Aether

**Aether**, also known as **Fury Breath** in the games, is the name of the mysterious breath ability in *The Legend of Spyro* trilogy. It is the true element of the Purple Dragons of Legend. It first appeared during the final battle in Convexity, manifesting as purple energy blasts. Throughout the trilogy, Aether has been usable and could be obtained through different means.

## History

With its strength identical of suns, gravity and the righteous might of passing coments, Aether surpasses all of the elements of the Realm. It is the spiritual matter the very universe is made of and the 'true element' of The Purple Dragon of Legend. Its power resides within its connection to the cosmos and specifically to 'spirit energy'. Relics from an age gone by left by the Ancestors in the form of Spirit Gems allow for an opening to this power on the terrestrial plane, as they stimulate the energy of dragons with a life-covering essence obtained from spirit life-force. Aether deals in matters that excel those of the terrestrial elements and draws on deep powerful magics of ancient celestial origins. It can be harnessed, and it is all about how the element uses energy, as it taps into the very well spring of the Purple Dragon, its spirit, or the spirit of others. In this way, energy can be transferred, but other aspects of a dragon's energy can also be transferred.

The power of the Purple Dragon is flexible and limited only by the creative mastery of its wielder; the possibility of Aether affecting the actual colour of other elemental breath abilities could happen. After a Purple Dragon acquires the four pillar elements of Fire, Electricity, Ice and Earth, they will be able to tap into the power of Aether.

### Aether

At critical times, Aether would be the resulting breath a Purple Dragon would use; energy in its purest form and the true power of the Purple Dragon. It has strong connections to light, life, holy might, and cosmic energy. Aether can be projected, moved, repelled, altered and even transferred (as might be the case with a Purple Dragon lending its power or healing another by transferring its own energy). The more energy dealt with, the greater the toll may be for the Purple Dragon that dealt with it. This was demonstrated at the end of *The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning* when Spyro used Aether to defeat Cynder; the strain of using such immense energy left him weak and he temporarily lost his elemental abilities.

Aether can also be used to strip a dragon of their elemental abilities, and purge a corrupted dragon (such as Cynder) from the influence of Dark Aether.

### Dark Aether

When Aether is tainted by the effects of dark magic, or if a Purple Dragon becomes corrupted, Dark Aether is born. The influence of Dark Aether can take over and corrupt the consciousness of the Purple Dragon, as seen in *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night* when Spyro lost control of his Dark form. A Purple Dragon, or a regular Dragon, corrupted by Dark Aether results in their physical appearance taking on a much darker form, notably altering their voice and turning their eyes completely white. The effects of Dark Aether can leave a permanent mark on an individual, with Cynder being a prime example as a result of being corrupted under Malefor's Dark Aether. The darkness has a very real taint that stains; it is a tangible thing much like an essence, and it is the well-spring from which poison and fear rises. Only Aether can effectively fight its dark counterpart and counter its effects.

The untamed power of Dark Aether resembles that of an atom smasher; it dismantles a target at the atomic level, literally "unmaking" it. Its magic leaves behind destructive and withering effects. Like regular Aether, when a purple dragon uses a great deal of Dark Aether, such as unleashing a fury attack, they will be left weakened from the strain.

Having lost his way and abandoned his true calling, Malefor embraced the darkness of Dark Aether, which corrupted his physical appearance and voice. Unlike Dark Spyro, Malefor retained full control over his actions and is in complete control over Dark Aether, as evidenced by his visible pupils compared to Dark Spyro and Dark Cynder's vacant white eyes. He used his dark magic to corrupt Cynder into serving him; its power infused by Dark Aether left a permanent mark on her and dark aspects of Malefor's power, including Aether, were inadvertently passed down to Cynder.

## Abilities

### *A New Beginning*

The Aether ability was only accessible during the boss fight with Cynder in the Convexity realm. During the final phase of the battle, Spyro tapped into the power of Aether when he was subjected to the trauma of being threatened by Cynder's Shadow Fire fury attack. Aether looked similar to the Earth breath, but it was purple and seemed to raise the fury bar with each blast, even if it didn't actually hit Cynder. The Aether Fury Attack apparently opens a portal to another dimension, allowing Spyro to summon multiple copies of his head to defeat Cynder.

