Aether Torrent

Historical Perspective

Before the period of colonization by dragons, humanity was pre-industrial. Raiza, masters of using every part of any form of sea life, had barely begun using metal. Only monsters used magic.

The dragons' monopoly on vessels and aetherics was not unanswerable, as dragons bled like anyone else, but their power proved unendurable. The advance of draconic colonialism was a tide surging one decade and ebbing the next only to surge again with deadlier force. Humans and raiza both coped in the usual ways: fighting, fleeing, and deal-making. It was in this period that humans and raiza formed their first lasting friendships, having been rivals since time immemorial.

Eventually, with the motivation of the desperate, small human nations on the fringes of dragon influence developed firearms and industrialism. At about the same time, raiza stole the secrets of Water magic from oceanic dragons. Between them, the overstretched hegemony disintegrated. Dragons withdrew from the world stage to their ancestral continent, though they cast a long shadow over surviving cultures.

Humans thereafter improved their quality of life with steam and steel. Many opportunistic raiza joined them, but many more stayed at sea to exploit the cultural bombshell that was aetherics.

Energy and Magic

When the tide turned against the dragons, they destroyed their vessels to keep them out of human hands, leaving human aetherists to experiment with scant few. Raiza hoarded carapite, the Water vessel, for cultural use and were not inclined to share the secrets of its production. So, for all the obvious power and utility that magic could offer, aetherism eluded industrial applications.

And then humans harnessed electricity.

Petroleum, rare and difficult to obtain, was too useful in chemistry to burn as fuel. Coal, though cheap, was filthy and hazardous to mine. But wind, water, and sunlight (mirror-focused to heat water) were free, safe, and abundant. Despite initial costs, global industry favored renewable energy, as any reasonable person would.

In Ragla, wealthiest of nations, abundant electricity powered heavily-guarded refineries that produced the vessel of Air aether: the once-precious metal aluminum. Air magic could operate battery-charging windmills anywhere at any time, which fueled the airships of mighty and magic-armed Raglan Air Force.

Today, electricity lights much of the world. Many cities lacking reliable wind, sun, or rivers owe their lighting to one enterprising raiza, Kharon Mariana. Decades ago, she was the first raiza to sell carapite on the open market -- with no small amount of controversy. She also sold her own invention: the "manual hydroelectric turbine," a generator operable by Water magic anywhere at any time. Between the two, Kharon grew very wealthy very fast.

Modern Technology

Airships fly via hydrogen gas and battery-powered propellers. Helium is so rare, only Ragla can afford it, and even then it is used in only the largest and most important ships of state. Airships are not unique to Ragla, but the very best are made there.

Gliders exist (flown by Air magic), but airplanes do not, simply because batteries don't provide sufficient power. Besides, the infrastructure of global air travel is built around airships, and the cost of updating it all would be astronomical.

Guns range from revolvers to anti-ship cannons, but they are heavily regulated worldwide. Chemistry produces new medicinal wonders every year, such as hormonal birth control. All automobiles are electric. Modern ships are steam-powered, though sailing vessels still exist. Trains also run on steam, but the wealthiest urban areas run them on electrified tracks.

Television does not exist. Books, radio, and black-and-white movies suffice for most popular entertainment. Longwave radio, capable of reaching the horizon, has been in place for many years; shortwave radio, capable of reaching over the horizon, is the newest and most exciting form of technology in the world.

Bleeding-edge science has only begun to turn electricity toward mechanical computation. The term "vacuum tube tech" is colloquial for the most advanced devices.