Part 1: The Surface

No one knows much about the before. Before the cities were built. Before their civilization rose into the clouds. All they know is that they must never return to the surface, for fear of their lives. Some of the more adventurous people in society choose to explore the surface through the Aetherrealm, and some are cast down to the surface, in banishment. 
The Surface is a barren wasteland, and it is claimed by many that no life dwells upon it, the husk of the planet once called Earth. There are leftover monuments of the civilizations' past, in the massive, massive constructs that built the cities, made of wood and metal, thousands of feet high, just crumbling over time. The geography consists of dry dirt, sand, rocks, and caves, almost devoid of all plants, animals, water, and life. Almost. The few who have travelled to, and observed the Surface, have noticed strange beasts occasionally travelling across the Surface, going from ravine, to cave, to cavern. 
Nothing is known about these creatures beyond their existence and physical appearance, large pale beasts, with two long limbs which they carry themselves on, almost horizontally. Their faces are almost flat, blind eyes rest on their humanoid foreheads, within their mouths they hold 8 long tentacles, which they use to consume minerals from the soil and environment around them. They have short legs, which they balance on if needed, but otherwise ignore entirely. They are mostly antisocial, but will interact with others, if encountered.  They are called “The Crawlers'' by those who whisper about them, due to the way they move.
This concludes the knowledge that the Aerians have regarding the surface, but it’s far from everything there is to know about the surface, but that’s left for the Contractors to find out over time.

Part 2.1: The Aetherrealm

“The Aetherrealm is the very fabric of reality” to quote Dr Daniel Eckhart, who is viewed as the greatest Aetherrealist of the current generation. The Aetherrealm links to every reality possible, and every reality in existence. There are 4 dimensions of the Aetherrealm, most of them similar yet so

1. The Central Dimension (aka The Highway of Worlds)
   1. Within the Aetherrealm, these ‘veins’ of flowing energy, through pictures of which a person inside the Aetherrealm can view the outside world which is within that vein. An Aetherrealist can change the part of the world which the image shows at a given time, although they commonly default to the location where the most important historical moment of that period of time takes place. The veins themselves are a literal timeline of what happens. They are always that glowing purple (as is the case with almost everything related to the Aether), and change in size depending on the amount of change happening in the world at that time. They may be large as a field, or small as a plank of wood. Every world’s main timeline is here, and it can be used, in some cases, to hop between universes, times, and worlds.
2. The Individual Timeline Dimension (aka The Webs of Time)
   1. Every creature with decision making capabilities has an individual timeline within the Aetherrealm, that they may choose to enter, and possibly change. Every time a creature makes a decision, there are pathways equal to the number of decisions by that person, used as outcomes. These pathways are physical and are extremely similar to The Highway of Worlds in nature, however representing the single creature’s lifespan, this is not an infinite dimension, unlike the Highway of Worlds
3. The Void Dimension (aka The Infinite Abyss)
   1. You shouldn’t be here. Turn back. The Evil Things dwell here. Leave. 
4. The Spirit Dimension (aka The Necropolis)
   1. A completely flat plane of existence, everything that has ever died lives here. There are many layers of this plane, one for every genus of animal to have ever lived. One can go back thousands of years to the very first humans, the Homo Habilis, or the most recent genus, Aetherrealists, the Homo Aethereum.

Part 2.2: The Aetherrealists

The Aetherrealm is more mysterious than the Surface, in many people's cases. This is mostly due to the fact that only a subsection of humans can control the Aetherrealm, and the force inside of it, known as the Aether. This subspecies makes up about 14.8% of the population, and are known to most as Aetherrealists, but those who study them call them Homo Aetherreum. They are almost entirely identical to humans, aside from a few key biological differences.

1. They live much longer lives than humans, aging at about ⅓ the speed of a human, after reaching full maturity at age 20 for females, and age 24 for males
2. They tend to be taller than humans, growing consistently until fully matured, unlike humans, who have occasional growth spurts during puberty. The average female height is 5’10”, and the average male height is 6’4”
3. They have higher testosterone/estrogen levels, which is a reason behind their long lives and increased heights. This also causes a number of other physical traits:
1. They have increased metabolism rates, leading to generally being thinner than humans.
2. They find it easier to gain muscle, and are generally stronger than the average human
3. They are also, in the majority of cases, more attractive than humans
4. They have an increased mental resilience, and it is harder for their brains to produce low dopamine levels, leading to decreased depression levels
5. Their brains are naturally resistant to most conditions, and will stave off most of the effects of these, such as Alzheimers, Amnesia, Dementia, Schizophrenia, etc
4. They are imbued with energy from the Aetherrealm (called Aether), and have the ability to manipulate the Aetherrealm (see part 2.2, Manipulating the Aether, below)

Part 2.3: Manipulating the Aether

While some who have the ability to use the Aether choose not to use their gift, most of the Aetherrealists study the Aether, and how to use it. Through manipulating the Aether, the Aetherrealists can use specific abilities not generally accessible by normal humans. This is an incomplete list of those abilities currently possessed by users of the Aether.