### *The Eternal Night*

The Dark Aether breath was accessible in the second half of the Gaul boss fight but it can be unlocked permanently by completing the five "Dragon Challenges". This breath weapon also comes with the Dark Spyro skin. The breath is similar to a laser that, when used while flying, causes Spyro to hover and, while hovering, the beam can be aimed. A melee attack can be used as well that is much faster and more powerful than the standard blows and takes the place of the secondary attack, although it only uses a little bit of energy.

Briefly, in a cutscene, the breath has the effect of partially turning Gaul into stone. When Spyro uses the Aether Fury Attack, the first wave of the Fury turns Gaul completely into a statue before the second burst of the Fury shatters the statue into pieces, killing the Ape King.

### *Dawn of the Dragon*

The Aether breath replaces the original four Fury attacks Spyro had and can also be permanently unlocked when all armor pieces from the third set are placed on Spyro or Cynder. However, this breath will drain the mana bar very quickly. During their battle against Malefor, Spyro and Cynder used the power of Aether against him and his power over Dark Aether. In the ending, Spyro used the power of Aether to stop the world's destruction and rebuild it.

#### Malefor's Dark Aether Breath

In the final boss fight of *Dawn of the Dragon*, Malefor has power over Dark Aether, which is very different than any breath that the player can control. These abilities include Dark Aether Fire, Dark Aether Comet Dash, Dark Aether Bomb, Dark Aether Shield (a barrier that protects him from everything except for Aether Breath) and the Dark Aether Breath.

## Gallery

The dualism between the Light and Darkness of Aether: Spyro and Dark Spyro by Jared PullenSpyro unleashing his Aether Fury upon CynderSpyro's Aether Fury bearing down on CynderSpyro preparing to unleash his Aether Fury upon Cynder in the introduction scene to *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night*Dark Spyro using his Dark Aether Breath on GaulDark Spyro unleashing his Dark Aether fury attackSpyro (left) and Cynder's (right) Fury Breath symbols in *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon* when activatedSpyro and Cynder firing their Aether breathMalefor's Dark Aether BreathSpyro and Cynder's Aether breath (left) clashing with Malefor's Dark Aether breath (right)
## Trivia

* The name "Aether" came directly from the Greek word "Aether", pertaining to the material from which the entire universe is made.
* The name "Aether" was never used nor mentioned in *The Legend of Spyro* games, leaving fans to name the element "Convexity Breath" based on where it first appeared. However it was always the intended name for the element and can be found in the game's coding.
	+ The Aether element was referenced and fully mentioned by name 15 years later in *Crash Bandicoot: On The Run*. Dark Aether is notably mentioned on Dark Spyro's character profile and serves as his signature emblem that is spotted on banners hanging along the levels during the Battle of the Dragons event.
* The symbol for Aether is a prophetic symbol of the Purple Dragon, both light and dark halves depicted, that speaks of the balance needed to truly master the Aether ability.
* While Aether is and was known for controlling the balance of life, its darker form titled as Dark Aether is also in most media referred to as the sixth element or "Nether", which is coincidentally created from the spiritual essence of the Well of Souls and depends on the balance of death, thus bringing upon negative effects anywhere in the physical plane such as the incident with Gaul and harming all foes without remorse.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 *TLoS Elemental Breath Weapons Aether*. (Date Posted - May 3, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
2. ↑ *Power of the purple dragon*. (Date Posted - Apr. 15, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
3. ↑ *TLoS Elemental PowerUp Device*. (Date Posted - Apr. 21, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *a status update*. (Date Posted - Apr. 15, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
5. ↑ *a status update, comments*. (Date Posted - Apr. 15, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
6. ↑ *TLoS-StoryScroll Spyro Phrophesy*. (Date Posted - Apr. 14, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
7. ↑ *If 'passion' were dragon magic...*. (Date Posted - Apr. 25, 2016). *DeviantArt*.
8. ↑ *a status update*. (Date Posted - Apr. 18, 2016) *DeviantArt*.

**Bosses**

 Apes (Soldiers - Leaders, Commanders) - Toad Weeds - Bulb Spiders - Death Hounds - Dreadwings Grove Worms - Grove Mites - Grove Beasts - Growths - Skavengers - Skurvywings Blundertails - Fire Cannons - Sabertooths (DS) - Armourdilloes - Stone Trolls Fire Elementals - Elemental Crystal Brutes - Crystal Ball Spiders
**Bosses**

**Bosses**