Guild Wars 2

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ethereal_Soul_Explosion Ritualists
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ether_Renewal Elementalists
https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ethereal_Light Monks
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Spectral_Wall Necromancers
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ether_Bolt Mesmers

All spellcasters seem to have some ability to manipulate the proto-matter “ether”

The process of attuning, while normally applied to elementalists, is not exclusive to them.
https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Life_Attunement

Is attuning and ether related? We know that magic in the leylines is combined, but that dragons and spellcasters use different energy signatures. Are we just turning ether into energy? Do all spellcasters have their own version of
https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ether_Prism to split the spectrum?

We were told in an interview a while back that ether was basically the core fundamental energies that make up magic, not fully known to even the most scholarly individuals, and was compared to, IIRC, dark matter.

Here is a collection of various lore interviews (the original source doesn’t seem to be accessible anymore); I’ll extract the part about the aether here:

In Tyria, “aether” refers to the metaphysical substance that occupies the spaces between matter and energy; analogous to the vacuum of space between planets as well as the space between protons and neutrons (if said vacuum of space had a magical presence to it). It is not a definable and measurable thing like ley lines, which represent the actual flow of magical energy through and across Tyria.

As such, aether is one aspect of the magic mortals or Elder Dragons use. It is part of the magical/physical structure of the universe, but unavailable for direct study—sort of like dark matter: there is something there, a presence that includes a magical aspect, which we can observe and verify from the effects it produces, but so far no one can reproducibly locate, measure, or study it. They’ve only learned how to tap it. If tapping a source of power you don’t entirely understand sounds dangerous to you, that’s because it is.

According to the given definition, I guess one could attune to aether like if it was, let’s say, fire magic. By the process of attuning magic users focus on a particular aspect of magic, making use of it effectively (elementalists are the best example). On a side note, attuning to multiple aspects of magic at the same time might be very dangerous and difficult, if not impossible, to most.

Sock.2785:

Here is a collection of various lore interviews (the original source doesn’t seem to be accessible anymore); I’ll extract the part about the aether here:

In Tyria, “aether” refers to the metaphysical substance that occupies the spaces between matter and energy; analogous to the vacuum of space between planets as well as the space between protons and neutrons (if said vacuum of space had a magical presence to it). It is not a definable and measurable thing like ley lines, which represent the actual flow of magical energy through and across Tyria.

As such, aether is one aspect of the magic mortals or Elder Dragons use. It is part of the magical/physical structure of the universe, but unavailable for direct study—sort of like dark matter: there is something there, a presence that includes a magical aspect, which we can observe and verify from the effects it produces, but so far no one can reproducibly locate, measure, or study it. They’ve only learned how to tap it. If tapping a source of power you don’t entirely understand sounds dangerous to you, that’s because it is.

According to the given definition, I guess one could attune to aether like if it was, let’s say, fire magic. By the process of attuning magic users focus on a particular aspect of magic, making use of it effectively (elementalists are the best example). On a side note, attuning to multiple aspects of magic at the same time might be very dangerous and difficult, if not impossible, to most.

Then aether is diffferent from ether. Because ether is like quarks and by this quote aether just basically means outer space to them.

Daniel Handler.4816:

Then aether is diffferent from ether. […]

I forgot to quote the interviewer’s question, here it is:

What is ‘ether’ and how does it relate to the kind of magic our characters use, the ley lines and dragon energy?

Seems like aether and ether are really the same, just a difference in spelling, like color and colour.

Daniel Handler.4816:

[…] by this quote aether just basically means outer space to them.

But it’s really not outer space, that’s not what they said; they compared it to dark matter: it’s not directly observable but its interactions with the typical matter are.

Sock.2785:

Daniel Handler.4816:

Then aether is diffferent from ether. […]

I forgot to quote the interviewer’s question, here it is:

What is ‘ether’ and how does it relate to the kind of magic our characters use, the ley lines and dragon energy?

Seems like aether and ether are really the same, just a difference in spelling, like color and colour.

Daniel Handler.4816:

[…] by this quote aether just basically means outer space to them.

