Do

• Render every section as a PANEL SLAB — surface with a 1-2px chrome-highlight top edge (rgba(250,250,250,0.30-0.40)) suggesting light catching the raised lip, and a darker recessed bottom edge (fade into carbon) suggesting shadow
• Between sections use an EMBER SEAM GLOW — a thin orange line + soft ember bleed (`ember-seam-glow` shadow) as the visible join between adjacent hull panels. Not every section boundary, but every deliberate one
• The tonal ladder is carbon (#060606) → void (#0A0A0A) → charcoal (#141414) → charcoal-warm (#161412) → hull-panel (#1A1A1A) → hull-panel-lift (#242424) → hull-panel-dark (#0F0F0F, recessed). Different sections sit on different tones so the page reads as an assembly of plates
• Cards are RAISED PLATES on their host panel — `panel-lift` shadow (subtle chrome-top inset + deep cast shadow underneath) with hull-panel-lift #242424 surface. Hover intensifies both the chrome top-edge and the cast shadow
• CTAs use an ORANGE OMBRE gradient: ember-glow #FFB347 (top) → ember #FF7A2E (middle) → ember-deep #D14810 (bottom). Text is on-primary-fixed #2A0800 (near-black-burnt). Add an ember-glow-sm outer glow so the CTA reads as radiating heat
• The warm capture band pre-footer is a FULL EMBER OMBRE — ember-glow #FFB347 top → ember-forge #E85D18 bottom — reading as a massive open seam of forge light
• Ember never sits FLAT — it always GLOWS: through a seam, back-lighting an image, rim-lighting a card, radiating from a CTA. Use ember-glow / ember-seam-glow / ember-backlight shadow tokens
• PURE WHITE (chrome-highlight #FAFAFA) is RESERVED for physical light-catch points — panel top edges, card upper hairlines, corner chrome-glints, section headings. Not for body copy
• Body text is chrome-warm #F5F0E8 (warm-tinted off-white) — takes on the forge light. Meta / dim text is chrome-dim #B8B0A6
• The hero opens on carbon #060606 with a full-bleed cinematic photograph. An ember-backlight or ember-seam-glow at the bottom lip marks where the hero PANEL ENDS and the next panel begins
• The footer sits on carbon #060606. An ember seam glow at its TOP marks the join from the capture band
• Zero border-radius sitewide. Every panel, card, tile, input, and button is rectangular and hard-edged
• Spec-sheet asymmetric layout persists: title/description LEFT, dotted-leader technical specs RIGHT. Tight data clusters, generous section whitespace
• Space Grotesk for display / headings / labels / technical annotations. Manrope for body copy
• Photograph-brief placeholders (where real imagery is absent) render as dark panels with visible italic captions describing the photograph — never SVG-drawn hilts, sabers, portraits, or scenes
• Full-bleed cinematic photography for hero, workshop/heritage, and any other atmospheric moment. When a real image is available, it fills the whole panel and receives its own ember-backlight from below
• Alternate content sections between plain and patterned backgrounds — Saber Core, Factions, Mission Control, Brand Story carry delicate hull-plate imagery; Favourites, New Arrivals, Testimonials stay plain-ground for visual rest
• Patterned sections use smooth architectural hull-plate imagery only — matte carbon-black plates, a single delicate hair-thin ember seam, no rivets, no scratches, no industrial machinery, no visible weathering. Reference: brand_imagery.hull_plate_horizontal_smooth (variant F) + brand_imagery.hull_plate_vertical_smooth (variant G)
• Sections with horizontal composition (4-across cards, 2-column split) use variant F horizontal imagery; sections with vertical composition (3×2 tile grids, editorial split) use variant G vertical imagery
• Overlay each patterned section with a 58-74% dark linear gradient mask (`linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(6,6,6,0.58), rgba(6,6,6,0.74))`) so the delicate ember seam registers but the plates never compete with cards on top
• Cards sitting on patterned hull-plate sections need a solid dark fill (`rgba(20,20,20,0.94)`) plus `backdrop-filter: blur(3px)` so they read as raised plates on the hull rather than transparent windows
• Section ground assignments are one step darker than the SG default tonal ladder: Saber Core / New Arrivals / Testimonials → carbon; Favourites / Mission Control / Brand Story → void; Factions stays carbon (deepest vault). Hero + footer + capture band unchanged from v4.0
• Panel-seam between sections is a single ember hairline + soft glow only — no dark shadow channels above or below. Adjacent section content (image, card row, editorial text) touches the ember line directly, so the seam reads as one clean warm hairline rather than a construction gap.
• No corner rivets on sections, cards, or panels — the panel-slab is defined by its chrome top-edge inset + darker recessed bottom + tonal ground alone. Rivets read as noise once the direction is locked; they belong to industrial-feature imagery, not to the surface treatment.
• No hero-bottom ember overlay — the hero panel transitions to the next section via the standard panel-seam alone. Any second ember gradient at the hero bottom stacks against the panel-seam and reads as a double gradient.