The Making of the Stonequest Series

I describe the Aether as an associated dimension. The word was actually taken from a 19th century concept. It was once believed that the Earth passed through a medium as it orbited the sun. Because sound does not propagate in a vacuum, the physicists of the time were inclined to believe that light would not propagate in empty sapce either. This led them to conclude there must be some type of dark matter in space responsible for propagating light waves, hence, the Aether. I will include an excerpt taken from the glossary of the Stoneseekers. The main analysis of the Aether is reserved for the “Science” category of this weblog.

Story Definition of Aether - The dimension residing in the fine-texture of space-time known as quantum foam. A cosmic disaster allowed the two dimensions to communicate directly, the Realm and the Aether. Artificial wormhole technology was not required now, as great rifts allowed matter from the Aether to spill into the Realm. The energy and matter contaminated much of the land, affecting the indigenous life and ecology. Flora and fauna were infected or innocluated. This gave rise to horrible mutations in the cell lines of many species, including humans. The deites have dominion over part of the Aether and are able to dictate what form the matter takes.

The stones are eponymously named, representing one of the fifteen deities. They reflect the most dominant trait motivating each, the emotion epitomized by the powerful being inspiring its design. When held, there is a risk of sympathy transference, whereby the weilder may unconciously embrace the ways of the patron deity. The stones also carry a unique power.

The cover for the Stoneseekers is presented below.