The Aether

Petra Keith: *"Mama, what's the Aether?"*
Astrid Keith: *"My dear daughter, the Aether is what gives a Princess her power. It is an energy field that flows through all living things. It surrounds us on our planets, and is within us in our souls. It binds the cosmos together."*
**The Aether** is simultaneously the fabric of space as well as a low-level background energy. It is gold in appearance.

## Phenomenon

Petra Keith: *"How can the Aether be all around us?"*
Astrid Keith: *"The entire cosmos is made of the Aether. You and I are products of the aether. Most of the cosmos is made of unformed, raw aether. The lanes that connect planets are directed streams of this raw form, and the planets and everything in them are stable versions of the raw form, including us. Everything you touch is an expression of the aether."*
### Aetheric Gates

*Main article: Aetheric Gates*
Aetheric Gates serve as the entrance to Pocket Dimensions.

### Ley Lines

Ley Lines are used to navigate the Aether. They change very slowly and can thus be "mapped". They are also used for discovering new Aetheric Gates, as they will distort in a way noticable to finely tuned tools when they pass near an Aetheric Gate.

### Pocket Dimensions

*Main article: Pocket Dimensions*
Pocket Dimensions are where Aetheric space has folded over itself many times due to the presence of a massive object, usually a new world. Aetheric Gates are imperfections in that folding.

## Applications

Petra Keith: *"That's amazing! Can the Aether do anything?"*
Astrid Keith: *"Of course, my sweet. The aether lets me see you through this mask, it powers the ships that move us, the computers that help us to think, the machines that create our necessities, and the weapons that keep us safe. Soon enough your mother may even be able to conjure objects out of thin air with the power of the Aether. "*
### Fuel

Because the Aether is energy, it can be harvested and used to power machinery, as indeed most ships do while in transit.

### Electricity

Aetheric energy naturally flows more quickly and readily through various mediums, particularly through quicksilver, a property which can be used to direct its flow into various objects. Aetheric generators and Aetheric converters create aetheric energy to push through the quicksilver "circuts" in order to power engines, aetheric blasters, and even stable computers.

### Teleportation

In this particular field of study, matter is converted into energy through Overexposure and sent as waves over long distances through the Aether.

To oversimplify, it is necessary to reassemble the material being teleported while it is in transit. This reconstruction grows exponentially faster as the wave reaches its target.

### Transmutation

Transmutation is similar to Teleportation, but the waves are usually reassembled on the spot, and modified in such a way as to change the material.

Transmutation is a much newer field of research than Teleportation, only having been taken seriously in the past century.

## Dangers

Petra Keith: *"The aether sounds wonderful mama!"*
Astrid Keith: *"It is! But you must remember that it is dangerous. We always sway the aether at our own peril. Aetheric weapons may someday be turned on you, and even if they aren't, simple machine failures will harm you. Just being exposed to raw aetheric energy can kill. Some among us have tried to do too much with it, to send themselves to the plane of the gods. Stay away from  anyone with those dreams, they will only destroy themselves and those around them."*
### Null Space

Naturally occuring or due to overharvesting, Null Space is area with little-to-no etheric energy. These regions are where the "skin" of reality is stripped bare and where horrors like The Unnamed can start to affect reality and "tap" on the surface of creation. Passing through these zones is known to cause individuals to go mad.

On the other hand, these zones are much easier for etheric computations and the Machine God Baradun has claimed many such sites for unknown purposes.

### Overexposure

Exposure to a large amount of etheric energy instantly energizes whatever it comes into contact with. This process is extremely important for the fields of Teleportation and Transmutation.

### Still Space

Space containing etheric energy that does not flow. Results of The Pantheon War, this kind of space could be used to communicate or travel between Planes of existence.

### Etheric Storms

Periodic storms within etheric ley lines can sometimes interfere with cosmic navigation.

During the Battle of Semal-Marivan, the Fialta Imperium was able to create artificial etheric storms to impede the Shantine navy by making use of null bomb detonations.

## Development and Loss

Petra Keith: *"My gods... and we're the only ones who can do it?"*
Astrid Keith: *"It is our ability to control the aether that sets us apart from the other people of the cosmos. But we Princes are not the only ones with that knowledge. Anyone with enough intellect and curiosity can learn to manipulate the aether. We have jealously guarded the secrets of the aether, but maybe we could achieve more if we let those secrets go free ...don't tell your father I said that."*
### History

The ability to manipulate the aether has been gained, lost, and regained over the course of history. Many of the secrets of The Mage Imperium, for example, have still not been recovered even during the incredible advances of the modern period. The mages themselves were given knowledge initially by Adalna, their patron god.

## Game Mechanics

The etherics skill allows a character to build, fix, or use etheric devices.

## Notes

1. ↑ A note on spelling: *"etheric"* is more common in the modern era, while *"aetheric"* is more typical in early history. When referring to the aether itself, the 'a' should always be included—never write it as *"ether"*