Shardless (Tempris #1)

-An excerpt from Practical Spellcasting for the Modern Mage

The study of magic inevitably begins with a single question: what is aether?

At its core, aether is a gaseous element, naturally occurring in breathable air. It is the building block of magic, the cornerstone of modern science, the foundation upon which the Fey Imperium resides.

In short, aether is everything, so ubiquitous within our society that even class divisions are defined by the genetic predisposition to absorb, refine, and transform this substance into various forms of magical output. The fey, as natural magic users, stratify themselves into sub-classes based upon birth and ability, whereas those that cannot wield aether to perform magic reside at the bottom of the social hierarchy and are given a single designation: shardless.