Paladin lore/source of power

[Vencio]

Hi everyone,

Almost 2am & under insomnia,

Just a question regarding paladin’s source of power,

Is it partially that of white mage’s? Is it the aether from within or rather divine/faith with either aether or not aether?

Would it be right it wrong to classify it as “magic”?

I’ve looked excessively for any possible source and haven’t found any results sadly,

Hope someone can fill this in,

Thanks,

[Brightamethyst]

Very few classes/job draw power from outside sources to fuel their abilities. You can draw extra power from outside sources; Estinien and the eye, BLMs of old using voidsent as living batteries, etc, but it's not required.

With the exception of conjury (which borrows aether from nature elementals), everything is powered by the user's own personal aether. Warriors and monks use aether to strengthen their bodies to hit things harder, dragoons use it to jump super high, and so on. Even the purely physical abilities are actually magic underneath.

[Vyrerus]

Paladin's source of power in game is all from within. It starts out as mere swordsmanship, augmented by aether, and it stays that way mostly. There aren't a lot of in game explanations nor suppositions about it. The willpower from a sense of nobility and duty becomes apparent in the 50~60 questline for it, but that was especially in relation to soul crystals, more than just raw power, as the PLD mentor Roegadyn did battle with you in that quest without a Soul of the Paladin.

So basically, the knowledge on how to manipulate aether comes from your Soul Crystal, and increasing your strength through battle experience allows you to unlock more abilities. This is the default for every job.

[Alenore]

With the exception of conjury (which borrows aether from nature elementals), everything is powered by the user's own personal aether. Warriors and monks use aether to strengthen their bodies to hit things harder, dragoons use it to jump super high, and so on. Even the purely physical abilities are actually magic underneath.

Both white magic and black magic use ambient aether, which is in part why it's much more potent than conjury/thaumaturgy. RDM are using ver- spells, which use their own aether instead of the environmental one.

[MistakeNot]

The source of power for ALL classes and jobs is aether. The only important difference is if it uses external aether or just the internal aether of the practitioner. White and Black magic uses external aether. Conjury also, but to a limited extent. Just about every other case uses the internal aether or - in the case of crafter classes, aether from crystals.

So in short, paladins use their own internal aether to power their supernatural effects. You can call it magic if you wish, because magic is just ways of manipulating and controlling aether.

[Anhra]

Wait, Paladin has lore?

[ItMe]

Is it the aether from within or rather divine/faith

You're thinking of a more traditional paladin. In FF14 they're just the bodyguards for Ul'dah's royal family.
Any flavor about "holy" things in their class is just surface fluff inherited from western ideas. Even in other Final Fantasy games Paladins and White Mages don't normally draw their power from the divine / faith like, say, a D&D Paladin does.

[Vencio]

Awesome stuff!,

Thanks for the responses guys,

Pretty much everything is with Aether it seems,

Just coming from a WoW’s/DnD mindset I am fascinated more how Aether/Magic/Energy flows & conjures differently for every class & its lore stances,

Personally love Paladin & i am enticed to know more about it!

PS: That’s truly frightening that mages conjures aether from external sources, basically leeching the enery out of environments & possible living beings. Truly scary!

[Brightamethyst]

PS: That’s truly frightening that mages conjures aether from external sources, basically leeching the enery out of environments & possible living beings. Truly scary!

Which is why the elemantals hate Amdapor and now highly regulate the use of white magic, and why black magic is forbidden in most of Eorzea.

[Vencio]

I can see why! It really is volatile & dangerous. Sometimes best left to leave it alone.

So far it seems aether has been the main meme of rejuvenation & destruction throughout final fantasy series