Ether (XC)

Ether is a prominent elemental substance and the source of all life in the Xenoblade Chronicles series.
==Properties==
Ether's most commonly seen form is in rivers of liquid ether, which glow bright green or blue and flow in rivers and lakes beneath the surface of Titans in a manner similar to blood. In its liquid state, ether is extremely dangerous, rapidly burning or corroding anything that falls into it; Xord's normally nigh-invincible Mechon armor is destroyed by him being pushed into a lake of raw ether, rendering him vulnerable to even conventional weaponry.
In all three games, liquid ether is compressed into s, to simply powering light sources.
Ether is also present in the atmosphere, the movement of which (described as wavelengths) can be manipulated by various weapons and tools.
==Story==
===Xenoblade Chronicles===
Ether is the life-blood of both the Bionis and Mechonis. Zanza states that the Monado is a tool capable of controlling the ether of the world itself, which is why it allows its wielder to see visions of the future.
In order to feed himself, Zanza created various life forms to act as ether sources. From his cast-off cells, he created the High Entia to act as his feeding mechanism; when the Bionis needs ether, it emits a high concentration of ether particles, triggering a gene which transforms the High Entia into Telethia. The Telethia then rampage across the Bionis, eradicating all life from its surface and returning their ether to the Bionis. The ancient High Entia became aware of their intended destiny and began breeding with Homs in an attempt to eradicate this gene, leading to half-blooded High Entia such as Melia who would be immune to the transformation.
According to Sharla, both Homs and High Entia are vulnerable to a condition known as "ether deficiency", which is caused by sudden drops in the surrounding environment's ether levels. This is only observed to happen when a Telethia drains the ether from Melia and her guards; stated symptoms include nausea and fatigue. Sharla is able to cure the condition by using exceptionally-pure Water Ether Crystals to add more ether to the area around the victim.
The Homs bury their dead, believing that this returns their ether to the Bionis. This is summarized by the old saying, "what's born of the Bionis is returned to the Bionis", which Reyn refers to as "the way of the Homs".
===Xenoblade Chronicles 2===
Just like in the previous game, ether is prominent in both the atmosphere and the lifeblood of Alrest's titans. As such, it is used day-to-day in all sorts of affairs and seen in the Ether Furnaces of Artificial Blades and the standard issue Ether Nets of the Ardainian military. 
Ether lines, like a bloodstream, run through the bodies of Titans and s alike. In order to protect the secret of Tantal's royal lineage, the royal family siphons the ether from Genbu's ether lines to manufacture an annual tribute of Core Chips to distribute to the Indoline Praetorium in exchange for prolonged secrecy. Doing so causes Genbu's ether lines to dim, resulting in Tantal's cold climates and diminished agricultural yields. 
Unlike Homs, humans in Alrest are seemingly unaffected by ether fluctuations in the atmosphere. Blades, on the other hand, draw their power from the ether in the atmosphere and will naturally experience fatigue in environments with low ether levels such as Spirit Crucible Elpys. Flesh Eaters and Blade Eaters are not exempt from experiencing this fatigue. Some blades like Obrona can manipulate the ether in the atmosphere.
According to Malos, Artifices hold enough ether energy to rival even the largest of Alrest's titans. This ether energy is sourced directly from the Conduit and channeled through each Artifice's .
===Xenoblade Chronicles 3===
Agnus's Ether technology are used to power up their Ferronises and Levnises.
==In-game==
===Xenoblade Chronicles===
s and s can be obtained throughout the game, and used to craft s.
===Xenoblade Chronicles 2===
s are used to upgrade Poppi.
===Xenoblade Chronicles 3===
s can be obtained from Ether Channels.
==Lore==
* In Xenoblade Chronicles, Sword Valley is stated to drain ether from the Bionis, which is used to form anti-Bionis weaponry used by the Mechon later in the game. This implies a difference between the types of ether that exist on the Bionis and Mechonis, but beyond this stated use and the different shapes of ether crystal deposits on the different titans, no other differences have been observed, and s obtained on both are functionally identical to each other.
* Egil states that only the Bionis feeds on the ether of dead life forms, and that the Mechonis does not. How the Mechonis feeds, or if it even needs to, remains unknown.
==In other languages==
Category:Lore (XC1)