Worlds of the Aether
The world of Alusia isn't alone. With it, is its moon, the sun, and six other worlds.
Everyone agrees that the moon orbits around Alusia but there is still some debate whether or not everything else also orbits Alusia (the geocentric model), or Alusia, and the other worlds orbit the sun (the heliocentric model).
Most ancient texts favour a heliocentric model, and the modern geocentric model is most likely the result of the knowledge lost in the catastrophes around the time of Panjari and the subsequent dark ages in Western Alusia. There are still philosophers who favour the geocentric model, but there is growing support for the heliocentric model as new evidence comes in, particulary from the occasional aether explorers.
Interestingly, the Western Church, so often a conservative force, has always expounded a heliocentric system, which may be related both to their use of the sun as a major symbol of the Powers of Light, and also to their preservation of ancient elven knowledge.
List of Aether Worlds
The bodies are:
- Sun - fire body
- Ariel - earth body
- Freya - water body
- Luna (The Moon) - earth body
- Thunor (Mars) - earth body. Has two companion bodies.
- Fear
- Terror
- Wotan - air (earth?) body. Four companions have been seen through spyglasses.
- Hela - air body. There have been sporadic sightings of two companions.
- Merlyn - (earth?) body
Properties of Aether Worlds
For GMs: Below are the distance/period table for the heleocentric model based on Bode's and Kepler's Laws. Note that 1 AU (Alusian Unit) is the distance between Alusia and the sun (roughly 93.3 million miles).
| Body | Mean distance (AU) | Period |
| Ariel | .4 | 92 d |
| Freya | .7 | 213 d |
| Alusia | 1 | 1 y |
| Thunor | 1.58 | 2 |
| Wotan | 5.24 | 12 |
| Hela | 9.54 | 29.5 |
| Merlyn | 19.33 | 85 |
Alternate Theories
For Astrologers: The synodic orbit periods of adjacent Aether Worlds and their synodic periods relative to adjacent worlds has been shown by observation to be proportional to the Phidias Number of the Golden Ratio (or it's square) +/- ~1% (in most cases - measurements differ wildly for the mystical planet Merlyn). By Kepler's Laws, the Square of the Orbital Period is the Cube of the Orbital Distance. From this, it is easy to derive that the exponent for Bode's Law should be Phidias4/3, not 2. This also allows the removal of the arbitary constant of Ariel's orbit from Bode's law. Below is the theorectical distance/period table for the heliocentric model based on a modified Bode's Law, noting that Alusia is in the Synodic location between Freya & Thunor. For further information, please contact the Alchemist & Astrologer John N. Harris at the MMHS University.
| Theorectical Values Only | |||
| Body | Mean Distance (AU) | Period (yrs) | Sequence |
| Ariel | 0.39 | 85.9 days | -3 |
| Ariel/Freya Synodic Period | 0.38 | -2 | |
| Freya | 0.73 | 224.9 days | -1 |
| Alusia | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Thunor | 1.38 | 1.62 | 1 |
| 2.62 | 2 | ||
| ?? | 2.62 | 4.24 | 3 |
| 6.85 | 4 | ||
| Wotan | 4.97 | 11.09 | 5 |
| Wotan/Hela Synodic Period | 17.94 | 6 | |
| Hela | 9.45 | 29.03 | 7 |
| Hela/Merlyn Synodic Period | 46.98 | 8 | |
| Merlyn | 17.94 | 76.01 | 9 |
The Dark World
In both the standard and modified Bode's Law models, another Invisible or Dark world is required between Thunor and Wotan to complete the sequence. A voyage of discovery in an Aether Vessel is required to see if a Dark world exists somewhere near 2.6 AU.
An alternate explanation is that Alusia was originally in this position, and was moved by powerful forces into the only possible stable orbit between Freya & Thunor. This would explain the discrepancy where Thunor has been pushed out 0.2 AU further than predicted, due to the interior proximity of Alusia, and its exterior absence.
