Chapter II
Light & Stone.
Eight colors, all of them drawn from the same hillside — the limestone at noon, the sea through the colonnade, the pot at the market, the olive that refuses to hurry.
Paper
λίθος · limestone
Marble
μάρμαρον
Ink
μέλαν · ink
Aegean
θάλασσα · sea
Terracotta
κεραμική
Olive
ἐλαία
Ochre
ὠχρός
Wine-dark
οἶνοψ πόντος
Hairline
γραμμή · line
Text on paper
Four grades of ink, descending from the title through the marginalia. Never pure black; never fully grey.
Primary Body · headings
Secondary Lede · emphasis
Muted Metadata · captions
Faint Folio · hairlines
By lamplight
The dark mode is not an inversion. The paper becomes the soot of an oil lamp; the ink becomes the candle-warm off-white that printers call "cream."
Soot
καπνός
Ember
ἀνθρακιά
Candle
φῶς · light
Moon-Aegean
σελήνη
Lamp-Ochre
λύχνος
Contrast, measured
Every body-text color pair meets WCAG AA or better. Faint ink and hairline are decorative only — they never carry content. Numbers below are ratios computed from sRGB luminance, not estimated.
| Foreground on paper | Role | Ratio | Grade | Use for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ink #1A1814 | Body, headings | 17.28:1 | AAA | all text, at any size |
| Ink-2 #3A362E | Lede, emphasis | 11.72:1 | AAA | long passages, drop-caps |
| Ink-3 #6F6B62 | Metadata, captions | 5.17:1 | AA | body-sized metadata only |
| Ink-4 #A4A198 | Folio, hairline text | 2.52:1 | decor | never body text |
| Aegean #3D6A7A | Links, notes | 5.78:1 | AA | inline links at body size |
| Terracotta #A8553A | Drop-caps, accents | 5.08:1 | AA | inline links, eyebrows |
| Wine #6E2F3A | Inline code, quotes | 9.61:1 | AAA | all text, at any size |
| Olive #6E7542 | Tags, asides | 4.78:1 | AA | tags, inline small caps |
| Ochre #B5893B | Warnings, marks | 3.10:1 | AA·L | headings ≥ 18pt only |
| Rule #DEDACD | Borders, dividers | 1.36:1 | decor | lines, never text |
| Foreground on soot (dark mode) | Role | Ratio | Grade | Use for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candle #ECE3CF | Body, headings | 14.45:1 | AAA | all text, at any size |
| Ink-2 #CFC4AB | Lede, emphasis | 10.66:1 | AAA | long passages |
| Ink-3 #948B73 | Metadata, captions | 5.44:1 | AA | body-sized metadata |
| Moon-Aegean #8FB4C2 | Links | 8.32:1 | AAA | inline links |
| Terracotta #D07E62 | Drop-caps, accents | 6.01:1 | AA | accents, small emphasis |
| Wine #C08B97 | Inline code, quotes | 6.48:1 | AA | inline code, quotes |
| Olive #A5AE74 | Tags | 7.82:1 | AAA | tags, asides |
| Ochre #DCAC58 | Warnings, marks | 8.86:1 | AAA | all text, at any size |