Quote Originally Posted by Lambdafish View Post
Thats my point though, does it or doesn't it matter? Because while you could well be right in that aether = magic, the use of an external tool is far more akin to garlean tech than actual magic. In the sightseeing log, we find the following passage: "To power their legions of war machina, the Garleans require a steady supply of the aether-based fuel known as ceruleum." What this tells us is that ceruleum is aether based, making magitek technology aetheric fueled. That gives us a huge link towards MCH, which also uses technology that is aetheric fueled.

My argument therefor is that MCH uses magitek, not magic. Garleans use magitek, not magic. Other jobs use magick because the aether is the source of the abilities, not just the fuel. You could argue that it is semantics, but I think there is an important distinction.
It's an interesting distinction, yes, especially for lore discussions. But when it comes down to "does this class use aether", I don't think there is a distinction there. The answer is still yes.

There are other distinctions you can draw. For example, WHM/BLM draw on aether from their surroundings*, while RDM uses the caster's internal aether as a power source. A distinct difference, but in the end, using abilities fueled by aether/magic. So now magitek... similar deal. It's a tool/external source that grants it, but the abilities are ultimately still aether-driven.

Of course, I'd still peg SCH as one of the more traditional mages, and there's multiple in-game references to them as mages/users of nymnian magics, etc. I wouldn't go so far as to call melees or mch or similar "mages". But if a given ability uses 'aether' (vs pure martial skill/discipline/etc), I think to most, that would be magic. Regardless of the source.

*(Because I know someone will nitpick: Yes, it is indicated in questlines that CNJ/THM can self-power their abilities somewhat, but that this may not exactly lead to a long and healthy life.)

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tl;dr: Unless we have definitions that specifically separate 'magic' and 'aether', distinctions in sources of aether are interesting to discuss in terms of lore... but in the end, it still all seems like "magic".