Overview of Magic, Souls, and FTL technology

The countless wonders of Elyrion, from the powerful and enigmatic gods and spirits to the technological marvels of the modern starship, are largely possible due to the Aether, a plane of existence parallel to 'realspace', separated from it by a barrier known as the Veil. Energy from the Aether is responsible for magic, structures which cross the Veil form the basis of the souls of both mortals and divines, and the strange physical phenomena of the Aether allow for ships and signals to travel at speeds far in excess of light as measured from realspace.

The Aether

Existing parallel to realspace is the Aether, a plane of reality with many strange physical properties. Physical matter can access the aether field by acquiring a sufficient density of “aether charge”. Once an object has been sufficiently charged, it “jumps” into the Aether. The charge threshold needed to make the jump is the result of the Veil, the ancient colloquial term for a poorly understood potential barrier separating realspace and the Aether.

The speed of light in the Aether is significantly higher than in realspace, although over long ranges electromagnetic waves do not propagate in a predictable fashion.

Starheart Rays

Starheart rays are energy waves that propagate at a measurably infinite speed through both realspace and the Aether. The interaction of Starheart energy with physical objects confers aetherial charge on those objects, although only certain materials measurably interact with them.