The Aetherspace

The Aetherspace is the name for the dimension in-between all crunkiverses in the greater multiverse. Its initial purpose is to act as a buffer between the radical energies of the Extraverse and the many Crunkiverses, but throughout history has been a way for many Gods and mortals alike to travel throughout Crunkiverse 00A . It is characterized by its non-Euclidean structure, which is the main reason it has been extremely valued by travelers and traders.

## History

The Aetherspace has existed since the Beginning Times, when it was created along with all other Crunkiverses. When Crunky was creating mortal planes, it was observed that the Extraverse's powerful Aether would degrade the structure of the Crunkiverses over time, eventually leading to their destruction. The solution to this way the Aetherspace, a buffer zone that would absorb and disperse Aether equally across a wide network of leylines. In order to have the energy properly absorbed, a physical space was created for the energy to congregate. The Aether that collected in the Aetherspace would soon take on physical shape and create an environment full of potential energy. The matter of the space itself was so dense with energy that simple processing could take huge advantage of it.

For many millenia the Aetherspace was untouched, as no mortal could find an entrance. However, sometime in the early history of humanity, an unknown civilization had found a way into the Aetherspace. The culture, only known as the Proto-Aetherlings, were an advanced society that had mastered Sacred Arts to a degree that allowed them to take advantage of the Aetherspace's untapped resources. In time, the Proto-Aetherlings began to harvest the Aether in the land, and use it to create a society based around Aether Cores, the powerful resource that is used in modern-day manufacturing of Sacred Artifacts.

Little is known of this society, as there is no direct mention to any civilization in the Aetherspace pre-Rat God Era. However, sometime in the late Beginning Times, the civilization inside the Aetherspace became completely isolated for many millenia. It is unknown how , but it experts suggest that knowledge of Aetherspace travel was scarce, and that the instability during the Rat God Era caused all mortal knowledge of travel to and from the Aetherspace to disappear.

Contact would be reestablished during the War of Gods, when the first Gods found it possible to force open gates to the Aetherspace with their immense power. Upon discovering the Aetherspace, the Gods found an environment teeming with flora and fauna, as well as a culture of tribal Aetherlings. These tribes, which are similar to modern day Aetherlings, were well met by many gods, who regarded them as friendly and ultimately removed from the War of Gods. In fact, many Gods would employ the help of local Aetherling groups to navigate the treacherous geography of the Aetherspace in order to gain an advantage back on their home turf. During this time, knowledge of Aether Cores had appeared to dry up among the general population of Aetherlings. However, one God was able to find those Aetherlings who still knew the secrets of Aether Core creation. It is said that Josh brought the first Aether Core into the Crunkiverse, that first one being the Grand Sun. However, presumably due to it not being the most desirable power during the War, the Aether Cores remained largely an untapped resource during the War of Gods.

After the end of the War, many of the Gods who knew of the Aetherspace had either died or been reassigned duties by Crunktropolis Craig. With no Gods to forge new paths into the Aetherspace, knowledge of the paths used in the War of Gods soon faded into antiquity, only being scantly mentioned in texts like the Book of DeMarcus. Again, the Aetherlings were cut-off from society at large.

In recent times, the Aetherspace has rediscovered again. This time, the Crandis Federation gained notoriety as the first mortals since the War of Gods to access the Aetherspace. Lead by Grandall Creamsworth, a team of extraordinary Sacred Arts Masters , the Aethernauts, explored the area and were the first to map the Layers of the Aetherspace, as well as detail the function and methods of the Cloud 9. Since then, the settlement the first Aethernauts built in the Aetherspace grew into the Crandis Republic, which would then expand into the Crandis Federation.

While the Crandis had control of the Aetherspace for 960 years, the Crunch has been a major problem for the Crandis due to the event causing a major disruption in the known Aetherspace entrances. After centruies of knowledge of all entrances being recorded by the Aethernauts, it seems that the Crunch has not only scrambled these entrances across Crunkiverse 00A, but across the multiverse at large. Little has been done towards remapping the Aetherspace, but currently the Aetherspace is more unknown than ever in history. With the increased amount of Vortexes and high level Sacred Arts Masters, entering and exiting the Aetherspace has never been more accessible to mortals of Crunkiverse 00A, causing increased tensions among the crunkiverse populations and the Aetherlings, who in turn are beginning to populate the Crunkiverse.

## Structure

The structure of the Aetherspace in a dimensional sense can be thought of as a multi-layered membrane of the multiverse. Visualizing the multiverse as a sphere, notable space-time theorist Franz Borfeld believes that all Crunkiverses, major and minor, exist within the 3rd and 4th layers of the Aetherspace, with the second and first layers being the most remote physical planes in existence. It is thought that the design of the composition of the Aetherspace itself makes it unique, shown in the weave of its space-time. Upon first sampling the subatomic particles of the Aetherspace, Borfeld found that the space-time of the Aetherspace allows for a greater possible energy per cubic measurement of space. The theorized result of the altered dimensional structure is a dimension that is far more chaotic in nature, and would be more prone to higher energy states. This high energy constant has many believe that the Aetherspace acts like a liquid on a dimensional scale, filling in any gaps that might exist within the multiverse with its chaotic and plastic nature. A good way to picture this is a glass of water with ice, where the ice is the solid, stable Crunkiverses. The water represents the Aetherspace and its ability to fill in gaps within the multiverse.

## Layers

The Aetherspace is composed of four layers, each associated with the amount of Aether that is absorbed there. The location of the layers is based on their distance from the Extraverse. For example, the first layer is the closest to the Extraverse, while the Fourth Layer is the farthest away. It is unknown how the Aetherspace naturally divided into these layers, but it is known that the Cloud 9 is primarily responsible for carrying Aether throughout the Aetherspace. From this, experts believe the layers are an inherent feature of the Aetherspace, with the Cloud 9 being designed to partition Aether to certain layers.

