THE AETHER: World and Travel
About the Aether
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The Great Sphere, most often called “the aether”, is the known habitable universe. A vast expanse of luminous, flowing currents and clouds of shimmering energy envelops countless thousands of shining worlds, each a unique star glimmering with life. The closer one travels to the heart of the aether, the brighter its energy and the safer its realms, and the further out one goes, the darker, stranger, and more dangerous - and the closer to the endless Void that lurks beyond the safety of the Sphere’s edge.
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Pearls
Many creatures of the aether reside in the aether’s realms, called Pearls. A Pearl is a microcosm of what we know as a planet - but focused on a single main biome or theme, and entirely self-contained within a shimmering sphere called an atmos that holds its sun/s and moon/s and determines its climate. The atmos resembles a massive arcane sphere, inscribed with elaborate lines and symbols that are visible faintly in the sky, with its energy determining the sky color. The climate and energy balance is determined by the Pearl’s location relative to the Elemental Cors - the crystalline, world-sized hearts of the Six Sisters which generate the universe’s elemental energy. In addition, the closer a Pearl is to the edge of the aether - and its proximity to the Void - the more hazardous and strange its climate and magics manifest.
Pearls can be as small as cities or as large as continents on Earth, completely wilderness or entirely urbanized into city-pearls that serve as the heart of a species’s civilization. The largest, most populated pearls form a network called the Iona, a group of sixteen realms with instant teleportation to one another via ancient gates called Arcs.
The Outer Aether
There are civilizations and creatures native to the ‘outer aether’, or the magical sky-like space between the Pearls. Residing on drifting islands of stray elemental substances like rock, earth, water, and crystal, or drifting nomadically among the aethercurrents, these creatures range from the strange, like the Ynxa, to the massive, like the roaming Behemoths, to entire civilizations like the merfolk-like Sylori who facilitate trade and travel by mortalkind between the realms.
The outer aether has its own weather and climates, reflecting the passing of seasons determined by the Elemental Cors. Near the heart of the aether, the climate is mild and pleasant, but closer to the Verge it becomes hazardous, unstable, and even deadly to travelers.
Creatures not native to the outer aether can breathe and move normally in most cases, due to the presence of plentiful elemental air in its substance. However, the concentration of aether can cause a condition called ‘aethersickness’ - a lightheaded, blissful state that gets worse after weeks of exposure to the aether without protection, and eventually becomes permanent. Exposure to the aether can also cause ‘aethermarks’, or shimmering freckle-like spots on the skin.
The Heart of Gaia (Cor Gaias)
This is the name for the very center of the aether - a shining heart that balances all that makes up the known universe. Guarded by crystal guardians, it is the source of all light that illuminates the aether and safeguards the realms. Cor Gaias, the aether’s artificially-built capital city, basks in the light beneath the Heart that acts as its ‘sun’.
The Elemental Cors
Beyond the neutral, balanced inner half of the Great Sphere lie the Elemental Cors - the hearts of the Sisters of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air that anchored themselves at four cardinal points equally distant from the center and from each other. They form the cores of four loose regions called the Agnon (Fire), Arion (Air), Omaion (Water), and Tierron (Earth). The Cors are made entirely of crystal and pulse with fluxes of elemental energy, guarded by crystalline titans that only permit powerful elementals to enter. The closer a Pearl is to one of these Elemental Cors, the more heavily its environment is influenced by one or more elements.
The Verge and the Void
The outer barrier of the Great Sphere resembles a massive arcane lattice - a shield impenetrable by almost all living creatures. Nothing can enter or leave, even by ancient and powerful magics. Gaia’s soul formed the Verge to defend the aether from the Void and the creatures that lurk beyond - eldritch entities known as the Elderborn.
Beyond the Verge lies an endless, lightless and silent expanse known only as the Void. No living creature save Voidals, entities native to this place, can survive entering the Void without the assistance of powerful magic. It is a place of nothingness and death to any who might find themselves lost in its reaches.
Traveling in the Aether
Travel between the Pearls is possible via all sorts of contraptions, vessels, and creatures. Aetherships are an invention of several species, such as the Manu, Zephyr, and Capry (see Mortal Species) to fly from the atmos of the pearls into the aetheric skies, sailing the currents between realms. The style and flavor of ships depends on the species who created them. Creatures native to the aether, such as Nebulon, can travel easily and sometimes serve as ferries for mortals. Magically-summoned aethergates, or teleportation portals, can instantly bridge gaps in the aether.
Travel is expedited by sailing the Great Veins, a network of branching tunnel-like passages of swirling aether that radiate outward from Cor Gaias, the Heart of Aether at the Sphere’s center. The Great Veins carry aether rapidly through the Sphere, but can also carry any creatures or ships that enter the Veins at entry and exit points called nexi. Miniature cities and ‘pit stops’ are frequently constructed at these heavily traveled locations.
The Great Veins only reach the inner half of the aether, so travel beyond this point is entirely reliant on one’s own tools. Adventurers are the type to challenge the mysterious and dangerous realms that lie in the tempestuous expanse beyond the safer regions. But travel is dangerous even in populated areas - as bandits, brigands, pirates, and dangerous factions can also find their targets among unwary travelers.