The world of Kaladesh is a living work of art, owing its bright existence to the tangible presence of aether. Aether is the raw magical energy that inhabits the space between planes in the Multiverse. While it's nominally present on many planes, on Kaladesh it's a critical part of the ecosystem. The life-giving energy infuses the natural world, sculpting the earth and waterways, drawing trees and plants into delicate twisting patterns, and attracting wild creatures like a magnetic force.
Ever since the ingenious inventor Avaati Vya developed a process to refine volatile raw aether, it has also been inextricably woven into the world's culture of inspired invention. The Consulate, Kaladesh's governing body, recognized the potential of aether as a fuel and designed distribution methods to ensure that it was accessible to all. Their efforts led to a plane-wide inventors' renaissance, a time of hope, optimism, and boundless creativity. Now, clockwork automotons walk the streets, whirling thopters flit over the markets, and elegant gear-driven mechanisms raise and lower the very streets and buildings of the cities themselves.
As bright and wondrous as Kaladesh is, it still faces its share of strife. A faction known as the renegades believes that the Consulate is infringing on their freedoms. They refuse to adhere to safety regulations and aether quotas, and they undermine the Consulate's efforts to provide structure and lawfulness. But renegade activity aside, this is a time of celebration. The Consulate has recently announced the Inventors' Fair, a month-long festival to celebrate the myriad inventions of the Great Aether Boom. Airships will race, automaton constructs will battle, genius minds will face-off, and elegant design will reign supreme.
The head judge of the fair has installed the meticulous and diligent vedalken Dovin Baan as Senior Inspector, and Dovin has promised that the fair will go off without a hitch. He has recently elicited the help of the Gatewatch to mitigate potential renegade threats. Nothing will stop the people of Kaladesh from basking in the brilliance of their genius creations.
