first statement } audio; un: archivist

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[oho, what’s this? a new voice on the network?]

Erm … I suppose it’s customary in a situation like this to introduce myself. [he lightly clears his throat before continuing:] My name is Jonathan - erm, Jon. Sims. [and he really has to bite down on the impulse to add the archivist after that.] I am somewhat new here and have yet to meet many of you. [which is intentional, on jon’s part.] But I - I actually just have a question, seeing as - if I understand the situation correctly - we are all from different places.

[jon hesitates for a moment and takes a deep breath to steady his nerves. public speaking is so much less comfortable than reading statements into a tape recorder.]

Have any of you heard of something called The Vast?

Comments

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Disappearances, or someone returning from it with a notable change to their personality. Something like that.

[ancestor]

If someone were to disappear and not be found again, it would certainly be in the Vast. The nearby pockets of civilization will oft lure particularly dangerous and uncontrollable creations there, then send word for me to dispatch of it. But the Vast is, well, vast—a veritable sea of inhospitable, frozen land so white it blinds.

Only at the shoreline can any life survive, and the ecological variance is minimal. Large, loafing pinnipeds, sea-bears, and silly little birds that fly through water instead of air. The aquatic ecosystem below is much more robust, but—

Ah, um... Suffice to say, anyone who does happen to wander the Vast without meeting an unfortunate end inevitably returns a changed person.

From what little I know of the Void, it is a cold, dark place devoid of aether. Thus, if anyone were to go there, they would likely be entirely leeched of aether. It's all a matter of balance, you see—an equilibrium must be maintained, and there would be no coming back from that.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[well, that all certainly sounds related to the Vast. perhaps it's not so far of a reach to imagine the Powers are able to touch more realities than just jon's.]

And, erm, when you say aether, do you mean in the alchemical sense?

[ancestor]

No, I mean aether in the aetherological sense.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

I’m afraid I don’t know what that means.

[ancestor]

Aetherological?

Pertaining to the study of aether.

Introduction to aetherology is taught within the first year of primaries alongside their lessons on the theory behind conceptualization and creation.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[conceptualization and creation ... ok then. wherever this person is from sounds quite interesting.]

I see ... on the planet where I'm from, aether is a quite old elemental scientific concept that was used to describe natural phenomena such as gravity or the movement of light. It's been outdated for hundreds of years, of course.

[ancestor]

'Outdated'? How so? Aether is not gravity, but it is why gravity exists. Aether is light and life; magic and matter. It's everything that is and ever will be.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Outdated in the sense that it has been scientifically proven to be an incorrect hypothesis about the mechanics of the physical world.

[ancestor]

Aether can be seen, heard, and measured. It is the foundation from which all things are created.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Mm, yes, well, that would be why I specified that this is the understanding of aether where I am from - which, I assume, is not the same as where you are from.

[ancestor]

You are alive, are you not? You come from a world with water, earth, atmosphere, light, and all manner of matter don't you? It takes energy to create those things.