Aether Theory of Celestial Composition

[Sander 3312]

Spoiler

 

 

Aether Theory of Celestial Composition

By Charlie Baruch
In cooperation with: The Terrence May Foundation & The Prince’s Institution
244 SA
 

B&K Publishing

 

---

In my work as an astronomer these past years I have been delving into extensive research on the topic of celestial bodies. This interest sprung forth from the apparent feasibility of catching celestial light with adequate equipment. Out of curiosity and the need to explain this process, as well as the prospect of teaching my astronomical findings to students at the Prince’s Institution, I sought to formulate a theory on how this process works. As my need for answers only brought about more and more questions for a long while, my search for explanation spiraled into a large puzzle - a puzzle that required a central theory to answer many separate questions and tie them together in a central narrative. This central narrative, this theory, would need to explain not just the process behind catching starlight, but give an answer for the entire ordering and makeup of Celestial Composition. What lies above us up in the skies? What are stars made of? What of the sun and moon? How is the catching and consuming of celestial light a possibility?

 

It soon became apparent that the very essence of these questions touched not just on astronomy, but found plentiful links with the subjects of alchemy, voidal magic and theology. On the one hand, this was beyond me - causing me to seek cooperation and discussion with those more knowledgeable in those subjects. On the other hand, all these connections, all these loose ends needing connection, allowed for a reasoned answer to these very questions. With so many different pieces to the puzzle, the hole left remaining was all the clearer to fill in. Thus I present here my attempt at explaining these matters: centered around the concept of aether and therefore named the Aether Theory of Celestial Composition.
 

Aether as an alchemical sign
To begin laying out and explaining this theory, it is essentially to have a sense of understanding of what aether is. Therefore a surface level alchemy lesson will suffice. In alchemy, any material consists of two kinds of tiny building blocks. These are called Signs and Symbols. Together these make up alchemical ingredients - which are rich in them - yes, but they also make up any material, living being and indeed anything else in the world around us. Symbols are the more numerous of these two, with there being a large variety that cover certain aspects or properties such as heat, life, fear or swiftness. Signs however are a more select bunch, consisting of just five elements. These are earth, water, air, fire and aether. Each of these signs form a kind of category of symbols that are aligned with them. The Sign of Aether covers features that attribute to odd and mythical properties. It is important to note that Aether is the element intertwined with the spheres of magic and is affiliated with mana (the fuel for voidal magic, simply said). Aether is the Sign that gives potions, concoctions and other alchemical products a near magical quality.
So where does Aether as an alchemical sign come from? This is key to our theory, for as it turns out Aether is quite a rare sign. As I am told there are few ‘reagents’ (read: alchemical ingredients) an alchemist can use to extract the Aether sign from. Options are limited. However, as I was told by one Jiro Hirano, the field of alchemy considers Aether to radiate down from the skies. This assumption is based on the experience that apparently alchemical recipes can be spoiled with the addition of Aether into the mix by leaving them out exposed in the open, in sunlight or the likes. This presence of Aether in the sky is a cornerstone of our theory.

 

The catching of celestial light & its properties

As has been established knowledge among well-informed circles for a while now, celestial light - that is light from the stars, the sun and the moon - can be concentrated with lenses and captured in special jars. This has been proven through experiments and commercial use numerous times now. This light is caught with the use of jars made from a crystal glass - either from carbon, emerald or volcanic glass - which is seemingly able to contain the light of the celestial bodies directly. Catching it is made easier and more efficient with the use of special lenses made with either ferrum, aurum or amethyst. This allows one to position the lens in such a way that enables the singling out of the light of one specific celestial body and thus capture the light with a higher degree of brightness.
With these methods we are able to gather three different kinds of celestial light. Moonlight can be gathered from the moon to provide a substance that feels cold to the touch and shines a blue light. When consumed this has a brief cooling and numbing effect on the body. From the sun we can directly collect sunlight, which swirls an orange color and has a violent explosive reaction sparking fire when released. Additionally, experiments where one catches the sunlight after the sun has already set have also proven successful, yielding what practitioners call ‘undersunlight’ - this appears a most mysterious substance, with the jar it is kept in seemingly whispering. Interestingly, consumers of undersunlight report hearing nuggets of hidden wisdom. Lastly and most broadly, one is able to catch starlight. This can be done from almost any star, save for the ones whose light seems to be getting blocked by the light of the moon on account of their proximity to that celestial body. Starlight comes in countless colors - though most often shades of purple or blue - depending on the color of light shone by the star in question one tries to collect from. Starlight seemingly has two uses, with the substance providing a good quantity of synthetic dye when poured out. Alternatively, one can consume starlight to briefly exude its glow from the body. Whether this has health benefits or detriments is unclear as of now.