1. Teleportation
1. Single Entity Translocation
1. A somewhat common ability among highly skilled Aetherrealists
2. Multiple Entity Translocation
1. More rare than SET, however Aetherrealists of a similar skill level can use this ability to a greater effect.
3. Portal Creation
1. Very few are able to master this technique, and it’s finicky at best, sometimes producing results that are less than desirable.
2. Aether Electricity Creation
1. Combat Use
1. Works to an effect directly correlating to the user’s ability.
2. Fuel Use
1. Sometimes referred to as wiretaps, Aetherrealists can use this ability to great effect to generate electricity at little cost to the user. Amount generated correlated to wielder’s proficiency
3. Transmogrification
1. Use on Self
1.  
2. Use on Others
1. Used occasionally in medical fields to stabilize injuries, and by lawkeepers to restrain people
4. Substance Fabrication
1. Simple or complex depending on the user’s proficiency level, it’s pretty self-explanatory
5. Time Modification
1. Travelling Forwards
2. Travelling Backwards
3. Freezing Time
6. The ‘Aetherform’
7. Aetherrealm Travel
8. Aetherbeast Summoning

Time

360 days in the year- the collapse caused the earth to accelerate about x1.08 from base Earth- slight but noticeable to outsiders, given a long enough stay within the world.
90 seconds per minute, 50 minutes per hour, 18 hours per day, 10 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 9 months per year, with perfectly balanced day-night cycles, always.
This is slightly faster than our earth, we have 86400 second days, Aerolyrd has 81000 second days. This is 29160000 second years for Aerolyrd, while we have 31540000 second years, a decrease of x0.922 the time units in Aerolyrd relative to Earth.

Timeline example, 1879 (year of collapse)
9/40/1878
Primember 1/1/1879-1/40/1879
Secember 2/1/1879-2/40/1879
Terember 3/1/1879-3/40/1879
Quartember 4/1/1879-4/40/1879
Quintember 5/1/1879-5/40/1879
Sextember 6/1/1879-6/40/1879
September 7/1/1879-7/40/1879
October 8/1/1879-8/40/1879
November 9/1/1879-9/40/1879
1/1/1880

Weekdays-
Sunday
Moonday
Aersday
Wynsday
Einsday
Redsday
Mekksday
Gildsday
Fryday
Grimmsday

Cities basics

Providence is the Royal City of Aerolyrd. It contains the upper echelon of society, and of course, the "Castle in the Sky'' as one might put it. A grand building stands deserted, as the person next-in-line for king has been lost, died, or never was claimed by the royal family.

Wyndelyn, the trade hub of Aerolyrd. This is where most businesspersons go to set up shop, and as such is generally the - commercial capital of Aerolyrd. Some of the most impoverished citizens also live here, packed in the inside of the city's mechanical underground. 

Mekhania. It is where artists, musicians, actors, and architects set up and do their businesses. 

Einclad consists of schools, museums, and colleges. It is also where most inventors, geniuses, and industrial leaders reside.

Redhavyn consists of residential areas, small businesses, and manufacturing districts. It is most known for the food, as the smaller hole-in-the-wall restaurants somehow do it better than multi-city businesses. 

Aermourne. Factories are commonplace, as are the lower tier of society made to work in these factories. Unfortunately, Aermourne has the highest crime rate in all of Aerolyrd. Gang life here is common, and rival factions battle each other unseen in the underbelly of the city for control.

Gildenport. This is the natural capital, full of fields and forests, lakes and rivers, and cliffs and caves. It is loosely developed, with less industrial areas, more agricultural places and animal farms.

Part 3: The Bestiary

The power of the Aether has both killed off animals and created new ones. The collapse of humanity in the year 1879 caused the death of most species, limiting the animals that humanity has access to, which imbued with the Aether, and most of them almost tamed by humanity. This is a complete log of all animals that remain.

Mammals

• Cats (Relatively standard black cats. Can communicate with each other, and can, with difficulty, be taught English)
• Lycans (Loosely related to dogs, specifically German shepherds, although longer and more expressive ears, and higher levels of intelligence.)
• Trotters (Horses, though they’re much more ferocious in the wild, and are omnivores)
• Heebys (Rats. Self explanatory.)
• Jeebys (Most comparable to weasels. Long animals with slick fur, beady eyes, and strong jaws, more likely to be invasive to buildings than rats. Good night vision)

-wild carnivore
-wild carnivore
-wild carnivore
-wild carnivore
-wild omnivore
-wild omnivore
-wild herbivore
-wild herbivore
-wild herbivore
-wild herbivore
-wild herbivore
-food herbivore
-food herbivore
-food omnivore
-food carnivore

Reptiles/ Amphibians
-wingsnake carnivore
-snake carnivore
-snake herbivore
-lizard carnivore
-lizard omnivore
-turtle herbivore

Birds

-pest omnivore
-predatory carnivore
-migratory carnivore
-migratory omnivore
-food omnivore
-food carnivore
-domestic omnivore
-domestic omnivore

Fish
-preyfish/food omnivore
-preyfish/food herbivore
-preyfish/food herbivore
-predatory carnivore
-predatory carnivore
-domesticated omnivore

Insects
-pest prey
-pest prey
-domesticated hunter
-domesticated prey
-wild prey
-wild prey
-wild hunter
-wild hunter

Religion and the Collapse-

Goddess Providence and her 6 Sages were each responsible for the creation of a single city, Wyndel, Mekkhan, Einclar, Redhi, Aer, and Gilda. Each are the goddess of their respective city’s culture, Wyndel the Goddess of Bartering and Charisma, Mekkhan the goddess of Art and Creativity, Einclar the goddess of Knowledge and Learning, Redhi the goddess of the Home and Safety, Aer the goddess of Nature and Animals. They descended upon the pre-collapse humanity and gave them the secrets of the Aether, which caused approximately 98.5% of humanity to be wiped out completely, as within 3 months Earth was reduced to a wasteland because of the Aetheric energy wiping out everything incompatible, however the Goddesses created the cities and all surviving humans and animals were moved to the cities. This is why we worship them. Each city worships their patron goddesses in their capital buildings by attending mass on the 9th day of each week.