Astera

Within the greater aether expanse, an infinite sea of clouds, the pale star Helios carves through the turbulent aether, protected by its heliosphere. Circling Helios, Astera and its two moons remain protected from the aether until the heliosphere is sufficiently eroded by particularly dense aether. The tendrils that pass through and reach Astera's skies fundamentally alter anything they touch. Whether a tendril will bore a cave into stone or change the stone in some way is difficult to predict, and its effects on living creatures can be similarly unpredictable. Some affected by the aether will awaken and undergo dramatic changes.   A century and a half ago, for the first time in recorded history, the aether reached Asteran skies and changed everything. The Cataclysm, the primal aetherlight, burned bright ribbons in the air and began to dramatically change the world. These changes had a tumultuous effect on the lives of those living on Astera. While many would die from aetherblight, some few would find themselves set above their entire species. The awakened became demigods, sometimes feared and sometimes loved. Their struggles muted mundane concerns and held the world on an apocalyptic brink. An empire that had lasted eight centuries fell, terrible disasters - natural and otherwise - bore terrible costs, and wars were waged on a scale once unimaginable. However, these ills were requited by many benefits. awakened crops which could be harvested hourly saved countless lives from starvation. Medicine could revive those once though long dead and a cure for any ailment save for aetherblight could likely be found. Philosophy and culture soared to new heights upon the wings of divine virtuosos. Mankind took to the skies in great aetherite-powered ships. Brilliant minds and hearts carved beautiful stories with their lives and actions.   And then the skies were dark.   In AC 91, the last aetherlight of the first cataclysm was recorded. The deep aether clouds gradually dimmed and the night sky once again became dotted with distant stars. While the clouds of the great aether expanse could still be seen by the naked eye at night, the skies were simply a pale blue during the day and the night was no longer lit by aether tendrils. Astera was still permanently changed, but a stability emerged in response to nearly a century spent in the chaos of the cataclysm. For 46 years, the world knew a dark night and shed any fear of aetherblight and abberations.   There was some warning before the second cataclysm, thanks in part to advancements in astronomy, but most people alive had never known the first cataclysm and so little was done in preparation by most. In AC 138, Letholun 29, The first aetherlight of the second cataclysm lit up the night sky. New sources of aetherite, now a scarce but critical resource, are sought out. New Awakenings are mild relative to the first cataclysm, but are far from nonexistent. Astera's future is again sculpted by celestial intervention.