So how is this all possible? How are we able to collect light at all? This appears limited to celestial light, as light from sources like fire or magic seems unable to be captured. As part of my theory I present the idea, which was discussed with the aforementioned Jiro Hirano, that what we capture in these jars is in fact not merely light, but instead a concentration of aether bound to this light. As stated before, there appears to be a presence of aether in the sky. I posit that this is then cast down upon our plane by the rays of light from the sun, the stars and the moon. In regular circumstances, this is scattered everywhere just as those rays of light are. However when focused into a jar made of a crystalline glass the light cannot penetrate, the aether carried by the light and in extension the light itself, pools into the jar. This is helped all the more when one of these lenses is used to focus a single light source to concentrate into the jar.
This premise of catching aether would not only explain how it is possible for us to catch light with these instruments, but furthermore would explain the curious effects this vapor-like light carries with it. Coldness, slowness, heat, light and sound are all effects of consuming various kinds of celestial light that are additionally also alchemical symbols. I suggest therefore that the aether in the sky - holding impurities from other elements it has come into contact with - binds itself to rays of celestial light and with it travels down unto our plane where we can collect it. Starlight thus carries aether with little impurities - I shall shortly explain why - and has little effect beyond transmitting its glow, while sunlight and moonlight carry aether contaminated with symbols from the sun and moon, which grants it the aforementioned effects.

 

The arrangement of the universe

Before we move on it is relevant as part of this theory and of astronomy as a whole, to reflect on the arrangement of the universe. What do I mean by this? The universe, in the sense of the Flexio word ‘Universum’ - the world altogether, is arranged in a certain way. There are, as we know, multiple planes of existence, aside from merely the one we exist on. Where these exist, or where for instance the Seven Skies exist, I will leave out of the scope of this theory, as it lies beyond the scope of my field of astronomy. What I instead will elaborate on is the arrangement of that part of the universe we see above us in the skies, what is covered by astronomy: our plane, the sun, the moon, the stars and what lies in between.
Based on our knowledge of the sun and the moon, they are fellow planes of existence like ours. The sun is said to have a connection with the Aengul Xan, while the moon is said to have a connection with the Archaengul Aeriael. Sources disagree however over what exactly these connections entail, ranging from these planes being the (Arch)aengul itself, to them being their domain, to them simply residing there. Whatever the connection between these beings and their associated planes, it does appear that both the sun and the moon spin around our plane in a certain way - or perhaps that all three planes spin in relation to each other. Based on the effects carried by the captured sunlight and moonlight, as well as the effects the sun and moon have on our plane we can make a reasoning of what those planes are like. The sun-plane could thus be reasoned to be hot - possibly being on fire even, given that its light warms our plane in general and when concentrated can light a spontaneous fire. The moon-plane meanwhile affects the water and tides of our plane, while its concentrated light has a cooling effect. One might thus reason that the moon is a cold plane - opposite to the sun. This does however not explain the moon’s effect on our water. Lunarite is, evident by its name, also suspected to come from the moon, but this likewise does not necessarily match with the idea of the moon-plane being cold.

The stars, meanwhile, play an entirely different role in the arrangement of our universe. I posit that while our plane, the sun-plane and moon-plane (and perhaps other planes, unseen from our position) exist relatively close to one another. Close enough to affect one another, to be clearly visible. Around our plane and the other planes there is a space, the sky or air if you will, which as stated before I theorize to be satiated with Aether. This space is then enclosed by a faraway barrier, commonly known among mages as the Veil. I spoke with the elfmage Valindra on the topic of the stars, as well as the veil, and we came upon the theory that the stars are what make up the Veil. The Veil meanwhile, as a barrier, is what holds out the Void and keeps it from consuming that which lies within the Veil. The Void meanwhile is that which is non-alchemical, meaning it is in essence a great nothingness - there is potential there for those with magic to exploit, but there is nothing made up of the alchemical building blocks of Signs and Symbols. Thus to summarize I posit the arrangement of the universe to consist of the various planes in the centre - with the sun-plane and moon-plane in some kind of rotation with our own - and the planes being surrounded by the skies which are saturated by Aether. The skies are then surrounded by the Veil as if it were a sphere or bubble, separating them from the Void.

On the composition of the Veil
So what then is the Veil? How come we conclude that it and the stars are the same? And how does the Veil keep out the Void? As the elfmage Valindra stated, it is unclear to Voidal Mages like herself what the Veil is made up of, even though she is what is known as a Veilwatcher. However, as a barrier to keep out the Void from consuming that which lies within, with the Void being non-alchemical, the Veil could be concluded to be of an alchemical nature. That is to say it is of a kind of material essence, made up of signs and symbols, and thus is able to displace the Void and keep it out. What then is this barrier? I theorize that the answer might lie in Aether. Valindra said that she does wonder how the Veil replenishes itself when torn, or where it came from in the first place - I wondered where the supposed Aether in the skies comes from. I therefore posit the idea that the Veil, the stars and aether are all connected.
Where does light come from? A source of energy. This takes place in various forms; electricity, aengudaemonic power or alchemy, but most commonly a kind of fire or magic. These all require a kind of fuel; literal fuel in the case of fire, mana or lifeforce in the case of magic. So where does starlight come from? I discussed with Valindra the possibility of starlight being produced from mana and a connection to the Void if we assume the stars are the Veil and by virtue of the Veil touching the Void. We deemed this unlikely however, as according to her this would mean the stars or Veil have a kind of lifeforce and there is nothing to suggest they are alive. It therefore seems more likely that starlight is of a more mundane source; fire and fuel. What then is this great fuel source that fuels the burning that produces starlight?
I suggest that perhaps stars are an incredibly dense concentration of Aether. This dense concentration of Aether is constantly burning up, releasing a less dense vaporized form of Aether which forms a blanket that displaces and keeps out the Void, leaks into the air of the skies to satiate it with Aether and lastly, this reaction of the burning stars creates light, which we see on our plane as starlight. Alternatively, the stars are not a dense concentration of Aether, but of some other alchemical material which when burned up releases the Aether and light. I call this concept the “Veil-Formula", which reads as follows: AeS+F → L+Aev-V. In the Veil Formula, AeS is Aether in the form of a dense Star, F is Fire, → signifies the reaction caused by the burning, L is the light that is produced, AeV is Aether in the form of a vapor and V is the Void that is displaced.

