What is Æther?

A young mage is told by his master that it the energy used for magic, synonymous to mana

A mage adept is told that it is magic in its purest and realest form, magic incarnate.

Only a master knows that Æther is a realm. The realm of magic that is a part of our own, connected to Purnoma by the living things inhabiting it. Every thing that has life coursing through it has a small bit of Æther in it.

Humans have a small connection which they can exploit for magic. Theirs is not so strong, leading them to draw the energy from other things around them.

Beastmen have an inherently strong, but fixed connection to the realm, granting them strong abilities revolving around a simple power.

Vampires are forsaken the touch of Æther and so draw upon the natural world, the only vengeance the world having is to rob the fiends of their reflection and burn them in sunlight.

But elves, elves are connected in the greatest way of all. Their connection ebbs and flows around them, never remaining constant unless manipulated by a powerful mage. even the most ignorant of elves can use this connection for simple tasks.

Æther is a hazy realm. It seems as though the natural world has lost all focus and turned a azure tint. THings which do no live appear transparent. Only the most powerful of mages can safely travel this place of magic, the inexperienced losing their minds in the evertwisting realm, never to return to their bodies, often becoming a part of the very dimension.

Æther fuels magic and, even though most see it as limitless source of magic, is quite finite. A man unattached from the Æther will not age, but lacks true life. They are, in essence, a vampire. But they are less than that. They have lost what makes them sentient, they are just an empty shell.

So Æther powers the natural world as nature powers Æther. Such has it always been, such as it is now.