A novella set in the Modern Era of Arellea, Rotting Aether follows graduate student Altemintha Xalsh as she journeys to the province of Abdurehn to study the aether well hidden deep within its forest. While there she stays with Marquis Dariehn Abdurus, a strange young man whose past holds secrets he does not want to acknowledge. He fights to contain the rot, a manifestation of the corrupted aether well's influence. Together, building a friendship, the two work to uncover the mystery surrounding the aether well and the Abdurus family.