Aether

[IrisBlanchimont]

I guess the real question is: why does Eorzea have more aether than the rest of the world?

My only thought would be the Primals, but that only explains why it does now. The other thought might be the remarkably simple "The Allagans did it."

[gornotck]

A recap from a bonus disc that someone put up on youtube indicated that Eorzea has always had more aether, and the Primals are only possible BECAUSE of it.

I'd thought the Allagan did it, too. That they turned Eorzea into a giant aether prison for some reason, based on what I heard of the Binding of Bahamut.

The Allagan empire was a Third Astral civilization though. That's four ages of indeterminate length before they show up on the scene and break Bahamut on a wheel.

[Keroa]

Goodness, such lovely responses! and I have so many questions!

Thank you for the confirmation of Magic being Aether manipulation.
I am an curious about the monks questline. does anyone have any more information on how monks channel their Aether?
Considering that crystals are solidified aspected Aether, just -how- do the crystals form?

And is it possible for Aether to become corrupt? or void aspected? As we see in Labyrinth of the Ancients, you watch King.Behemoth fall over and pouf away into a cloud of what looks like void Aether.

And if Aether manipulation is possible(magic etc) would it be possible, given enough focus and knowledge to steal the Aether out of a living being? as you watch Ultima weapon do to the primals? And considering tha ether is the life sustaining force on the planet, if one were to remove all of their Aether, is it safe to assume that their body would shut down(die)?

[Magis]

And if Aether manipulation is possible(magic etc) would it be possible, given enough focus and knowledge to steal the Aether out of a living being? as you watch Ultima weapon do to the primals? And considering tha ether is the life sustaining force on the planet, if one were to remove all of their Aether, is it safe to assume that their body would shut down(die)?

If I recall the THM quest line (one of my fav), it revolves around the leader of the THM guild's brother Cocobusi being possessed by a demon Mormo. Mormo was running around (in Cocobusi's body) sucking the aether out of THMs and leaving a string of dead bodies in her wake (to regenerate into her true form). I think that answers your question on sucking aether out of people.

Also corrupted aether seems to be the real world version of radiation.

[dubstephalflife]

And is it possible for Aether to become corrupt? or void aspected?

It is! If I remember correctly, the main questline leading up to fighting Garuda mentions this. Specifically when you go to The Burning Wall, they mention that the crystals there are corrupted aether. I cannot remember if the other locations are corrupted crystals too. The ones at Burning Wall are either from the piece of Dalamud that crashed into it (and collided with the aetherial gate there) or Bahamut spewing aether all over the damn place.

I'd recommend this discussion about the void. I like the theory that the Void is its own form of aether just not of this realm.

And to make longer posts, write it in notepad or something, post the first few lines, then edit to post the rest.

[Myranda]

I am an curious about the monks questline. does anyone have any more information on how monks channel their Aether?

And is it possible for Aether to become corrupt? or void aspected?

And if Aether manipulation is possible(magic etc) would it be possible, given enough focus and knowledge to steal the Aether out of a living being? as you watch Ultima weapon do to the primals? And considering tha ether is the life sustaining force on the planet, if one were to remove all of their Aether, is it safe to assume that their body would shut down(die)?

Magis did a good job covering this some already but I'll also elaborate.

Not much is said in the quests about how exactly monks channel the aether/chakra, other than generally training at locations where great battles once took place in the past. Would that we had more details, but that's all we've got there.

For crystals, in addition to the examples of the corrupt crystals at the Burning Wall/Pharos Sirius/etc, from v1.0 there were also specific items called deaspected and overaspected crystals, which I suppose could be interpreted as void aspected in a way.

Magis brought up the THM questline for draining the aether of a living being but the CNJ quests also touch on this. Sylphie conjures curative magic from her own life force rather than borrowing from nature's aether reserves, which is said to be endangering her life (and was the cause of her mother's death as well). So you're pretty spot on there. The only thing I'd point out is that the primals are a little different as they're made of pure manifested aether, and can just be resummoned after they "die", but they do cease to exist for a time anyways until that resummoning happens.

[Nayto]

I'll drop the info that I stumbled upon while speaking to Elric, the Monk quest giver. Unlike the other jobmaster's/guildmaster's. He seems to go over what he studied with you during the questline (and.... very long text to add, don't talk to him if you qued for something, lol).

Erik: I shall tell you yet again of the study of aether.
Erik: As I laboriously explained, aether is not only the source of all magicks, but also the fount of all life. Yet despite its ubiquity, it remains imperceptible to the senses of man. When a living thing dies, the aether comprising its life is released.
Erik: It has been learned that when this discharge takes place, a portion of that aether remains, lingering in the physical world. No doubt you have come across aetherial crystallizations in the course of your travels.
Erik: All scholars now agree that these are the physical manifestations of great concentrations of aether.
Erik: I have a theory, however, that they are not the only such manifestations.
Erik: Allow me to give an example even you can understand─that of ghosts, spirits, disembodied souls. Apparitions of the deceased come back to haunt and generally unnerve us? False!
Erik: These are nothing more than the luminescent glow of aether in the atmosphere. It is possible, though highly unlikely, that you are asking yourself why a portion of the aether remains.
Erik: Right, well, the amount of aether that can shift between the physical and aetherial realms in any given instant is limited. I call this the aetherial threshold. Any aether present in excess of that threshold is left behind.
Erik: The more violent or dramatic the loss of life, the greater the amount of inner aether released to take the form of crystals or remain imperceptibly in the atmosphere. And you surely recollect the scene I identified as the most apt to produce such violent deaths?
Erik: On the field of battle! It stands to reason, therefore, that through the aetherial measurement of such sites, I will be able to reconstruct details of the wars waged upon them.
Erik: And that, [First Name here], is why this military historian has a deeply vested interest in the subject of aether.
Erik: Despite all we do know, however, many mysteries remain. The study of aether will no doubt continue to yield fascinating and awe-inspiring discoveries for years to come─of that I am certain.