The Fabric of the Multiverse: Introduction (GEP)

: A Guide to the Ethereal Plane Article
: "What do you mean, she's not here? By the Light, I want to speak with Tarsheva!" Barat exclaimed.
: Inwardly sighing, Ronassic managed to keep his smile; after all, the cutter's jink was good, even if his manners weren't.
: "As I've already explained, kind sir, when you contacted me, I said I might be able to arrange a meeting with the one you seek. Unfortunately, she appears to be out of the city just now."
: Barat's frantic demeanor held a moment longer, then sagged. "What am I going to do? My Ethereal quest ends before it even begins, for wont of a guide."
: Ronassic raised a single eyebrow, then cleared his throat. "While it's true that I am noted more for my scholarship than my adventurous spirit, I do not brag when I say there are people who regard me as an expert in many fields, including things Ethereal."
: Barat looked up. "What do you mean?"
: Ronassic continued, "Perhaps you might consider contracting me to aid you now that I have returned from my long absence. Trust me; I know a thing or two about the Ethereal Plane, and what I don't know I can find out-I'm quite resourceful that way."
: Barat hesitated before speaking. "Tarsheva comes highly recommended. How do I know you're not trying to 'peel' me, as you Cagers say?"
: Ronassic paused reflectively a moment before answering. "That seems a fair question. Tell me this: What is the first thought that comes into your head when you think of the Ethereal Plane?"
: "I don't know," Barat responded," ... a bunch of mist and nothingness, I guess."
: Ronassic smiled and shook his head. "That's where you are wrong. The Ethereal Plane is the opposite of nothing; it is everything."
: "What?" Barat replied.
: Ronassic watched as the traveler's face assumed the puzzled expression that he had come to associate with primes. The wizard continued sagely. "The Ethereal contains everything material; it is, in fact, the connective essence that makes up space and distance. While the Astral is the mental plane, a place that doesn't take up any actual space, the Ethereal is a physical plane that literally is space, and all that space contains."
: "I don't think I quite catch your meaning," said Barat, leaning forward with a look of obvious interest, despite his protest.
: Ronassic nodded and looked fondly at his newest student. "Well," the wizard said, "here's the dark of it.... "
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This book details the Ethereal Plane, a churning realm of possibility and reality that contains a filmy "planar soup" connecting the various prime worlds. Sometimes called the Misty Shore or the Waveless Sea, the Ethereal also connects worlds and demiplanes to the Inner Planes, infinite arenas of elemental fury. In addition, the plane houses disparate and strange demiplane islands, as well as creatures both odd and dangerous. See, the Ethereal Plane's infinite expanse and strange properties make it more than just a backdrop to other adventures. In fact, the plane itself offers limitless and wondrous opportunities for those planewalkers brave enough to travel its shores and depths. The Ethereal Plane is a vital component of the multiverse, as it can hold all things in its misty grasp. Physically passing through the colorful mists that comprise the substance of the plane can delight or terrify a cutter with sights never before seen-and probably never seen again.
Because it holds all physical things, the plane contains horrendous dangers and gruesome creatures that "stand" shoulder to shoulder with mind-blowing sights and treasures to put a dragon's horde to shame. Phase spiders, terithran, and thought eaters commonly make their homes here, but stranger creatures also abide in the Deep Ethereal-including memes and gk'lok-lok.
Creatures aren't the only threat to the ethereal traveler-ether cyclones and vortex fronts can put a body in the dead-book just as fast as any fiend, but far more impersonally. 'Course, even these natural dangers aren't enough to deter those who seek passage through the ether to other worlds or the Inner Planes, or those who seek such rumored locations as the Castle at the Edge of Time, Leicester's Gap, or Anavaree.