Thus I theorize, to sum up, that the Stars are burning concentrations of Aether that through their burning create light as well as a dense blanket of Aether vapor. The stars and this blanket together form an alchemical layer that keep out the non-alchemical Void, as well as satiating the skies that are kept within the blanket with Aether vapors to a degree. Some of this Aether collides with rays of light from the celestial bodies, being radiated down unto our plane of existence where it allows us to capture what we think is the celestial light itself - as well as interfering with alchemical recipes and possibly even being the source of the Aether Sign in alchemical reagents. 

 

Theoretical problems
There are however some problems with this explanation that I will acknowledge. While the existence of dense Aether concentrations to form the Veil might be explained as part of the Creator’s creation of the world, one might reasonably wonder whether these dense concentrations are infinite and replenished somehow, or if they are finite and slowly withering. Another issue with this theory is that it depends heavily on unconfirmed research gaps in both the fields of Alchemy and Voidal Magic. We do not know for certain that the sky is saturated with Aether, nor if the ‘light’ we catch in jars contains Aether at all - as Alchemists have thus far been unable to extract any signs of symbols from whatever truly is contained in these jars. Alchemical properties would explain some of the effects of this captured ‘light’, but so far this is unconfirmed. Likewise on the Voidal Magic side of things, it is unclear what exactly the Veil consists of. My theory offers a potential explanation, but other explanations like mana, magic or even aengudaemonic intervention cannot be ruled out. Lastly a curious case that deserves and needs further research is the light provided by the sun and moon. While it can be reasonably concluded that the sun is a fiery and hot plane and thus its light is produced through burning, the same cannot be said about the moon. The moon’s effect upon our world and the effects of its captured light suggest no sort of burning, but rather points in the direction of water and cold. Where moonlight comes from is so far a mystery. It could potentially be that the moon itself does not give off light at all, but merely reflects light - it could be that the moon’s lightsource is the result of Aeriel’s aengudaemonic power. However neither of these explanations give any cause for the existence of fiery comets with lunarite landing on our plane.

In short there remain various problems with this theory, as well as questions to be answered. However I believe it does present a possible explanation for most of the matters discussed, that with our current knowledge and understanding might be the best explanation we have. Lastly I would like to thank Jiro Hirano, Valindra and any others with whom I discussed this theory and shared insights.

 

 

---

 

 

[Random 1690]

Spoiler

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that the aesopian crystal glass plugin is something that isn’t actually lore approved 

 

[Borin 7645]

5 minutes ago, Dr Random K. said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that the aesopian crystal glass plugin is something that isn’t actually lore approved 

 

Spoiler

stfu!

 

[Sander 3312]

6 minutes ago, Dr Random K. said:

  Hide contents

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that the aesopian crystal glass plugin is something that isn’t actually lore approved 

 

 

Spoiler

 Not sure if it is, but does it matter? It's not like this is official lore. It's just the product of rp that resulted from the plugin 🤷‍♂️ 

 

[Morigung-oog 5697]

"Oh look! That's me! I'm famous!"

 

An excited magus eagerly showed the document to all of her friends proudly. All of them.

[iSmooch 124]

After many attempts, Darren places the literature down. "Aye, ah think this is a good read, but its just too dense for meh."

[Random 1690]

On 8/5/2025 at 8:10 PM, Sander said:

 

  Hide contents

 Not sure if it is, but does it matter? It's not like this is official lore. It's just the product of rp that resulted from the plugin 🤷‍♂️ 

 

Spoiler

What I meant to say is that it probably is not something that should be taken in roleplay, because it establishes systems alien to what actually exists and is possible in lore

 

[Aesopian 1639]

On 8/6/2025 at 10:06 PM, Dr Random K. said:

  Reveal hidden contents

What I meant to say is that it probably is not something that should be taken in roleplay, because it establishes systems alien to what actually exists and is possible in lore

 

Anything the Star Plugin says via its message prompts does indeed happen in the game, though it is at the discretion of the player or staff how to interpret those prompts (e.g. just how brightly you glow after drinking starlight, or how slow moonlight makes you).