Energies of the natural universe. Aether existed before the universe, representing the two fundamental powers - chaos and order,
anumun and
viridian aether, creation and destruction, destruction and creation, natural chaos and natural law. As these two energies conflicted, reality asserted itself, and the cosmos was born. This moment was called
genesis, and that moment of active creation is reformed in all acts of creation.
The energy of natural chaos, of change, of wild generation, of raw energy. It is also present in the
True Names of all aetherial beings. Part of the primordial ocean that existed before the universe,
anumun exists in select pools on
Shem, as it does everywhere in the universe, remnants of the eruption that resulted when the primordia came into conflict with one another.
- Primary species: dumu, akhoata known as the Folk of the Mounds, born within the pools of anumun on Shem.
- Primary occupations: mahra, witches who protect and wield the pools of anumun found throughout Shem, and who can connect with it within their True Names.
The energy of life itself. The natural essence of life found in all living things. It has the power to heal, to preserve, and to protect. If distilled, it can take the formof
argentflame, which burns anything antithetical to life (such as the
undead). It is the aetherial essence of the body, and in it is found the essence of aetherial ancestry, usually tied to bloodlines (but not always).
- Primary species: elves, tall folk who are imbued with immense amounts of ashar, giving them long life and the ability to shape all life around them.
- Primary occupations: vitalists, healers who use specially corded ropes to transfer ashar from one body to another in order to heal them; viryans, tahawals who use ashar to transform their bodies to better represent their own genders and wield it via sex magic; silver torches, vigilantes who wield argentflame to fight evil; and rhondae, athletes who tap into their own ashar to improve their bodies to compete with.
The energy of metal. Metals are known as the "veins of the world", representing the flow of energies below ground. This energy is present in any metal, especially aetherial metals, and can be tapped into via the shaping of, forging of, mixing of, or mining of said metals. It is considered one of the
ordinal aethers in
Dabusenese cultures on Shem, and it is associated with the symbol of the white tiger.
- Primary species: living metals, elementals made of metal, starting as sentient ore, but often shaped into forms, which dictates the depths of their consciousness.
- Primary occupations: shimisis, smiths who know how to work aetherial metals; jiaobans, artisans who mix aetherial metals into aetherial alloys; and watujis, miners who specialize in finding and extracting aetherial ores.
The energy of seasons. Every season has its own energy, but the overall energy is called
bidliet. It is almost always used in the form of one of its six parts -
vernal energy (spring),
aestial energy (summer),
autumnal energy,
hiemal energy (winter),
monsoon energy (wet season), or
drywind energy (dry season).
- Primary species: mibdulas, metahumans who change with the seasons; vernalians, green folk who blossom in the spring; oak folk, tall folk empowered in the summer; hrupkajs, hidden folk who rustle like fallen leaves when they move; holly folk, tall folk empowered by the winter; alisngaws, strange folk who come out during the wet season; derek'inetis, insubstantiates made of living dry air.
- Primary occupations: salvjas, witches attuned to the seasons; vernalists, healers who rejuvenate with special flower concoctions; acorn warriors, warriors who are bonded to oak trees; gotovits, cooks who create autumnal feasts; carolers, musicians whose voices ring with the energy of winter; tigbaligyas, merchants who arrive with the wet season; and sangchenies, papermakers who use the dry season to make parchment that lasts ages.
The energy of weather and climate. Different forms of weather have various aspects of
bijalee, but it is often wielded in its full form to command all forms of weather. It is also an energy that reflects aetherial patterns. Various forms of weather most commonly found include clement weather, cyclones, derechos and squals, hail and sleet, haze and dust, rain, sand- or duststorms, mist and fog, snow and blizzards, sunshowers, thunder and lightning, thunderstorms, tornadoes or other whirls, and windstorms.
- Primary species: mahpiyatuwawas, elementals who are living storms; shuddh, akhoata who are empowered by the rain; morwynians, beast folk trickster people who create sunshowers; grisites, insinsi who dwell in haze; ceotire, tall folk who dwell in the mist; and clinareans, green folk who make the world around them more clement.
