Aetheric Artifacts

Snags in the very fabric of reality, aetheric artifacts often occur at the sites of particularly intense or violent expenditures of arcane energy. Where these aetheric forces catch and tear at the weave, visible vestiges remain, odd refractions of light lingering in evidence of the passage of such great power. Some  artifacts manifest as thin slivers of light or shadow cutting unnaturally through the landscape, while others appear as if the oft-smooth air has been broken like glass or condensed into multifaceted crystal. When extracted from the aether, most artifacts, regardless of how they manipulate the light, take on crystalline structure which is sought out as much for its practical applications in the arcane sciences as for its aesthetic appeal among collectors, couturiers and jewelers.

The Thin Fields
Located in the northwestern reaches of the Bellodonto River Valley, the Thin Fields feature the most notable collection of aetheric artifacts in the world. The play of light, so strange and unpredictable, across the great expanses of grass and wildflowers has been frequently described as breathtaking and awe-inspiring. The great stained glass windows in the northern wing of the Library at the Crossroads attempts to capture the shifting beauty of the Thin Fields, aided by the continually changing angle of the sun throughout the day.

Artifact Extraction
Artifacts may be extracted from the aether through careful manipulation of magical energies and physical forces, resulting in tiny glass-like items known broadly as 'glitch crystals'.

Glitch Crystals
Prized for their impossible beauty, glitch crystals often give off their own faint light in a subdued echo of the damage to the aether which they represent. They carry with them an imprint of their extraction point, glinting in unnatural replication of the light captured at their creation. These crystals vary greatly in size and shape, the smallest no larger than a grain of sand and the largest barely as big as a plum pit. Glitch crystals are often worn on jewelry and clothing as a show of wealth and power.

Scientific Application
Since the first artifacts were extracted, arcanists have been studying their application. Professor Igorr Rosnayev theorizes that their unique crystalline structure will one day allow glitch crystals to power aetheric engines indefinitely, but no such engine has yet been developed.

Glitch Farming
High demand for glitch crystals has spawned numerous attempts to create 'glitch farms' in which precise application of potent spells and rituals is meant to manipulate the aether into forming artifacts. The only successful attempts have proven unprofitable due to the magnitude of damage caused by the necessary explusion of energy to naturally form artifacts. Article AL397-42g declared glitch farming--purposeful manipulation of aetheric energies in an attempt to create artifacts for the purpose of sale or gift--illegal, while regulating further scientific research into the possibility of controlled artifact creation.

Replicas
Glass and quartz replicas have flooded the market, a combination of magic and mirrors used to simulate the lambent phantoms produced by real glitch crystals. While trained jewelers and mages are able to easily spot a fake, many of these artifical artifacts can easily convince the layperson.

Risks
While neither the artifacts nor their extracted crystals present any known dangers, scholars frequently debate the impact of artifact extraction on the fabric of reality. While some believe it leaves irreparable damage where the crystals are removed, allowing aether to leak into the material world, others argue that the artifacts themselves are the damage and extracting them allows the weave to heal itself once more, restoring itself to its natural state.