The paradox of drawing aether from different mediums

[LiadansWhisper]

But both thaumaturges and conjurers seem to actually use the exact same fuel through the exact same elemental wheel... Just differently.

 

I am really starting to think that this whole affair is a mess since they changed it in a rush post 1.0... 

 

The most logical explanation to me is just as Sounssy said: traditions and schools of learning that lead to different results, but different only due to tradition and doctrines.

 

Okay, I think it's important to remember that this is a fantasy rpg. Some things don't have to make sense. Even if what you have concluded is "the most logical" conclusion, that doesn't make it correct. We are explicitly told in the crafting quests that you cannot - not that it's "less ideal," not that it's "more difficult," but that you outright can't - channel aether for one discipline's spellcasting through another discipline's implement.

 

Which, to me, leads to the explanation that while the fuel may be the same, the magic that uses the fuel is not . (Which is also probably why a Black Mage can't suddenly start using White Magic out of nowhere from observing a White Mage use it. They are using completely different forms of magic.)