- Primary occupations: tempestarii, esotericists who use special weather vane staves to absorb weather and release it; paka'ses, healers who use clement weather to affect the health of others; indagaters, investigators who use bijalee to examine patterns and solve mysteries; daedalists, transporters who sail via cyclones; miswiders, prophets who examine the patterns of derechos and squalls to make predictions; colaajes, artists who create mosaics out of dust and haze; grandinasts, warriors who use hail and sleet during sieges; chlamysians, spies who use mist and fog to sneak about; dhonas, washers who cleanse things with rain; qursans, pirates who sail via sandstorm; grylukerts, musicians who control snow via song; chigonaais, healers who nurse people to health via sunshowers; aturulas, preachers who wield thunder and lightning to spread the word; ponenenes, warriors of lightning and thunder; dawsosawzees, dancers who create or control whirlwinds and other whirls; kzelmsens, and elders who are attuned to windstorms.
The energy of objects in orbit around the Angeldawn sun, specifically the planets, mesoplanets, asteroids, meteors, and comets, as well as other cosmic objects. It is also the energy of rotation and revolution around the sun.
The energy of light, aetherial light.
The energy of water in all its forms. It is the energy of flowing aether, of the aetherial heart, and of the living things within water. It is one of the most potent, versatile, and common forms of aether on Shem. Aspects of it include rivers, streams, creeks, and other flowing waters; rain; oceans and seas; lakes and ponds; wetlands (
parfum de marais); tidal and coastal waters; lagoons, gulfs, and bays; channels and straits; steam and tropics; the wet season; and ice and snow (for ice and snow, see below at
hvittdogg).
- Primary species: undines, elementals and akhoata who are living beings of water; shuddh, akhoata who are empowered by the rain; lake folk, tall folk who live in lakes; hinkypunks, insubstantiates who are living lights within wetlands; merfolk, beast folk who are part fish; foungas, tall folk who live along coasts; parapunas, empathic metahumans who are attuned to the flow of emotion; rlagolas, strange folk who dwell in lagoons; ssthessemes, insubstantiates made of steam; servulians, strange folk of the rivers; and alisngaws, stange folk who come out during the wet season.
- Primary occupations: blue mages, esotericists who soak in water in order to wield it; metapols, investigators who use currents to see what is happening in the world; bawmaches, rangers of the wetlands; lekers, esotericists who submerge in water to sense or affect emotions; gigunyikwinis, fishers of lakes and ponds; naufragia, transporters who use conflueverant to sail their ships; pappus, laborers who use plumbing to control steam; toutais, transporters who sail the coasts and tides; zaraelas, zoanthropes of the lagoons; tigbaligyas, merchants who arrive with the wet season; nautipolemists, warriors who defend straits; and caeneans, warrior tahawals who transform with the flow of waters.
The energy of fungi. The vast, complex lifeforms that connect via mycellium networks or form as mold in damp places, fungi are a separate taxon and have their own unique, rare, and strange aether.
The energy of creation, formed at the start of the universe.
- Primary species: shemir, insinsi who are attuned to the making of things.
- Primary occupations: aedificarians, artisans who generate energy via the act of making to make themselves better crafters.
The energy of the desert, of arid regions, of xeric shrublands, of sand, of plateaus, and of the dry season. This also includes energies of the oases.
- Primary species: anzilaq, beast folk with sandworm features; tarir, hidden folk of the xeric shrublands; dhu'arjuls, goat-legged beast folk of the oases; and derek'inetis, insubstantiates made of living dry air;
- Primary occupations: samaaeats, musicians whose whispers control sand; memihiris, teachers who wield aridity to clear minds; wormsingers, wranglers and musicians who control sandworms; waterfinders, guides who lead people to oases in deserts; applanaters, rangers of the plateaus; hagazis, rangers of the xeric shrublands; and sangchenies, papermakers who use the dry season to make parchment that lasts ages.
The energy of islands of all kinds, from all climates. This includes the energy of magma and lava, of volcanoes, of reefs, of atolls, of rocky islands, tropical islands, polar islands, islets, isthmuses, and more.
- Primary species: rychelleys, elementals who are island turtles; si'i kakai, hidden folk of the tropics; reef folk, tall folk of the reefs; and magma folk, strange folk with molten flesh.
- Primary occupations: kelasis, transporters who can sail islands; lawaii'a, fishers who can draw up magma with their hooks; ri-kattors, morrigans from atolls who draw power from it to fight with their spears; kanaka manos, zoanthropes who turn into reef-dwelling sharks to fight; odigoses, rangers of rock islands; carvers, artisans who carve self-propelling rafts with obsidian knives; mea imis, seekers who sail from islet to islet; famasis, artisans who create chemicals from fruits found on tropical isles; arvagasuktis, hunters of whales on the cold seas and polar isles; and rapas, warriors who guard isthmuses.
