The world of Aether is not unlike our own, though it is untainted by the ravages of technology and pollution. Imagine instead our Earth of about five hundred years ago, when the New World was first discovered and stories of a veritable Eden filtered back to lure men and women overseas in search of gold, freedom, or a second chance. How magnificent that untouched paradise must have looked to them; with trees reaching to the sky, forests bountiful with game and resources, and vast, open plains stretching to the very horizon. Beautiful and rugged, that wilderness of half a millennium ago is not lost; its dream lives on here, nourished by magic and populated by beings of myth and legend.

The known world of Aether boasts four main realms for each of its races. Though other cities and territories exist -- for this world is as vast and varied as our own -- the known areas are all relatively close together.

The Empyrean capital is Civitas Dei, a "city of the gods" that hovers in the sky through some long-ago magic. Though they have other major cities scattered across the realm, none are quite so grand as the home of their Emperor and the meeting-place of the Aegis. And not only is it the seat of their government, but their center for art, music, and literature as well. Few of their land-bound brethren have ever stepped foot in the floating city, but those that have give lavish accounts of a pristine, gleaming metropolis fashioned from white marble and dazzling enough to rival the sun itself.

The underwater home of the Atlanteans is no less impressive. Legend says that Atlantis was once one of the greatest cities on Earth, a cultural Mecca of art and invention ruled by a decemvirate of ten kings. Traces of its former aboveground state still exist, for what use would a sea-dwelling race have of ornate stairways or paved roads?

Atlantis combines the best of land and sea, and those who have visited say that it features lush, underwater gardens and splendid buildings decked with coral, pearls, and shells. Though the sea-race may roam as far as the oceans can reach, their colonies are few, and none compare to the grandeur of Atlantis.

While the Empyreans claim the heavens and the Atlanteans the sea, the Varati live underground, in the fiery "heart" of the earth. Some might think their realm harsh and forbidding, alienated as it is from the light of the sun. Yet their palaces are just as grand as any above the earth's surface, if not more so. Crystals, gold, jewels, silver, copper... all these are theirs for the taking, to decorate the opulent structures they've built from metal and stone. Long ago, they discovered the secret of forging, and ever since they've been the master builders and craftsmen of this world.

The Sylvans lay claim to what is left -- the forests and fields, and their "kingdom" is the land itself. They have no grand temples or palaces save the quiet beauty of a secluded grove, or the awe-inspiring view on a windy hilltop. The Sylvans are taught to leave the earth untouched and unmarked by their presence. They take only what the land provides, and their reverence is not measured by the size or magnificence of a temple that will weather the centuries. The earth is their "house of worship" and all its creatures -- from the beasts of the air to the smallest of plants struggling for life in the forest -- are meant to be honored and respected.

The last are almost always considered the least in the many nations of Aether. Mongrels and Halfbreeds, the outcasts of society, have no place of their own in its many lands. They exist on the sufferance of the 'pure' races, eking out a living where they may. An outcast's life is a hard one, but even they have been known to rise to prominence in a world where anything may happen.

But what about the world outside of our known borders? The Atlanteans probably have a better understanding than any other race, but even their knowledge is scattered and incomplete. There are sailors and traders who speak of distant lands, but even their knowledge is no where near complete. The invasion of the Aesir and Najada on the shores of Haven opened up a whole new world to those in the region and a wealth of possibilities as to who and what exists on the other side of the horizon.

The setting for Aether: The Odyssey is an ever-changing one. Rather than remain in a single city and wait for those strange and exotic cultures to come to us, we are going out to explore. Imagine the likes of Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama and Marco Polo, men who set out for the thrill of discovery, the unknown and perhaps to strike it rich. But the ships that are sailing are doing so without the sponsorship of royals or nobles; whatever they can claim remains theirs and they must fend for themselves in the great unknown.

There are new lands to discover and new people to encounter. There are also old enemies on the seas as well as strange creatures not yet documented. At this time we cannot fully document what all is out there because the Odyssey is a game that will be created as we go. No direct course has been laid out that must be followed; we sail at the whims of the winds, the waves and the RP.