Aether and Hydaelyn

[Magis]

A thought came to me from another post on the connection between Hydaelyn and aether. It's commonly known that summoning the primals causes mass amount of aether to be sucked from Hydaelyn and it's the reason for kicking them off this plane. Now it makes me wonder if aether itself is part of Hydaelyn the crystal herself ("Hydaelyn as some Gaia figure, the planet itself literally") or a substance that exists on Hydaelyn the planet (a physical energy that takes forms). Sorry if this post is a bit ranty, I am streaming my thoughts.

The first idea is viewing Hydaelyn as literally the planet, taking a physical form. If that's the case, then is aether produced by Hydaelyn? Or some X amount stored in the planet? It would seem then that life is always in a give and take with aether, taking it to create life, then releasing it upon death (the ciiiiircle of liiiiife). If that's the case... is aether specifically tied to this planet or does it appear on others?

The other idea I have is that it could be that over time aether kept clustering into a larger and larger crystal until sentience evolved from aether. Hydaelyn being literal atheryte, would require some large amount of aether to keep sentience, and it would be in her best interest to keep primals from leeching off her aether. However how does that differ to any of the other primals then (there's that theory of "we are tempered" again)? It would just mean she is the top dog of primals (along with Zordak). If anything, she is as much as a threat to life as the primals (mass amounts of aether locked away). However I see her as a benevolent ruler, regulating aether levels to keep life going, instead of just feasting on it for herself.

My original reason to thinking this is: Do the living things of the planet need Hydaelyn to live? The Scions seem to think so, but it seems that the main... soul of a person is aether, rather than Hydaelyn. Also if Hydaelyn was needed, it would mean leaving the planet would be impossible, yet the Allag were able to do just that with Dalamud.

[TinyRedLeaf]

I think aether is to Hydaelyn what blood is to mortals. Aether is, in effect, the Lifestream itself, and I think it has been referred to as such in some instances.

To put it another way, "aether" is simply the franchise's way of interepreting popular, real-life myths about magic and the source of its power. In real life, for example, we have myths about "leylines", as well as popular superstitutions regarding the flow of "chi"/"ki", the basis of practices like fengshui. It's a common meme that turns up frequently in many manga and anime stories, like Mushishi, a great show that has just ended its second season over the past week. The Mushishi mythos features something known as "kouki", for example, which is literally a glowing river of life consisting of extremely basic organisms that predate even Earth's single-cell lifeforms.

I don't, however, think of Hydaelyn as a primal (and by inference, I'm leery of all the theories out there suggesting that player-characters have been "tempered" by her). She's the mothercrystal, and Zodiark is her shadow. And I think the relationship between the Dark and Light Crystals, and the primals, are somewhat more complicated than many of us think. I don't have any proof, in any case, but I'm content for now to see what else turns up in the storyline.

[Kicha]

If anything, we know that aether is not only found on Hydaelyn if Dalamud was used as a way to collect aether from the sun and beam it down to the crystal tower.

[Enkidoh]

Well, after finally getting all Disciples of War and Magic to 50 and doing the final level 50 MNK Job quest, some interesting information about the exact nature of aether was mentioned which I thought was worth mentioning here (spoilered for those who haven't yet levelled MNK)

Erik: "The vital energy of Hydaelyn, that which is called aether, is one and the same as the life force in which you monks believe. As the centre of our world, these Silvertear Falls are connected to what you call chakra in an inexplicably profound way."
Erik: "We all share in the same existence. We are neither separate nor distinct from the world. Our energy and it's energy are one."
Erik: "At times, that energy may wreck havoc and destruction, but it plays a far grander and more significant role."
Erik: "To bring forth life! As part of this world, you must endeavour to do the same."

So that basically shows that aether, is not just 'life energy', it's more a state, an underlying existence that life flows through, and which the world and all life on it is connected through. This also explains how aether can be corrupted, as 'good' and 'evil' are just moral concepts which are just different sides of the same coin. Or at least, that stuck-up Ala Mhigian researcher certainly thought so.