The Aether

Philosophy

“Nothing comes into being or perishes, but is rather compounded or dissolved from things that are” - this was stated by the philosopher Anaxagoras of Clazomenae about matter millennia ago.

The same holds true for ideas. Beings and things, in addition to being composed of matter, are shaped by immaterial ideas and concepts. A soldier standing before the enemy will be imbued with the idea of courage. A bird, by essence, possesses the intrinsic idea of flight. Over the passing of time, new ideas can attach themselves to beings or things.

Nature

The Aether is the fabric of The Empyrean, just as matter and waves are that of reality. It is composed of disembodied, volatile, and moving ideas. All ideas resonate with each other in a splendid mesh, a tapestry where all threads are intertwined.

Inspiration

This substance also trickles into the human mind from the other side of The Veil. This is commonly known as inspiration. Indeed, it is the human being who has inherited the ability to combine these ideas and feel them through their mind, their imagination.

Manifestation in Reality

Through humans, the Aether can come into existence in reality. In the past, it was only indirectly: a sculptor could shape clay, a painter could cover their canvas with pigments, an inventor could materialize an object by crafting it.

The Tumult’s Disruption

Now, The Tumult has disrupted this natural process. The Aether, through it, adheres erratically to beings and things without any logic. Fortunately, humanity has managed to tame this phenomenon to some extent, through Alteration.

Relationship to Mana and Quintessence

It is only when Aether imbues itself onto Quintessence that the idea it carries becomes physically incarnate in reality. Mana is the cement that binds the two, the energy that keeps Aether and Quintessence in a coherent whole.

When the Tumult blows over the world, Aether is sometimes torn from Quintessence like paint can be peeled off a canvas. This tearing leaves behind droplets of energy with a bluish glow: Mana. Muna collect and redistribute this Mana in nature with the aim of strengthening the world.

The Yzmir and Direct Channeling

The Yzmir employ a distinctive and dangerous method of working with Aether through The Naali. Rather than indirectly manifesting ideas like other factions, they directly channel Aether from the world of imagination and the collective unconscious.

The Aether invoked through the Naali is highly potent and enduring, almost pure. However, this direct channeling comes at a cost: the ideas tend to seep into and parasitize those who manipulate them. Over time, Yzmir mages become tainted by this contamination.

When contamination exceeds a certain threshold, Initiates can lose control, unable to restrain the ideas that bubble up and manifest within them. In the worst cases, the affected Initiate may give rise to a pocket of The Tumult within themselves, with dramatic consequences.