Concerning Kai Aether and Shi Aether (Aetherborn Trilogy Concept Design)

mr.scottkenyonub17_ESO

I am vaguely writing a Fan Fiction known as Elder Scrolls Anomaly, as well as the side-story Four Destinies, as part of an expanding trilogy of fan fictions called the Aetherborn Trilogy. This is an article were I go behind the scenes to try and fully grasp and make sense of the strange, extra-universal force that drives the entire trilogy: Aether.

So, what is the Aether? I've been bouncing around ideas ever since I conceived the mysterious force. After recycling old ideas, and playing around with new ones, I came to the conclusion that the Aether is a form of energy that cannot physically manifest in the physical world. It is linked to destiny, structure, and the very fundamental forces that allow worlds to function. It is the force that governs life and death, and after death. It is essentially the lifeblood of all worlds.

Now that that is out of the way, we can discuss the difference between Kai Aether and Shi Aether. Kai Aether is the force linked to time, and is often seen as the light side of the Aether. It allows for time to exist, and also serves as a sort of healing power, which enforces the saying of "time heals all wounds". Shi Aether is often seen as the darker side of the Aether, but is never the less a vital part of the development of worlds. Shi Aether represents a world's tendency to change, to destroy, and to die.

Kai Aether and Shi Aether derive from the Hausa word "Kaishi", or, "transferred". Breaking the word apart, I found that "Kai" is the Lithuanian word for "when" and "Shi" is the Japanese word for "death". Hence, of the fly, I decided that I would use these translations as part of my interpretation of this strange force.

Now, I was blueprinting a mod for Skyrim, which was intended to be made for Gopher, using this very concept. I eventually got to a conclusion that the Aether can physically manifest as shards (Aetherium comes to mind), or as magic wielded by select individuals. Of course, a mere mortal couldn't possibly ever be strong enough to wield such power except through the shards. Then, there is the Aetherborn. The Aetherborn is an individual who has the potential to wield the Aether without effort (Dragonborn, anyone?), and usually is inherent (as in permanent from the beginning), meaning it can be used without the Aetherborn ever realizing it.

No one knows the identity of the Aetherborn at any one time, but it is said that the Aetherborn has the potential to be a permanent fixture once born into the world. Hence, and Aetherborn can be confused with a Vampire or another immortal subject, like an undead. This is because the world could be in danger at any moment, even if no one can see it...

Now, how can this fit into TES? Well, the Aetherborn Trilogy takes place in many different Universes, the tale adapting to the environment presented. In the Elder Scrolls Universe, this is touched upon in the WIP story Elder Scrolls Anomaly and its side story Four Destinies. Aether is a force that can be manipulated, so any sort of disruption of the Aether of TES will be noticeable. In ESO, the plotline of Four Destinies (I am about to get started on it), details how an unexplained force threatens to tear apart the fabric of Mundus itself. I won't spoil what exactly this force is, but let's just say "rocks" are falling from the sky...

Please leave some feedback on this concept. As crazy as it sounds, this is probably one of the most complex concepts I've ever made.