Maelstrom Aurora Universalis SKIN

Auroras, or polar lights, are a universal concept and shared experience among the peoples of New Eden. The heavily-populated terrestrial home planets are particularly noted for stories and myths involving these striking, dancing lights in the sky.

To the Amarr, the aurora are linked to ancient religious stories and are sometimes known as "Sefrim Banners", alluding to the angelic figures considered messengers from God. A tradition of the appearance of these lights heralding divine approval for the armies of Amarr during the Reclaiming of Athra is well attested.

For the Caldari, the polar lights are the enigmatic "Flame Wind", a mysterious force in the animistic mythology of Caldari Prime's pre-industrial era. On the cold Caldari home world, the appearance of the aurora was associated with unusual weather and sudden migrations of animals.

The various nations of Gallente Prime had their ancient legends about polar lights but knew the aurora to be an interaction of atmosphere, magnetic fields and stellar winds from the time of the "Airship Wars". Viewing aurora on airship trips to the polar regions of Gallente Prime is a popular tourist activity on the planet.

The Minmatar have a somewhat mixed viewpoint on aurora, with some believing that such lights were seen during the storms that wracked Matar during the "Day of Darkness" that heralded the Amarr invasion. However, most think this notion misreads the fragmentary tales of what happened in those times. The traditional view of the polar lights, at least for tribes such as the Brutor and Sebiestor, is that they represent a "standing place gathering" or moot of tribal spirits.

At the time of the Yoiul Festival, the aurora lights of the worlds of New Eden are one reminder of the shared history of the people of the cluster and have becomes a symbol to some of their universal connections with one another.