(07-17-2017, 02:29 PM)PhantasticPanda Wrote:(07-16-2017, 01:00 PM)Valence Wrote: Aether personal power and presence varies a great deal all during the life for everyone. Aether declines with age, or at least with old age. Which means less reserves to use, aether harder and harder to manipulate, etc.
Basically, being old physically also dulls magic.
Where did you get this snippets of lore? I can see aether reserves not being as great as before, but I don't think it'd affect much with the ability to manipulate aether. We still see older characters manipulate aether to create power spells such as the BLM in the 30-50 story and Louiseaux using the power in his staff in his attempt to bind and defeat Bahamut.
From a more magitek standpoint. Garleans, while not being able to cast magic, are still experts in aether manipulation with magitek. I can see magitek experts developing some sort of shield or bind, or even implant that can suppress the ability to  cast magic.
For the snippet of lore my apologies for not having it under hand right now, but I am fairly sure Sounssy does. It's found in a quest in Hawthorne Hut if my memory serves me right. Or maybe I'm confusing it with that lorebook excerpt above...
Being old doesn't necessarily mean your whole aether runs dry, and maybe it's a generality more than a certainty. I don't remember the exact words of that quest. But I could assume that yes, Louisoix might have been more powerful in his youth? After all his staff Tupsimati is powerful itself not because of its user, but because it directly siphons the land's aether. Meonbryda also uses it against Nabriales with a certain potency even if it's broken (she knows how to use it and that's it).
I wouldn't say that Magitek is manipulation of aether, baring the fact that yes, Ceruleum is a distillate of lingering earthy aerther. But it's used as a crude and powerful form of energy to power everything they have. They don't especially show a huge understanding of aether manipulation all in all.
Aetherochemistry is however a very advanced field of aether knowledge, but that's the specificity of Allag.
Balmung:Â Suen Shyu
