The Aether
The Aether, the Plane of Elemental Air, the Godless Realm. The Aether is a place of legend for a reason. Those that dwell there live on floating islands, or parts of dead gods. Sky pirates roam the plane in flying galleons, and silver fortresses drop through as the Githzerai appear and disappear into the Ethereal Plane. It is a place of myth and magic, a place of death and fragile life. And somehow, it seems to be thriving.
For a plane that the gods have abandoned, the Aether is nearly bustling with life. Most live in clusters, bright specks of life that blot out the ever present light. A few massive cities, such as Sigil, the City of Doors, are present as well, well defended from the ever present raids of the Githyanki. Tu'narath is their home, from where the great Lich Queen Vlaakith reigns. Trade ships constantly go between the islands, great and small, making piracy an ever relevant threat.
Ships known as spelljammers are used to navigate the empty air of the Aether, many flying just as well in the air as the water. Some have legs that can be used to travel on land as well, while others are made only for the Aether. Some even travel to other planes, though the ability to survive the trip is rare, making these spelljammers a rare sight in other planes.
For a plane that the gods have abandoned, the Aether is nearly bustling with life. Most live in clusters, bright specks of life that blot out the ever present light. A few massive cities, such as Sigil, the City of Doors, are present as well, well defended from the ever present raids of the Githyanki. Tu'narath is their home, from where the great Lich Queen Vlaakith reigns. Trade ships constantly go between the islands, great and small, making piracy an ever relevant threat.
Ships known as spelljammers are used to navigate the empty air of the Aether, many flying just as well in the air as the water. Some have legs that can be used to travel on land as well, while others are made only for the Aether. Some even travel to other planes, though the ability to survive the trip is rare, making these spelljammers a rare sight in other planes.
Geography
Most of the Aether is empty air, though exactly where you go will change the consistency of it quite a bit. Lower down, it is quite similar to the sky in The Overworld , and is in fact technically connected to it through there. However it is so far above the clouds that it is beyond sight, helped by a magical barrier that few ships can pass through. Higher up, the Aether becomes almost liquid, a sea of stars, asteroids, and stranger things.
The Aether has the most entrances to other planes, even more than the Overworld. It is easily to accidentally enter a color pool, a magical gateway, and end up crashing your spelljammer into another world. Some are small demiplanes, but access to the larger realms is also possible.
Life gathers on the small pockets of land that inhabit the skies of the Aether. Lower down, these look like floating chunks of the Overworld, islands that somehow support life with water and plants. Higher up there are giant asteroids that small settlements are built on, often supported through trade. Ice often forms on these, providing water, but food is often scarce and expensive.
The Aether has the most entrances to other planes, even more than the Overworld. It is easily to accidentally enter a color pool, a magical gateway, and end up crashing your spelljammer into another world. Some are small demiplanes, but access to the larger realms is also possible.
Life gathers on the small pockets of land that inhabit the skies of the Aether. Lower down, these look like floating chunks of the Overworld, islands that somehow support life with water and plants. Higher up there are giant asteroids that small settlements are built on, often supported through trade. Ice often forms on these, providing water, but food is often scarce and expensive.
Localized Phenomena
Psychic energy still pervades the Aether, a remnant of the influence of Atropus and the Far Realm. This mostly takes the form of massive psychic winds that buffet the plane. These affect both ships and individuals, potentially knocking ships from the sky, and causing chaos amongst their crew as alien thoughts and memories invade their minds.
The color pools of the Aether are fairly large, and can lead anywhere from a tiny demiplane, to any of the other major planes of existence. Combined with the psychic winds, this can lead to a spelljammer crashing into another world quite easily. The color of the pool determines where it leads, and locating a specific one is not easy, often taking days aboard a fast ship.
The color pools of the Aether are fairly large, and can lead anywhere from a tiny demiplane, to any of the other major planes of existence. Combined with the psychic winds, this can lead to a spelljammer crashing into another world quite easily. The color of the pool determines where it leads, and locating a specific one is not easy, often taking days aboard a fast ship.
Climate
The Aether tends to be fairly cold. Not as cold as the Everbright, but cold enough that ice regularly forms in the upper sections. The lower sections tend to be a bit warmer, but few places in the Aether could be considered "balmy".
Fauna & Flora
The Aarakocra and the Astral Elf(Elves) are the most common sentient inhabitants of the Aether, along with both kinds of Gith. Technically, only the Aarakocra are originally native to the Aether. The Astral Elves are elves who have fallen from other realms, and stayed, eventually changing enough to be nearly another species. The Gith were brought here from another realm a very long time ago by the @Mind Flayers, when the Far Realm invaded the Aether.
History
Despite their long lives, and incredible power, gods are not immortal. They may not be able to die from age like most beings, but they can die. Some simply fade away when their source of power is destroyed, but occasionally one will die in a more violent way. Such an event is rare, and often cataclysmic, as the death of a god will create ripple effects across the known universe. This is how the Aether was formed into what it was today.
Once, many of the gods lived in Aeshinor, a great silver palace in the Aether all together. While "harmony" wasn't exactly a perfect word to describe them, those that lived there were at least united against any threats from beyond. But something emerged that was stronger than any of them. Atropus, the World Born Dead destroyed the silver palace of Aeshinor, killing more than a half dozen gods in the process. The rest scattered across the Expanse, never to return.
Though Atrophus retreated back to the Far Realm, none of the gods have ever returned to the Aether. It is tainted now, view to them as a place of death and bad memories. Only Vecna has travelled there, for he was not born when Atrophus attacked, and is something of an expert on death himself.
Once, many of the gods lived in Aeshinor, a great silver palace in the Aether all together. While "harmony" wasn't exactly a perfect word to describe them, those that lived there were at least united against any threats from beyond. But something emerged that was stronger than any of them. Atropus, the World Born Dead destroyed the silver palace of Aeshinor, killing more than a half dozen gods in the process. The rest scattered across the Expanse, never to return.
Though Atrophus retreated back to the Far Realm, none of the gods have ever returned to the Aether. It is tainted now, view to them as a place of death and bad memories. Only Vecna has travelled there, for he was not born when Atrophus attacked, and is something of an expert on death himself.
Alternative Name(s)
The Plane of Elemental Air, Aeshinor, The Godless Realm
Type
Plane of Existence
Location under
Included Locations
Included Organizations
Related Ethnicities
Contested By
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