UNIVERSE
WORLDS
The Aethera System consists of two suns and four worlds, each of which shares an intrinsic tie to one of the Inner Planes. Researchers long ago confirmed the planar ties of their own home worlds and compared results of these studies to other planets during the Century War, agreeing that each world of the Aethera System is associated with a different elemental plane. Less understood is the way each world rotates through a cycle of elemental alignments across a measure of hundreds of thousands of years. Evidence across the myriad worlds—coral atop Akasaati mountains, flash-frozen forests on Orbis-Aurea—suggests that these alignments changed violently during the Collapse. But none can say for certain whether this change caused the Collapse, or was instigated by it.
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INHABITANTS
The myriad worlds of the Aethera System are inhabited by myriad peoples and species. Each culture across the Aethera System was impacted by the catastrophic Century War, and their role in the war impacts their current outlook and relations. Humanity and the erahthi, the two opposing sides of the Century War, only recently ceased their hostilities and tensions created by this conflict still run deep. Other races, like the phalanx, were physically constructed by humanity and existed only as weapons of war until their emancipation at the war’s conclusion. These sorts of societal influences dramatically impact interpersonal relations and can, themselves, become a great story. The most populous species of the Aethera System are detailed below.
PHALANX
HUMAN
INFUSED
OKANTA
TAUR
ERAHTHI
TECHNOLOGY
The Aethera System runs on aethertech, a hybrid of magical theory and mechanical technology powered by the energy derived from aetherite, a crystallized form of magic found across the system. Aethertech is an umbrella term covering a broad spectrum of advanced technology created from the fusion of magic and science. The first pieces of aethertech were reverse-engineered from ancient technology pre-dating recorded history. Humanity was the first species to craft aethertech, and while it brought them to the stars, it also served as the catalyst of the Century War.