The energy of ice, snow, and cold, of the polar regions, of winter. Cryovolcanoes and polar ice, glaciers, tundras, boreal forests, and the living things of colder climates are included, as are snow-topped mountains. It is also the energy of stasis. Technically, this is a subset of
conflueverant.
- Primary species: yetis, beast folk living in the frozen mountains; holly folk, tall folk who are empowered by the winter; utakans, strange folk who stalk the glaciers and tundras; frostlings, akhoata of ice and frost living in cryovolcanoes and polar ice; jiknjons, insubstantiates made of freezing air; and adlets, beast folk living in the ice floes of the far south.
- Primary occupations: grylukerts, musicians who sing the snow; carolers, musicians whose voices ring with the energy of winter; vyzivateli, rangers of the glaciers and tundras; volshebniki, esotericists who wield the frost of their hearts as magic; arvagasuktis, hunters of whales on the cold seas; pholothoins, cultists who worship a cryovolcano in Gyrah; ridzegspas, guides amongst the highest mountains; ogvugsligts, engineers who uses the power of stasis; and ataskotamowins, artisans who make things from all the materials of the boreal and polar regions.
The energy of earth and stone, of soil and loam, of gem and jewel, of mountain and hill, of salt and dirt, of cave and cavern. The energy of the continents and tectonics plates.
- Primary species: glebouan, elementals of deep earth; meleks, elementals made of living stone; chthonians, hidden folk who dwell within caves; salt folk, tall folk who live by the sea and thrive off the salt air; khagals, jeweled metahumans; tupqars, strange folk who dwell in cliffs and canyons; high folk, tall folk who live atop mountains; and hill folk, hidden folk who dwell in the hills.
- Primary occupations: earth mages, esotericists who bathe in soil and dirt to control the earth; cavefinders, guides who lead people into the depths of the world; glyptographers, artisans who work with aetherial gemstones; gayasaas, bandits who are empowered by the hills; alpenstockers, rangers of the mountains; petrologers, esotericists who wield the power of stones; endubs, cooks who use aetherial salts; baurmand, masons of aetherial stone; sikyangpus, sculptors who craft statues in the sides of cliffs and canyons; and asthenologers, engineers who wield the power of tectonics.
The energy of the winds, of the sky, of atmosphere, of air itself, and the aetherial mind.
The energy of the four fundamental forces. The aether of gravity, of electromagnetism, and of the weak (decay) and strong interactions (binding). This is a very common aether that is rarely wielded, as so few understand it.
- Primary species: okugatta, constructs created from the fusion of other beings, but who also decay and deform; the kene, aliens from the world Weptaram who embody gravity; and wakudas, insubstantiates made of electromagnetism that are spirals of colorful energy.
- Primary occupations: olimiolim, scientists who wield kuvva in laboratories, all of the forces, but especially electromagnetism; okukururas, transporters who sail space via gravity sailers; coadunaters, builders who create spacecraft via strong interaction; and gusenyuka, hackers who wield weak interaction to eradicate data.
The energy of fire, flame, blaze, and heat. The energy of ash and smoke. The energy of passion and intensity. The energy of conflagration and consumption, volcanoes and magma. The energy of wildfires, bonfires, campfires, hearth fires, kitchen fires, and house fires. Aetherial flame and aetherial conflict.
- Primary species: ka'ar, elementals of flame, salamandrian people; magma folk, strange folk with molten flesh; karatuhcus, strange folk of ash and ember; napash, strange folk who breathe fire through their tusked mouths and fight wars; qalbi, metahumans who ignite with flame as they are overwhelmed by passion; and smokelings, insubstantiates of living smoke.
- Primary occupations: incendia, esotericists who breathe flame from bottles; lawaii'a, fishers who can draw up magma with their hooks; pembakars, tahawals who are reborn in ash; shabahs, spies who sneak through smoke; farrises, smiths who are always women; risams, artists who work in ash and soot with deep passion; causimancers, esotericists who read the future in wildfires; and muharibs, warriors of flame.
The energy of Shem's moons, of reflection and cycles, of the night.
