Entry #7 - Aether/Etheric Plane

My favorite Element is the Fifth

Aether (Primordial God and the Fifth Element)/Etheric Plane

Catchphrase: “Ride and you Might Die”

The Primordial God of Light (Art by Hendrik Goltzius)

My favorite thing I’ve read on Wikipedia recently was at the top of the Greek primordial god, Aether’s, page. It tells readers that he is not to be confused with the classical element, Aether. I’m here to tell you they are one in the same. I have a certain level of respect to the folks over at Wikipedia but when it comes to monsters, cryptid, gods, spirits, etc., they don’t always have the story exactly right. In their defense, it’s not that easy to access our full stories.

In Greek mythology, sometimes Aether was described as the air that the gods breathed, the essence that filled the air where they lived. Aether was also described as a primordial god, the son of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). He was the bright upper sky. There are many interpretations and mentions of Aether that tell a slightly different story. I’m not going to dive deep into all of them right now. Basically, Aether is important to creation.

I am partial to the Orphic Hymns that mention Aether/Either. Here is one quote:

Then great Time fashioned from (or in) divine Aither
a bright white egg.

This egg gets brought up many more times and many of the early gods and creatures come out of this egg. Sometimes the egg comes from Aether, sometimes he comes from the egg. It’s a what comes first—Aether or the Egg? I don’t have the answer, not yet anyway. Aether insists it was him.

According to ancient and medieval science, Aether, also known as the fifth element or quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. Aether does have plenty to do with light, gravity, and quantum physics.

Aether is a primordial god, but he is also a place, an element, and honorary monster. He is the only being I know that is a person, place and a thing. He is indeed the upper regions of space, the son of Darkness and Night. He is also the Fifth Element that has mesmerized and eluded great thinkers throughout time. What he fully is, defies comprehension. He is a being, a place, a wormhole for spirits that connects each and every world and creature in all the dimensions and universes. We monsters, travel in him or through the Aether when we want to get to one place to another quickly, whether it be in this dimension or another. It’s always best to connect with Aether through water. However, not just any monster can travel through him alone. You must be a creature deeply connected to Aether. Not just connected, you must be made of the Fifth Element to safely travel and guide others through the Aether.  Forest wisps such as my pals, Will and Jack, are the best navigators when it comes to Aether for this very reason.

Will helping me, Shel, and Frank travel through the Aether

As powerful as I am, I do not even dare travel him alone. My pages would be ripped apart and scattered across the dimensions and different spiritual realms. Aether keeps all the worlds from bleeding together or colliding with one another.

It does feel amazing to travel with him. Every molecule in your body becomes connected to him.  You are on the precipice of every ledge in every dimension as you fly through spirit element. One wrong move, and you could be lost forever. Some monsters with eternal life will intentionally get lost in the Fifth Element so they can have the adventure of finding their way back. That is ill-advised since another side effect could involve having all of your molecules disconnected and spread to several dimensions. Even the strongest, immortal entity will have difficulty recovering from that experience.

Humans should never, ever enter the Aether, not even with the most qualified guide. Even when a human thinks they have successfully traveled with Aether, they have lost a part of themselves forever upon they return. Sometimes they suffer a very terrifying fate called “Ghosted”.

They travel into the Aether and get stuck in a time. They come in contact with their younger self. High jinks ensue but rarely turn out for the best. It’s beyond Shakespearean… it’s Black Mirrorean.

I’ve been kidnapped by several occultist who believed they could control the Fifth Element and learn to travel the etheric plane. None, ever did it successfully, even with my “help”. In fact, on at least one occasion I tricked a human full of hell-inspired hubris into entering Aether to free myself of them. It’s pretty effective. Unfortunately, Dr. M never fell for it.

Today, I am going to tell the unheard story of how Aether ripped himself from the upper heavens and became the elemental and spiritual beast he is today. This story is called “A Tear in the Sky”.