Overview of Magic, Souls, and FTL technology

The Aether

The Aether is a parallel plane of reality to the conventional space-time observed by mortal beings. It has a variety of strange physical properties, for instance, a vastly higher speed of light. It natively contains a variety of poorly understood forms of exotic matter known as aetheric aspects, which interact very weakly with conventional matter. It is possible for conventional matter to travel to and from the Aether by means of Aurons. An object's momentum in the Aether is separate from and unrelated to its realspace momentum. The interaction of realspace aspects in the Aether does affect their realspace momentum, but not their aetheric momentum.

Auron

Interactions and transfers of matter, energy, and information between realspace and the Aether are effected by auras - systems of RAC (realspace to aether) and ARC (aether to realspace) microportal complexes known as aurons. Aurons serve to effect realspace or aetheric field transferences on matter and/or aetheric aspects to which they are bound; active arcane materials like sunsail attribute their properties to high densities of bound aurons. Auron-auron interactions take place through alterations of bound aetheric or realspace aspects. Other auron-auron interactions have been reported, but no theoretical basis for these have been found.

Starheart Rays

Starheart rays are RAC aurons not bound to physical matter in either realspace or the aether. These aurons have no realspace mass but do carry significant aetheric momentum. The absorption of Starheart rays is the primary means of transporting matter from realspace to the aether.

Souls

Souls are collections of weak ARC and REC aurons whose aetheric and realspace interactions lead to many computational processes that give rise to consciousness.

Magic

Magic is the process by which the ARC aurons which compose a soul transport energy and matter from the Aether to realspace. Careful control of the order and structure of this process and the realspace positions of the links can result in phenomena ranging from the levitation of objects normally affected by gravity, to the creation of electrical arcs or incendiary blasts, to the summoning of matter into realspace.