( Worlds upon worlds. Urianger nods thoughtfully as he slots this information into his current understanding of the universe: Meteion had claimed to have travelled to countless worlds in Hermes' search for life's meaning, therefore it makes sense that one of them could have been Stephen's. All of the Summoned could have travelled from such worlds — Stars flung far enough away that they managed to escape the dread-notes of the Endsinger's Aria.

It is a comforting thought. )

Just so.

( Urianger nods, meeting Stephen's questioning with warm enthusiasm. It's been some time since he spoke to someone with a genuine interest in such topics, after all, and to actually be invited to speak on the matter as opposed to being merely tolerated? His eyes seem brighter for it. )

Upon the First — that is, the first of the thirteen Sundered reflections of our Star — such understandings were reversed. The people of the First instead interpret the "umbral" as "darkness", associating it with life and activity, whereas the "astral" is known as "light", which they associate with statis and passivity.

( A beat. Three years of intensive aetherology study had yielded fascinating (and at the time, devastating) results: )

And 'tis their interpretation that proveth correct.