But it’s really not outer space, that’s not what they said; they compared it to dark matter: it’s not directly observable but its interactions with the typical matter are.

Really? Ether = aether. They are that lazy. Regardless this reveals a pretty frustrating lore discrepancy.

“As such, aether is one aspect of the magic mortals or Elder Dragons use. It is part of the magical/physical structure of the universe, but unavailable for direct study…no one can reproducibly locate, measure, or study it…”
http://pactfiftythird.enjin.com/mobile/forum/viewthread/m/28600115/id/19093296-lore-article-directory

It clearly is locatable .
“By focusing the ether around my body…”
https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Research_Journal

The Pale tree can locate the Dream.
“The Dream itself is said to be made of aether and memories”
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dream_of_Dreams

There are are things we can study.
“[Demons] are made from the Mists themselves, bits of etheric matter that have gained malignant sentience and power”
-https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Demon

There are ways to reproduce it
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ethereal_field’

And the whole concept of Dynamics and their portal gates, as well as Mesmer Magic in general, is based on studying ether.

The only way to justify this seeming inconsistency is that ether is the invisible substance. While ethereal is the visible energy, and etheric is the visible matter.

Aether is everywhere, “it’s a metaphysical substance that occupies the space between planets as well as the space between protons and neutrons (if said space had a magical presence to it)”, but unlike other aspects of magic it’s not itself detectable (locatable) like, for example, ley lines are.

The main fact is that in Tyria’s universe sentient beings can sense and use magic, since, as suggested by Snaff’s research, mind and magic are linked; this is the reason why Gwen and mesmers in general can manipulate aether, it being one aspect of magic amongst others, but they don’t entirely understand it. In addition, mesmers make also use of chaos magic and possibly mind magic.

As for the Dream of Dreams, it’s stated in the wiki that its true nature is unknown even to the Pale Tree; even though it is deeply tied to it, considering that it acts as its custodian, the Pale Tree doesn’t know how it really works. Personally, the Dream appears to be one of the many realms of the mists, and as such accessible by outsiders via portals. Sylvari themselves spawn from it and are transported physically in Tyria just later via the Pale Tree; Sylvari seems to be a creation of the mists much like Razah or the demons you mentioned are. Aether might have a role in generating such beings (by the way this knowledge comes to us from the game’s manual and as such might be one that’s not shared with tyrians, unless specifically said), but I don’t see how one could directly study or measure it this way.

Daniel Handler.4816:

There are ways to reproduce it.

That’s not what “reproducibly [locate, measure, or study]” meant. Also, one doesn’t reproduce aether; you use it.

Ultimately, I don’t really see any discrepancy, at least not in the ones you mentioned so far.

P.S. Where is it stated that Dynamics’s exponents study or make use of aether?

Sock.2785:

Aether is everywhere, “it’s a metaphysical substance that occupies the space between planets as well as the space between protons and neutrons (if said space had a magical presence to it)”, but unlike other aspects of magic it’s not itself detectable (locatable) like, for example, ley lines are.

The main fact is that in Tyria’s universe sentient beings can sense and use magic, since, as suggested by Snaff’s research, mind and magic are linked; this is the reason why Gwen and mesmers in general can manipulate aether, it being one aspect of magic amongst others, but they don’t entirely understand it. In addition, mesmers make also use of chaos magic and possibly mind magic.

As for the Dream of Dreams, it’s stated in the wiki that its true nature is unknown even to the Pale Tree; even though it is deeply tied to it, considering that it acts as its custodian, the Pale Tree doesn’t know how it really works. Personally, the Dream appears to be one of the many realms of the mists, and as such accessible by outsiders via portals. Sylvari themselves spawn from it and are transported physically in Tyria just later via the Pale Tree; Sylvari seems to be a creation of the mists much like Razah or the demons you mentioned are. Aether might have a role in generating such beings (by the way this knowledge comes to us from the game’s manual and as such might be one that’s not shared with tyrians, unless specifically said), but I don’t see how one could directly study or measure it this way.

Daniel Handler.4816:

There are ways to reproduce it.

