Once Aetheria had been part of a twin star system. Aetheria's sister star was Xelusia, but her people followed the darkness as Aetheria's people followed the light. 10,000 years before the day of destruction, this division had created a rift between the two people who had once been one. Xelusia attempted to take over Aetheria resulting in the first  was which lasted nearly 5 thousand years. The Aetherian Royal families, called the Twenty High Houses uses their magic with their advanced tech to gain the upper hand and a truce was made because the Aetherians did not wish to see their kin destroyed completely. For thousands of years there was peace. Then the Xelusians attacked again, attempting to destroy the Oracles, who were the wielders of the Light. All Fourteen of the surviving High Houses were brought to the edge of extinction, six were destroyed completely.  During the nearly 2000 years of the second great war, eight of the houses merged through marriage, leaving only 10 high houses at the time of Aetheria's destruction. With each merger, another hero was lost, another chance at permanent peace faded away with each form of magic that was reduced. 

Each High House was said to be 'gifted by the Light' with a great warrior born once a generation. A Guardian, or the third son of a Guardian, a Peacekeeper. And into all houses were born warriors with magic, who served as protectors. Warrior Magic allows for Speed in movement, extra Strength, Night Vision,  and Resistance to Damage. Some have the ability to dual wield axes or swords, others have forms of targeting magic useful with bows and projectile weapons. Some have enhanced sight, like Huntsmen. 

Another type of warriors were Huntsmen. Huntsmen's magic increases Sight for targeting or threat assessment (like a zoom lens), Clear Sight ( which allows for seeing through heavy smoke, thick fog or snow and even walls not made of stone or metal), Power, Swiftness, and Stealth (like invisibility). All Huntsmen have the ability to see the energy residue left behind by living things and mobs, a form of tracking magic. Some have the ability to call on types of magic, such as the predictive power of the Oracles or a specialized form of healing called Heart Heal, which allows a Master Huntsman to keep a wounded comrade alive as long as his own health doesn't drop below the power produce two heartbeats. Huntsmen were so powerful that in later generations their magic was repressed.

Some houses were gifted with Mages who could wield magic, through spellbook or potion or other enchanted items. Such things could be used by all trained practitioners, however the highest levels of magic came from the very soul and will of the gifted.

Then there are Oracles, those who can see into the 'future' and wield the power of the Light. The Oracle ability to foresee things is more of an ability to understand and sort through the consequences and outcomes of events and actions to predict the future, it is more a form of clairvoyance than prophesy, although each generation has proved one or two true prophets. Oracles have the abilities of  empathy, spiritual healing, and to communicate over distances. An oracle has the ability to create and manipulate a power called the light, although the War Oracle Lady Daisy is the only one who uses the Light of the Oracles as a weapon and defense.

Healers have the ability to heal others (although they can not mend bones),  they , like oracles, can 'shine' an enemy to make them/it friendly, or at least less hostile, and to read minds/souls (although it is considered a violation of their healer vows to do so against someone's will. The Healer Lady Asha, has the ability to make someone sleep, regardless of their training and to generate a healing light or mist that can affect both the body and the mind. Those with healer magic are extremely rare as the Healer Houses were the first destroyed by the Xelusians. Most healers use more traditional medicine, different types of potions, enchanted items, or a combination of magic, medicine and technology. The healing beds and sarcophagus are such magic and tech mixed tools.

Finally are the Techs, those with the intuitive ability to use, understand, and create technology. 

After nearly 1000 years of increasingly brutal war, Aetheria got the upper hand and forced another truce with Xelusia. In the 200 or so years that followed, the Xelusian crown prince and his queen mother fought a different kind of war. They began slowly influencing change in the Aetheria culture, so that by the time the next war started, even the High King Arxis had fallen under Xelusian influence. The Oracles, healers and techs, saw what was happening and with the help of two of the warrior houses began to prepare for a great exodus. They built a ship to escape their world. 4,980 children and young adults, and 100 mentor adults. The high Oracle, the last of the house of Angeles, a prophetess named Yllumina, had seen the destruction of their world, and it was confirmed by the Blind Oracle Fleur. The High King Arxis was claimed to have taken the wives and children of the remaining High Houses hostage to prevent the exodus, but the Houses of Adamos and Odini launched any way with the help of Queen Eonae, among the refugees was Crown Prince Axues. 

A few days later, all out war began, the queen and the blind oracle fought against the corrupted king and the Xelusians. In the end, the Crown Prince's eldest daughter killed the blind oracle, and fled to her world. The Aetherians were on the verge of claiming a quick victory when the star of Xelusia exploded and their world and their sister worlds were devastated. All who had remained on Aetheria, and its sister worlds were lost. That was nearly 20000 years ago.

Nearly 3000 years later, the refugees landed on Terrearth. Where they built kingdoms, cities and aided the primitive humans there.  But old beliefs and feuds followed the Aetherians to their sanctuary world. For a while their culture and people thrived and intermarried with humans, but slowly their power became reduced by the corruption that had destroyed their almost forgotten home. By the time they returned home thousands of years later, only about 2000 were left and all were part human, save one. 

The Aetherians returned to a world much changed from the one their ancestors left. It was a world whose once majestic terrain had been raped by the destruction of their sister star. Mountains were reduced or smoothed, prairies were pitted and pockmarked with craters, great barren scars with open volcanic features. The top 50 to 1000 block ( a block = 1 meter) stripped away. It was on this empty, scarred world that a new kingdom was built. But again, the sins of the old world followed and now a new war has begun between the remnants of the Xelusians and their followers and the young Prince and Princess, born on another world to rule this one and it's colonies from the Aximuth, Crown City of Aetheria Prime.