The energy of the sun. Of the corona, of sunlight, of warmth, of summer, of the day, of honor.
The energy of acids and bases that are caustic. The energy of caustic materials.
The energy of animals. Beasts. Many animal taxons have their own energies: amphibians, arthropods, birds, fish, mammals, mollusks, novotheria, pluribi, reptiles, worms, and other animals.
- Primary species: animal folk, animals that have taken on anthropomorphic features.
- Primary occupations: wildlings, wranglers who bond with any kind of animal by copying their behavior; frogcaster, esotericists and wranglers who wield the hallucinatory magic of amphibians; hyperentomologers, scientists and wranglers who command arthropods; birdsingers, musicians and wranglers who communicate with birds; ickthyologers, esotericists and wranglers who command the power of fish; beastfriends, wranglers of mammals who befriend them via blood pact; snail racers, transporters or athletes and wranglers who ride giant snails; spinydancers, dancers and wranglers whose dances draw novotheria to them; tovajo'as, maskers who take on masks of animals not covered in other categories; inverters, tahawals and wranglers who alter themselves by mimicking pluribi; reptilists, wranglers who bond with and control reptiles; and wormfarmers, farmers and wranglers who keep massive beds of worms.
The energy of death and aetherial souls. The energy of death as a part of nature.
The energy of plants, of verdure. The energy of the forest (
huldran energy), of the plains (
livadi), of the wetlands (
parfum de marais), of all plants. Trees (coniferous ((
tykva vlast) or deciduous), flowering plants (
hasken fure), ferns, cycads, algae, mosses, and other plants, as well as non-taxonomic categories like crops, herbs, bushes, gourds, and vines.
- Primary species: green folk, plant people of any kind; bryonians, green folk who resemble moss; centaurs, beast folk of the plains; hinkypunks, insubstantiates of the wetlands; radandes, green folk of the forests; fluers, green folk and akhoata of flowers; dryades, nymphs bonded to trees; forest folk, hidden folk of the deep woods; giants, strange folk of the farmlands; sushennys, hidden folk of the taiga; kelpies, akhoata of algae; ebikoolas, green folk who resemble ferns; and dudums, green folk who resemble gourds.
- Primary occipations: dendrologers, botanicists who can channel the power of trees; taiga mages, botanicists and esotericists who wield the power of conifers; flowergirls, witches attuned to the cycles of flowers; sussorors, musicians and botanicists who control the grasslands with the sussuration; verdurians, botanicists who can draw the power from any plant; chlorotides, botanicists and transporters who wield the power of algae to travel the waters; balmists, chemists and botanicists who use cycads to make healing concoctions; herbalists, healers and botanicists who use herbs for healing; amberbalers, farmers who wield the power of the harvest to grow crops; entanglers, warriors who wield vines to fight; moss mages, botanicists and esotericists who use moss to wield magic; fterios, fools dressed as ferns; cucuribist, botanicists and artisans who make things from gourds; botaners, scientists who study magical plants; bawmaches, rangers of the wetlands; rangers, rangers who protect forests; xylourgos, carpenters of aetherial wood; and hedgemasters, puzzle makers and botanicists who make hedge mazes.
The energy of the cosmos, of stars, nebulae, blackholes, constellations, and other objects found in outer space outside the solar system.
- Primary species: asterians, aliens from the stars; logoses, inmortals from the distant constellations and galaxies; and the naegotuu, aliens from blackholes and nebulae.
- Primary occupations: plicators, transporters who fold space to move through it; astrologers, esotericists who read the stars; cosmonauts, transporters who fly spaceships; camarlis, esotericists who commune with logoses; harhamats, faithful who channel stardust from nebulae; securisators, hackers who wield cosmic power to control computers; uberants, wranglers who herd galactic tricows; and hyperastronomers, scientists who use cosmic power to study the universe.
The energy of glass. Also the energy of clarity.
The energy of sound, of aetherial sound.
The energy of time.
The energy of the harvest, of nourishment, of farms, agriculture, crops, and livestock. This is also the energy of the aetherial hunt, both predator and prey.
The energy of darkness.
The energy of microbes, especially aetherial bacteria.
The energy of natural law.
- Primary species: viridianites, elementals who embody various elements and the laws that govern them.
- Primary occupations: druids, faithful who channel the power of elementals.