Aether

Aether is the energy of the Soul. Souls are made of aether.

Origins
Aether was the first energy to be used by people in Val. Long before the modern races emerged. It was used by the Angels and ancient Demons when they still walked the lands.

In recent times it is no longer as widely used and has been replaced by mana as the main energy in Val. But it still remains in use thanks to tradition and its raw power. It is far more powerful than the other energies but more limited in its uses. And compared to mana it is much harder to harvest and control, which why it is no longer used for machines.

Spirit Weapons
The power of an aether user often manifests as a weapon that is unique to that user. Only they themselves can wield that particular weapon. The more powerful spirit weapons can actually damage not only the body of an opponent but also their soul. Users can summon their weapon and make it disappear again at will.

In some cases a spirit weapon manifests as something that is not a traditional weapon. For example, the succubus Mioki has a microphone as a spirit weapon. And uses her singing voice to affect the souls of her enemies and/or allies.

Types
There are four main types of Aether. Those four are Light Aether, Dark Aether, Gloaming Aether and Divine Aether.

Light Aether.
Used by the extinct Angels and their descendants, the High Elves and the human Knights of Eli. The Angels perfected their use of spirit in both combat and technology. But most of their knowledge was lost after the Cataclysm. Light Aether is believed to be linked to Eli, the god of Light.

Their descendants carry on a small piece of that knowledge. The High Elves still live in the three surviving cities built by the angels. There they use some of the technology left behind. But because they do not fully understand how any of it works they are not geting the full benefits. When an ancient device breaks there is nobody left with the knowledge needed to fix it. Only a handful of these machines still work today.

Their mastery of spiritual combat lives on slightly more vividly. Both the royal army of the high elves and the Knights of Eli teach it to their new recruits. Their knowledge comes from the ancient scribes who translated old scrolls that the angels had written. But even this knowledge is not complete. Most of it was lost when the Angelic capital was lost in the first undead invasion.

The Angelic powers that are still known are: Spirit wings, Spirit healing, Spirit barriers and more. Users of Light spirit can also channel their spirit into their spirit weapons. This can enhance their weapons power by increasing its range, sharpness and raw power. It is also possible to discharge the spirit energy towards a target to attack from a longer range.

Dark Aether
Used by the Demons, half-Demons and dark elves. Each type of Demon has an additional use of their powers (along with their spirit weapon) that somehow affects the souls of their enemies or their own soul. Succubi leech the aether of other beings, Jinn turn their body into aether and become incorporeal, Blood wolves can transform into any creature of whom they have tasted the blood (and by extension their souls), Oni increase their own physical strenght immensely by burning through their own soul, etc. Dark spirit is believed to come from a connection with Ashera, the goddess of Darkness.

Each Demon uses Aether in one specific way and cannot use it in any other way. A Jinn won't be able to leech spirit from others and a Succubus won't be able to become incorporeal. However a hybrid child born from two types of demons will be able to use both his parents powers.

The Ancient Demons had many different ways to use dark spirit but most of those were lost after the Cataclysm. A handfull of individuals still hold some of these powers. These individuals hold a soul of a dead demon and control it's power with their minds, mixing Aether and PSI energy.

Half-demons use their spirit in the same way as their demon parent. Dark elves have mostly abandoned it in favor of magic. But dark elven males are not allowed to use magic and many choose to train their soul instead. They generally use aether to enhance their weapons in the same way as Light aether users do. Dark elves with more knowledge of this art are rare as dark elven society heavily discourages it. Many of the dark elven men who revolted against their matriarchs had been practicing the art in secret.

Another group that uses Dark Aether are witches. The first witch Eqate made a pact with an ancient demon. Ever since then witches have sought out demons to make a pact with. They give the demon some of their magic and in exchange the demon gives them a spirit weapon. The spirit weapons of witches like these are less powerful than a normal one. However, with their strong magic and a spirit weapon at their side a witch can be even more dangerous than a demon.

Gloaming Aether
Some legends speak of a creature that is half Angel and half Demon who can wield a mixture of both Aethers. The creature is called a Nephilim and their Soul is one of twilight.

Divine Aether
Some people believe that the gods have a special type of soul. A soul that is neither light nor dark and superior to that of mortals. Others believe that the gods are completely spiritual beings made entirely of pure Aether.

Believers of Eli and/or Ashera deny the existence of a fourth aether. As they believe Eli and/or Ashera are/is the only god(s) and Eli/ Ashera is the source of Light/ Dark Aether.

Archon
Archon is a member of ChaoZ and as a distant descendant of the Angels he can control Light spirit. He uses his spirit to form energy arrows. His father left him a bow to fire the arrows with. The bow was made from a bone of a dracolich and its nature infuses the spirit arrows with undeath essence. Archon also knows some of the angelic abilities passed down to him by the Order of Eli, which he was once a part of.

Mioki
Mioki is a succubus and as mentioned above has a microphone as spirit weapon. Her singing affects the souls of her enemies and or allies as long as they hear it. The better they can hear it the stronger the effect. She has many songs in her repetoire, each with its own effect. She switches between heavy metal and J-pop depending on what effect she needs. As a succubus she can also use the abilities of her race. Which include feeding on the souls of her enemies. A lesser known ability of succubi is that they can also do the opposite and give someone some their spirit.

Endo
Endo is a half-demon and a member of ChaoZ. His spirit weapon is a suit of heavy armor made out of an unknown metal. When he summons it he also turns into his demonic form in which he grows wings and increases his physical strength. When not in battle he remains in his human form. He also has a giant sword that is inscribed with runes and allows him to use a few magic spells. He can only wield it in his demon form because it is so heavy.

Doomy
Doomy, which is not his real name, is a soul reaper and was a member of ChaoZ. His aunt was the being known as Death. After she died he took over her job together with his totally-not-girlfriend Reganya and his sister Empress Valkyria. His spirit weapon is a scythe made out of shadow. When he fuses with Reganya he also gets powers of a reaper and can control ghosts and ectoplasm.

Valkyria
Empress of Valkyrea, the leftovers of what was once the Blackshroud empire. She is Doomy's sister and also related to Death. She only recently came into her spirit powers. So far she has only used them once when she took control over the afterlife. Aside from controlling the well of souls she can also sprout a pair of black wings. Inside the afterlife/Well of souls she is practically omnipotent. Up to the point where she can control the fourth wall. This is not the case outside of the afterlife however. She can still see past the fourth wall then but has no real control over it. Before she discovered her heritage she used Darkness magic and wielded her fathers black sword. Her spirit weapon is currently unknown.