In Final Fantasy 14, aether is the source of life and magic that is applied to many events throughout the MMO's main story. The substance is mentioned a lot and is often the cause of supernatural events. In the world of Final Fantasy 14, aether is more than just a material, it is a science connected to six elements and two polarities that give balance to life and death.

Aether affects much of what the player interacts with, from Primals to dungeons to even the weather in Eorzea. It is used for teleportation, chimera creation, and synthesis used by crafters. The very first pages of the Encyclopedia Eorzea explains Aetherology, as it is the foundation of understanding the nature of the world Final Fantasy 14 takes place in.

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The Basics of Aether

The Mothercrystal.

Aether is believed to give life, so it is within every plant, animal, and person. Due to this, many scholars actually use "life" and "aether" interchangeably. Young people of good health tend to have a lot of aether while the old and sickly have less. It is also believed that food provides some aether to the body. Aether is never static, being a material much like a river that is always on the move. Aether that is corporeal is in the form of aetherytes. Manipulated aether is where magic comes from. For example, Arcanists move aether to stones which makes carbuncles.

When someone dies, it is believed that their aether is released and goes to a place called the aetherical sea, which is the source of all aether. Aether can be quite like a soul and aether has been known to make ghosts and other apparitions if a living being died a dramatic and/or very violent death. Around Eorzea, some locations are known to have more aether than others. The Black Shroud is one such place, as aether is so abundant there that aether-beings called Elementals live there.

The Dangers Of Aether

Shiva in Shadowbringers.

In high concentration, aether is dangerous. Those with too much aether can be more aggressive or even go mad. Beings that are exposed to too much aspected aether can get mutated. Examples of this include sin eaters and voidsent, who were exposed to too much Astral and Umbral aether.

How a Primal enthralls victims is also through aether, and how a Primal can get its followers to sometimes mutate into strange abominations. For example, Leviathan can overexpose its worshippers to water-aspected aether, which turns them into aquatic monsters. This is also how Primals affect the surrounding weather.

Calamities are believed to be caused by aether imbalances. The first six Calamities were caused by too much of a certain kind of aspected aether, which is why the Calamities have names like the Calamity of Fire, Calamity of Ice, and Calamity of Earth. The Seventh Calamity is believed to have been caused by an imbalance of all aether at once, especially considering that the Garlean Empire was using a ton of aether to try to pull down Dalamund.

Aspected Aether

Poster of the elements.

Some aether is aspected to one of six elements such as water, wind, earth, fire, lightning, and ice. Aether is also drawn towards two polarities: Astral and Umbral. Astral is known to be active aether and Umbral is known to be passive. This is where most players get a little lost, but it is not as complex as characters like Urianger and Y'sthola make it seem. For example, a wildfire is fire-aspected aether that is Astral aligned, while a dry heat would be fire-aspected aether in Umbral alignment. Both are about fire, but one is active while the other is passive.

Certain elements are more known to be Astral and Umbral aligned than others. Water, Earth, and Ice are often in an Umbral state because they are often passive. Wind, Fire, and Lightning are typically Astral because they are on the move and active.

Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.

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