[Lore] Can we see Aether ?

[Didimiaou]

Hi there !
I'm a roleplayer and I saw lot of other RP who are including the fact that they can see Aether. And I'm wondering if eyes can realy see it. If yes, why does Y'shtola is always wearing an etherimeter ?
Pure lore question to improve some roleplayers background

[Rawrz]

LOL Stupid character limit then phone died.

No, we cannot.

In this Expansion it explained that Y'shtola used forbidden teleportation magic, in order to escape the Crystal Braves, but accidently entered the Life Stream. This exposure caused her to be able to see Aether She no longer has to use that device. It is also revealed that having this ability is slowly going to drain her own aether and kill her.

[Didimiaou]

Thank you for the quick answer !

[Anonymoose]

To expand a little bit, the concentrations matter. Aether is the stuff of... all stuff. It's a basic unit of stuffhood. Aether exists in all things, but it also flows in a raw form in rivers throughout the land - some near the surface, some incredibly deep. The ambient aether in the air is too diffuse for us to see (that's why the Scions were wearing those Sharlayan steampunk goggles when we met them, they were tracking anomalous fluctuations in environmental aether to track the wonky events that would eventually be revealed to be Ascian-related). The more aether you collect together, the more likely you are to be able to see it without aid. You can see, for instance, spells being cast ... and crystals ... and the gloom weather in Mor Dhona is thought to be umbrally charged aether, as well.

Think of it like water. It's in the air, but you can't see it - but the more of it you get together, the more likely you are to notice, whether it be a humid haze in the air, condensation, a river, or ice.

As for why people RP being able to see it unaided...? Ehhh, roleplay tends to come in all flavors from, "No fanon allowed - confirmed facts only." to GREAT HAURCHEFANTS GHOST levels of "The Echo means Ifrit will let me ride him like a pony and Shiva was me great, great grandmum."

Or maybe they're also RPing that they're quite the moko grass enthusiasts.

[Kaiser-Ace]

To expand on Moose's explanation of Aether, Aether was one of the six classical esoteric elements with Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Chaos being the other five.

Earth, Fire, Water, and Air were the base elements with Chaos and Aether being the two higher elements.

Long Story Short, Aether is Matter and Energy at the same time. Kind of like a Photon is a Particle and a Wave at the same time.

[CyrilLucifer]

As for why people RP being able to see it unaided...? Ehhh, roleplay tends to come in all flavors from, "No fanon allowed - confirmed facts only." to GREAT HAURCHEFANTS GHOST levels of "The Echo means Ifrit will let me ride him like a pony and Shiva was me great, great grandmum."

To be completely fair, we kinda did ride Bismarck like a pony, even as he attempts to eat our aether in the process. So you might be able to ride Ifrit for a good half-minute, given his smaller size.

A whale-pony is best, anyway.

[finiteHP]

Aether is the stuff of... all stuff. It's a basic unit of stuffhood.

I just have to say, these two sentences are the best summary of aether ever.

[Shirobi]

AFAIK the only place anyone can see aether unaided is Mor Dhona as it drifts through the air and causes the nearly palpable haze that permeates the zone.

Unless its in ridiculous concentrations, no, no one is seeing the aether unaided, not even the warrior of light.

Those RPers are horribly misinformed.

[WhiteArchmage]

Again I'll make the comparison to XII's Mist, it's everywhere, everyone/thing is made of it, magic is just careful manipulation of it. Heck, you really can't see the mist unless there are very high concentrations of it (in XIV's aether, such as casting spells; in XII's, being inside a big-honking crystal). Also, Magicite (crystals that naturally release mist) and Crystals (elemental-aspected aether made physical)

[ExKage]

I thought that Y'shtola's case was that you can effectively "see" it but only by expending yourself so that it wasn't very healthy for someone to do it in whatever doses.