That’s not what “reproducibly [locate, measure, or study]” meant. Also, one doesn’t reproduce aether; you use it.

Ultimately, I don’t really see any discrepancy, at least not in the ones you mentioned so far.

P.S. Where is it stated that Dynamics’s exponents study or make use of aether?

“His work with asura gates gave him expertise in handling etheric couplings.”
- https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Golemancer

In the Guild Wars Novel “Sea of Sorrows” it is revealed that only graduates from the college of Dynamics are able to build and repair the gates. (page 337)
- https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Asura_gate

How is the Pale Tree unable to reliably locate the Dream, which is made of Aether?
How are people building asura gates unable to reliably locate areas in the mists?
Demons are made of ether and only ether, has no one ever studied them?
How can we make ethereal fields with different properties if we can’t reproducibly study ether?

Physicists indirectly study dark matter by observing its interactions with its surroundings, developing hypotheses on what it could be; they still can’t directly observe and tell what it really is. We know what it does (and doesn’t) interact with and how.

Tyrians study aether in much the same way but the similarity ends here, since the types of interactions displayed are very different. Aether is one aspect of magic and as such sentient beings learned how to tap it; whether you approach it scholarly or with magitech, you are just observing its interactions and are still fundamentally unsure on what it really is. Let’s consider asura gates: we know they are powered by magic, we (players) don’t really know how they function, but if aether were crucial to their existence dynamicists would simply exploit its interactions via magitech while still not knowing what it is, because they can’t directly observe it. So, again, they can study it indirectly but they ultimately don’t know what it is. All of this applies to aether related spells too.
On a side note, let’s also consider that chaos magic (yet another mysterious magical aspect) displays teleporting capabilities and we know mesmers make use of it too.

Passing onto the Dream of Dreams and demons; this is from the Nightfall Manuscripts (Razah’s wiki page):

The protomatter that makes up the Mists strains toward creation, often spawning demonic creations in nightmarish forms. Not all creatures from the Mists are demonic, however. When the Mists come into contact with a suitable human template, for example, it can copy that form, creating a sentient entity with humanoid appearance and an almost human mind.

Razah is one such creation. It has sprung into being a fully-formed adult. It has the knowledge and capabilities of a human, but lacks common sense. As a result, it asks odd questions about human emotions, contemplates human motivations, and attempts to duplicate human mannerisms. Razah is a contradiction: more than human in some ways, and less than human in others. It needs an identity, a personality, and a purpose. Hopefully, it will find its purpose by working with a hero. Otherwise, it could degenerate into an abomination as monstrous and inhuman as its demonic brethren.

Razah’s genesis and attitude are disturbingly similar to that of the sylvari. Razah sprung from the Realm of Torment much like the sylvari sprung from the Dream, they just differ in appearance: one looks like it’s made of flesh, the others are made from vegetation; this is one of the reasons why I think the Dream is a realm of the Mists. Point is, I don’t know the source of this quote: “the Dream itself is said to be made of aether and memories”, and if it is reliable knowledge afterall; let’s assume it is: the Pale Tree could simply connect to it without needing to know what the Dream is made of, much like mesmers (as I explained earlier) use aether without knowing what it really is.
While we don’t have the certainty the Dream is a realm of the Mists (even though I personally think it is) we know for certain that demons spawn from the Mists, specifically those from the Realm of Torment, but we ultimately don’t know what the protomatter that makes up the Mists and its creations is. While we know magic can and does flow through the Mists, I doubt it is its only component.

@sock
So basically the part we see of ethereal magic is the form it has taken.
Meaning ether isn’t magenta, chaos magic is magenta.

Daniel Handler.4816:

So basically the part we see of ethereal magic is the form it has taken.
Meaning ether isn’t magenta, chaos magic is magenta.

That could be one way of putting it, but more precisely we just witness its interactions.
And yes, most likely aether isn’t linked to a colour in the magical spectrum – quite possibly chaos magic appears as magenta/fuchsia; mind magic is also quite oriented in that direction, appearing as pink/fuchsia.