Core Concepts

Saelis is built from six concepts. Each is defined here and expanded in its own section.

#Sigil

The individual protocol data unit. A Sigil is a structured, identifiable record published on Elysium and interpreted according to the Saelis metaprotocol. It carries a protocol identifier, a version and a body. It may also declare a standard and references to other Sigils.

Singular: Sigil. Plural: Sigils.

See Sigils.

#Piece

The conceptual building block that a Sigil represents. "Sigil" names the technical record; "piece" names its role in a larger whole. Every Sigil is a piece, and a piece can be meaningful alone or as part of an assembly.

#Assembly

A logical composition of related Sigils. An assembly is not a separate onchain object. It is a structure that an indexer reconstructs by following references between Sigils and applying the rules of the relevant standard.

#Reference

A relationship from one Sigil to another. A reference identifies its target by Sigil ID and may carry a relation type, such as part-of or derived-from. References are directional: the referencing Sigil declares the link, and the referenced Sigil does not need to change.

#Standard

A ruleset for interpreting a specific category of Sigils. A standard defines which body fields are required, which operations exist and how state is derived from an ordered sequence of records. ELC-20 is the first proposed standard and describes fungible assets.

A Sigil that declares no standard is still a valid Sigil, provided its envelope is valid. It simply carries no standard-specific meaning.

#Indexer

A system that reads and validates supported onchain records. An indexer scans Elysium blocks, recognizes Sigil envelopes, orders them canonically, applies protocol and standard rules, and exposes the resulting state. Indexers do not create truth; they compute it from chain history, and two conforming indexers should agree.

See Indexing & Verification.

#How the concepts relate