Imperial Aiena

The aiena is a digital currency, defined as equivalent to the value of a certain quantity of usable energy. Aiena are exchanged using an Imperial-developed application protocol. Physical aiena coins exist, containing chips which carry the corresponding amount of digital aiena, however they are typically only used for sentimental reasons (e.g. at historical faires, or to operate jukeboxes) or occasionally for small transactions with interstellar buyers/sellers who may not have accounts within the Aethi imperial monetary system.   An aiena can be subdivided into 20 zaiha'iin, and each zaiha can in turn be subdivided into 5 runa'iin. However, outside of specialized applications, the runa is rarely used, and prices are usually rounded to the nearest zaiha.

The aiena was created with the founding of the Imperium by Arana Athad Irias'keior, as a unified medium of exchange for all Aethi. Its link to energy quantities was changed three times: once in AY 120 by the Chamber of Platinum under Arana Nariaen Irias'keior, in an act called the Charter of Eternal Prosperity, and once (more infamously) by the decree of Arana Haiel in AY 218, in accordance with a privately-commissioned document. The final change was the prompt rescinding of Haiel's decree by the Chamber of Platinum under his successor, Arana-Regent Inzaiyar Saras'laanya, via the Recovery Act of AY 222.