The Aetherglass Sea
Dunes of Death, Mirage of Beauty
To the unknowing eye, it glitters like paradise—a vast expanse of sunlit waves that shimmer like molten crystal, stretching from the western reaches of the Aurigan Coalition, curling along the southern edge of the Capellan Confederation, and brushing the eastern border of the Magistracy of Canopus. But this is no sea of water. This is the Aetherglass Sea—a deadly desert of flowing, razor-fine silica, where the laws of nature are as brittle and shifting as the ground beneath one's feet.
The "sand" of the Aetherglass Sea is composed of extremely small, shardlike crystals, so fine they reflect light like polished obsidian and move in glittering waves when disturbed. These fragments are beautiful, but bladed—capable of stripping flesh from bone, grinding through steel, and shredding magic-silk boots in a matter of minutes. Beneath this treacherous surface lies something far more dangerous: vast subterranean gas vents, remnants of long-forgotten League of Stars terraforming experiments or deeper elemental imbalances, which belch heat and pressure at irregular intervals. These vents make the Aetherglass flow like liquid—rolling dunes that behave like water in motion, complete with tides, whirlpools, and false-solid surfaces that collapse without warning. Entire caravans have been swallowed whole by these shifting rivers of crystal, their remnants buried and polished into nothingness.
Because of these conditions, crossing the Aetherglass Sea is nearly impossible by traditional means. The only viable paths are:
Specialized vessels with flat-bottom hulls, enchantments of levitation, and reinforced armor—known as glasscutters—that skim across the surface in shallow arcs.
Airships fly perilously low to maintain guidance over the terrain and often rely on mage-sighted navigators to detect sudden updrafts or crystal geysers.
The Glass Bridge, a naturally elevated stone causeway that runs between the Aetherglass Sea and the neighboring Sea of Veils, is narrow as a sword’s edge and heavily patrolled by border watchtowers. It is the only known land route, and whoever controls it controls the flow of goods and knowledge across the entire southern Sphere. Legends speak of hidden ruins beneath the Aetherglass—sunken towers of the League of Stars, their halls buried in shifting crystal tides, still pulsing with ancient power. Expeditions to these sites are rare and suicidal, but not unheard of. Those who return speak of strange echoes, time-distorted visions, and machines that whisper in languages long dead.
Few maps accurately depict the Sea. Fewer still show its dangers truthfully. It is a living mirage—ever-shifting, razor-edged, and watching.
“You don’t cross the Aetherglass. You negotiate with it—and pray it doesn't change its mind.” — Captain Irisa Kael, glasscutter navigator and survivor of the Thirteenth Drift
Type
Desert
