arieta : 2× dominantSpectra → Taura : 2× dominantSpectra → Cancera : 2× dominantSpectra → Leona : 2× dominantSpectra → Libra : 2× dominantSpectra → Scorpia : 2× dominantSpectra → Caprica : 2× dominantSpectra → Aquaria : 2× dominantIgna — ElementiaIgnaTerra — ElementiaTerraAria — ElementiaAriaAqua — ElementiaAquaArieta — Astrologika · Onset▲ ArietaTaura — Astrologika · Hold■ TauraGemina — Astrologika · Release◆ GeminaCancera — Astrologika · Onset▲ CanceraLeona — Astrologika · Hold■ LeonaVirga — Astrologika · Release◆ VirgaLibra — Astrologika · Onset▲ LibraScorpia — Astrologika · Hold■ ScorpiaSagittaria — Astrologika · Release◆ SagittariaCaprica — Astrologika · Onset▲ CapricaAquaria — Astrologika · Hold■ AquariaPiscea — Astrologika · Release◆ PisceaGravita — DivinitaGravitaTempora — DivinitaTemporaSpectra — DivinitaSpectra
4× lethal 2× dominant 0× null / immune ▲ Onset · ■ Hold · ◆ Release

Click or tab to any element to isolate its relationships. Click empty space to clear.

The Four Quartets

Every Elementia has exactly one sign of each modality — no overlaps, no leftovers. So there are precisely four Quartets, each one substance plus its three tempers. An anima belongs to a single Quartet and sounds one or two of its four faces at a time; that pair is its Voicing.

Igna

Quartet

One substance, three tempers — how it begins, how it holds, how it lets go.

  • ▲ Arieta▲ Onsetattack
  • ■ Leona■ Holdsustain
  • ◆ Sagittaria◆ Releasedecay

7 legal voicings — Igna alone, three Igna+sign pairs, three sign+sign pairs.

Terra

Quartet

One substance, three tempers — how it begins, how it holds, how it lets go.

  • ▲ Caprica▲ Onsetattack
  • ■ Taura■ Holdsustain
  • ◆ Virga◆ Releasedecay

7 legal voicings — Terra alone, three Terra+sign pairs, three sign+sign pairs.

Aria

Quartet

One substance, three tempers — how it begins, how it holds, how it lets go.

  • ▲ Libra▲ Onsetattack
  • ■ Aquaria■ Holdsustain
  • ◆ Gemina◆ Releasedecay

7 legal voicings — Aria alone, three Aria+sign pairs, three sign+sign pairs.

Aqua

Quartet

One substance, three tempers — how it begins, how it holds, how it lets go.

  • ▲ Cancera▲ Onsetattack
  • ■ Scorpia■ Holdsustain
  • ◆ Piscea◆ Releasedecay

7 legal voicings — Aqua alone, three Aqua+sign pairs, three sign+sign pairs.

Modality is the Envelope of a Note

The modalities aren't three flavours — they're the three parts of a sound. Every note ever made has an onset, a body and a decay. That's why one wizard can't cast a great spell: a single voice makes a note, but it takes a phrase to make a Cadence, and a phrase needs all three parts. It's also why only a matched modality can wound a god.

▲

Cardinal

Onset · the attack
▲ Arieta▲ Cancera▲ Libra▲ Caprica

These four — and only these four — can wound Gravita

■

Fixed

Hold · the sustain
■ Taura■ Leona■ Scorpia■ Aquaria

These four — and only these four — can wound Tempora

◆

Mutable

Release · the release
◆ Gemina◆ Virga◆ Sagittaria◆ Piscea

These four — and only these four — can wound Spectra

The Full Matrix

Rows attack, columns defend. Magnitude uses an independent diverging scale — cool resists, gray is neutral, warm is effective — rather than the element hues, so the numbers stay readable regardless of identity. Every value is printed, so colour is reinforcement and never the only channel.

multiplier ⊘ 0.5 0.7 1 2 4
Attacker rows against defender columns; values are damage multipliers.
attacker \ defenderIgnaTerraAriaAquaArietaTauraGeminaCanceraLeonaVirgaLibraScorpiaSagittariaCapricaAquariaPisceaGravitaTemporaSpectra
Igna—2×1×0.7×2×1×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×1×⊘1×0.5×0.5×0.5×
Terra0.7×—2×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×1×1×0.5×0.5×0.5×
Aria⊘0.7×—2×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×1×0.5×0.5×0.5×
Aqua2×1×0.7×—1×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×1×1×1×2×0.5×0.5×0.5×
Arieta0.7×2×2×2×—4×1×1×1×1×1×1×0.5×⊘1×1×2×0.7×0.7×
Taura2×0.7×2×2×0.5×—1×1×1×1×1×1×4×1×1×⊘0.7×2×0.7×
Gemina2×2×0.7×2×1×1×—1×1×1×⊘1×1×1×1×1×0.7×0.7×2×
Cancera2×2×2×0.7×1×1×1×—1×1×1×1×1×1×1×⊘2×0.7×0.7×
Leona0.7×2×2×2×1×1×1×1×—1×1×1×1×1×1×1×0.7×2×0.7×
Virga2×0.7×2×2×1×1×⊘1×1×—1×1×1×1×1×1×0.7×0.7×2×
Libra2×2×0.7×2×1×1×1×1×1×1×—⊘1×1×1×1×2×0.7×0.7×
Scorpia2×2×2×0.7×1×1×1×1×1×⊘1×—1×1×1×1×0.7×2×0.7×
Sagittaria0.7×2×2×2×4×0.5×1×1×1×1×1×1×—1×1×1×0.7×0.7×2×
Caprica2×0.7×2×2×1×⊘1×1×1×1×1×1×1×—1×1×2×0.7×0.7×
Aquaria2×⊘0.7×2×1×1×1×1×1×1×1×1×1×1×—1×0.7×2×0.7×
Piscea2×2×2×0.7×⊘1×1×⊘1×1×1×1×1×1×1×—0.7×0.7×2×
Gravita4×4×4×4×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×—1×1×
Tempora4×4×4×4×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×1×—1×
Spectra4×4×4×4×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×2×2×0.7×1×1×—

Dual Typing

An anima voices one or two of its Quartet at a time. The attacker always contributes a single element — whichever the move is — so a defender is at most two lookups, never four. The second type applies at half its deviation from 1.0, clamped to [0.25, 4.0], and immunity always wins outright.

2 × 2
double-strong → 3.0×, not 4.0
4 × 4
double-lethal → 4.0×, not 16
2 × 1
2.0× — single-type behaviour is completely untouched
2 × 0.7
1.70× — a resistance only half-cancels a weakness, which is why dual typing is better offence and worse defence, and why single-typed anima stay worth keeping