The Aethi Imperium

Sand. Stone. Sea. Sky.   From orbit, this is all a traveler might see of the planet Aethis. To the unknowing eye, from afar it looks to be little more than a dead world of jagged greyish mountains, red- and tan-toned rocky wastes, and dark, lifeless water, cooking slowly under a fierce orange sun.   Flying lower, though, the scene turns from one of desolation... to something very, very different. What look like reddish, dusty plains from far above resolve to vast forests of crimson and beige-leafed trees along the Saeaani coast. As your aero-shuttle arcs southwest, crossing over the southernmost reaches of the Great Ocean and streaking above the blazing deserts of Isaana, great shining cities of silver, bronze, and umber emerge over the horizon among the dunes.   Soon, the great Imperial Alemiri Spaceport, surrounded by hovering sentry-towers, makes contact and confirms your authorization codes. Alemir's tractor system captures your vessel. The craft slowly decelerates, surrounded by ghostly blue plasma, and is lowered gently onto its landing platform. You see thousands of other platforms surrounding yours, many supporting the curved brownish forms of ariskai-plated Aethi craft, and still others holding innumerable types of alien shuttlecraft - the strange, geometric white frames of Veridias surface-orbit transports, the bulky and angular cargo haulers of the Arkil Kuyit, tripod Elur rockets with their bright silver propulsion shields stowed against their hulls. Nearby, a somewhat charred Giek skycraft sits in a specially-prepared landing cradle while Aethi and Giek workers scurry over its skeletal form, servicing or replacing the burnt-out field emitters that - apparently - survived just long enough to protect the ship as it shed its speed in the Aethi atmosphere and lowered itself into port.   A short while later, you emerge from the spaceport into the vibrant coastal city of Alemir. It is Alritaar - the market-day in Alemir - and the great bazaar stretches along the high coast road as far as the eye can see. Out beyond the coast and southwards, the capital city and the Emperor's tower, the Il'Dasar, can be seen on the circular island of Viarai, raised from the ocean hundreds of years ago.   Vi siaana. Welcome, traveler, to the heart-world of the Aethi Imperium.