Below is a short description of each layer.

**The Top Layer -** Also known as the First Layer, or the Blue Desert. The Top Layer is an endless swathe of searing hot desert that is entirely uninhabitable. It is the layer closest to the Extraverse, and as such faces constant bombardment of Aether. The primary matter of the layer, its iconic blue sand, is made up entirely of stabilized Aether. It is unknown how this layer become populated with all of its sand, but the immense amount of blue sand plays two important roles. First, it helps ease the absorption of Aether into the Aetherspace, as the sand has properties similar to Aether Cores. Secondly, much of Aether is reflected back into the Extraverse by the sand, further lessening the impact the Extraverse has on the Aetherspace. Due to its proximity to the Extraverse, normal mortals and even Gods will face immediate Aether Sickness and cease to exist within 2 to 3 minutes. Any amount of exposure beyond 30 seconds can be considered a lethal amount. Some Primal Aetherlings, however, are able to survive in the Top Layer for up to 40 seconds with no lasting symptoms.

**The Second Layer** - Also known as the Grungle. It is the layer that is the least studied among the four , and is by the most intriguing. Filled with unique flora and fauna, the layer is covered in swathes of dense jungles. The first to discover the Grungle found that the plants here had fully adapted to absorbing Aether, and had become extremely efficient at doing so. The result was a layer teeming with Aether-adapted life , and an evolutionarily path that completely baffled zoologists after its initial discovery. The chaotic nature of Aether is reflected in the environment, however, as the plants and animals here exhibit fearsome adaptions that are in many cases lethal. This layer is the home to the Primal Aetherlings, who are adapted to the layers amount of Aether. A mortal would be able to survive here for about 10 minutes, after which their body would begin to experience signs of Aether Sickness. The Crandis were the first to create specialized gear for the Aethernauts so that they could explore the Grungle.

**The Third Layer -** Also known as Utopia, or to the natives as O'sa, is the layer most commonly associated with the Aetherspace. Its absorption of Aether is drastically lower than both the Second and Top Layers, decreasing from the Second layer by about a factor of 200. This layer still receives an ample amount of energy, however, and can still be dangerous to mortals of weak constitution. Even then, the first settlers of the layer were the first to discover Aether Sickness, although the first symptoms were only noticeable after many years. This layer is home to many beasts and plant life, all Aether adapted like those of the Grungle. It should be noted that the lower amounts of Aether make the layer generally habitable to some mortals, particularly those of Sacred Arts potential. The constant influx of Aether also makes the soil rich for crops. This layer is the home of the Aetherlings.

**The Fourth Layer -** The Fourth Layer is currently not in use, from a technical standpoint. For reasons not entirely known, the Cloud 9 breaks off at some point before reaching the Fourth Layer. This has caused the layer to remain an almost barren wasteland since the Beginning Times. According to the Book of SonMarcus, it is heavily implied that the battle between Z'or'aq'ith and Ifrit took place here, which might explain its current condition. However, ruins found in the depths of the layer have provided some evidence to suggest that the layer still survived for sometime after the battle. Its current condition can also be chalked up to the Hostile Colossus, a monstrosity that has made the layer a desolate wasteland for millenia.

## The Cloud 9

The Cloud 9 is the name of the quasi-structure that spans throughout most of the Aetherspace, and functions as a means of transport for Aether and physical matter alike. In a physical sense, the Cloud 9 does not appear in any of the layers as any kind of physical structure. Rather, it can be accessed through a variety of Clouds, which are higher densities of Aether that can appear on any layer. These anomalies are one of the many ways the Cloud 9 distributes energy throughout the Aetherspace, and entering a Cloud can transport the individual to another location in the Aetherspace. Clouds normally have a set location, but can change semi-randomly. It seems that the Cloud 9 is designed to divert Aether to parts of the Aetherspace not receiving as much, so the location of Clouds can be predicted or even induced by taking advantage of this.

Once inside, an individual will be subject to a mass amount of Aether, but will also be transported at a near light speed to another location in the Aetherspace. Exposure to the Cloud 9 can induce Aether Sickness if used frequently, but the briefness of use often isn't a cause for concern among mortals.

## Travelling the Aetherspace

The primary way of traveling to the Aetherspace is Vortex Travel, a means which has been largely lost to time. This method is thought to be the means that the first mortals used to find and colonize the Aetherspace, but it is likely a high level Sacred Art that has faded into history. In recent times, the Crandis were famed for creating vessels that could resist the volatility of low level Vortexes, and open up the possibility of Aetherspace transport. This was how Grandall Creamsworth found the Aetherspace again after many centuries. As long as a Vortex doesn't end, they can be a permanent entrance to the Aetherspace. In recent centuries, Aether Core technology ahs allowed for permanent Vortex Stabilization, which is currently only possible on low level Vortexes. Stabilized Vortexes allow for safe and consistent travel to and from the Aetherspace.

Far more barbaric is forced Aetherspace Travel, in which a Sacred Arts Master can forcibly rip a hole through space-time to exit the Crunkiverse and enter the Aetherspace. This method was popular during the War of Gods, but Crunktropolis Craig has since made this practice illegal.

Traveling to the Aetherspace has one main benefit, that being the extremely expedited speeds at which one can travel relative to Crunkiverse 00A. When traveling the Aetherspace, possible due to the distorted dimensional makeup of it, a mortal can travel a day in the Aetherspace, but have effectively travelled years worth of distance. This has made travel across the Crunkiverse more accessible than ever, and has lead to discoveries across the Crunkiverse now that long-distance exploration missions are now viable.