Ethereal Lore/RP Guide
By save-disk
(Note: I made this just to pass around to friends and thought i’d post it on here to be helpful- it doesn’t allow links, however, so I had to remove them from all my info/image sources. Hope it’s still an enjoyable read despite that.)
Overview
Ethereals are a race with very little concrete lore, meaning we must find what we can here and there. However, I find them incredibly amusing- and have extracted everything I can from various flavour texts, ingame items, models and dialogue to infer what I need to RP one. Personally I use the soul-trader’s wrappings on a void elf, but prism-swapping is just as good.
“Treading the chaotic spaces between worlds, the ethereals are astral travellers who dwell within the Twisting Nether. They are known to be collectors and traders of arcane items and artifacts. Now drawn to Outland, many ethereals are seeking to track down its treasures and steal them back into the Twisting Nether. They are liars and scoundrels who will stop at nothing to pursue their mysterious aims. The ethereals have no care at all for the Burning Crusade. They would even play both sides of the conflict against each other if doing so would serve to further their own goals.”
– (From [‘The Burning Crusade Bestiary’]
With the knowledge of how varied Ethereal motives can be, we know the above flavour text is written by an unreliable narrator- likely some Azerothian adventurer in outland-era wow. However an ethereal NPC does warn us to be wary of ‘the other ethereal’s greed’. When it speaks of ‘many ethereals’, it refers to the Consortium- a band of thieves and smugglers in Outland only loosely allied with the Protectorate. While it’s clear this race developed in a cartoonishly profit-obsessed society similar to the Goblins, once we look into just who the Ethereals – Or [ K’areshi ] are, we begin to paint a much bigger picture.
As we know K’areshi means ‘person from K’aresh’, I think it’s fair to assume this would be the preferred terminology by ethereals themselves, rather than just their race. However this could be up to your personal interpretation. Generally I assume ‘ethereal’ is the word for them in Common tongue.
Origins
“K’aresh was an arid planet, home to a thriving ecosystem and several sentient species before the arrival of Dimensius the All-Devouring. How the void lord found K’aresh is still hotly debated among the surviving ethereals, but the effects of his coming were unmistakable: he opened countless gateways into the void and the Twisting Nether around the planet, bathing K’aresh in arcane and dark energies. Using every scrap of its advanced technology, one of the mortal races hastily attempted to construct magical barriers around its cities, but it was only partially successful; although the dark energies were blocked, the unimpeded flood of arcane energy tore away the mortals’ corporeal shells and infused their souls with enough energy so that they could subsist without a body… barely. Members of this race, now called ethereals, took to binding themselves with enchanted strips of cloth to provide their souls with enough structure to survive. This altered state proved to be a blessing in disguise, as their enhanced minds and magical abilities allowed the ethereals to fight Dimensius and his limited forces to a standstill. Over the years, however, Dimensius eventually grew powerful enough to summon armies of fellow void creatures, forcing the ethereals to flee into the Twisting Nether.”
– [Ask CDev answers, round 1]
From this answer we get most of what we know about how Ethereals, including the vital detail that they were once-fleshy- which gives us quite a lot to work off. Combined with the exclamation of a Protectorate NPC ingame:
“By the second sun of K’aresh, look at this place! I can only imagine what Salhadaar is planning. Come on, let’s keep going.”
We know that this apparently arid planet has at least two suns. Combine that with the inspiration for many Ethereal names- often taking from Arabic names and moving letters around- we get a vague idea. Seeing that the Ethereals most closely resemble egyptian mummies, it could be they were looking to modern Egyptian Arabic for language inspiration. Mix that with a thriving arcane-weilding society a la the Draenei and Highborne and you have the K’areshi. Sadly, however, we have little idea what these aliens actually looked like.
It’s clear the Ethereals kept their political structure from K’aresh even through their escape into the twisting nether- one made up of nexus-princes and nexus-kings. Seeing as Nexus-princes seem to lead each offshoot Ethereal faction, and that Nexus Kings rule the planet itself, we can assume these are similar to Goblin trade-princes who climb to power via wealth. However how one becomes a King is uncertain. Although we’ve heard typically ‘feminine’ voiced ethereals later on in Legion, it’s difficult to know their stances on gender and whether nexus-princesses in fact exist. We can assume, for now, they do.
The Ethereum
The Ethereum was founded by Nexus-King Salhadaar, and his council of loyal Nexus-princes with the goal of getting revenge on Dimensius the all-devouring. It appears to be made up of the upper class K’areshi- who delved so far into obsession over their revenge they’ve fallen to the Void. As far as we can tell, this began with experiments in Netherstorm to infuse warriors with void-energy to use them as a weapon against Dimensius- similar to the way the Illidari fought the burning legion by becoming part demon themselves. These Ethereal experiments are know as Nether-stalkers and appear later on in Legion content- so we’re certain the experiments resumed.
A group of the Ethereum aided Kael’thas Sunstrider and the Burning Legion, but was subsequently killed. The Ethereum also aided Malygos during the Nexus War.
Quest texts state the Ethereum has become ‘dark… twisted’ and that they wish to ‘become void.’, but we’re not given much more information than that. Later on in Argus content this becomes more literal, as we meet the Shadowguard, an offshoot group from the Ethereum (or perhaps part of their military). These ‘Void Ethereals’ as we come to know them are comprised of part Void energy themselves.
While we know from Locus-Walker that it’s possible to be a stable, sentient Void Ethereal, the Shadowguard and Ethereum are now completely lost to madness. Nexus-Prince Bilaal quite literally stated they wished to ‘become void’- and later transformed into a void revenant, remnants of a species overtaken by void. We could assume this is what the Ethereum ultimately wants for all of their members.
During the Legion Mage artifact questline, we find that the Ethereum is using the Surge Needles left over from the Nexus to bore into the Twisting Nether and call up Void energies. Their efforts are thwarted by the player.
During the Void Elf recruitment questline, we meet another offshoot group of the Ethereum, the Netherguard, led by Nether-Prince Durzaan (it’s unclear if this is just a naming inconsistency on Blizzard’s end or another role entirely.) They assault the Ren’dorei by filling them full of Void energy in an attempt to tear away their flesh and turn them into Ethereals as well- replicating the process Dimensius caused on K’aresh.
Nexus-King Salhadaar is killed in Outland by the player- as is the Shadowguard commander Saprish and the (assumed) acting-leader of the Ethereum, Nexus-Prince Bilaal. So ultimately- who is currently the leader of the Ethereum is unknown.
The Protectorate
The Protectorate were formed for essentially the same reason as the Ethereum- to combat Dimensius, after the Ethereum began to become twisted. They appear to be only made up of Arcane Ethereals. They believe the Ethereum is as much a threat to the K’areshi as Dimensius- and we could assume these ethereals might have come from a lower-class background.
The Protectorate have achieved their goal- as the player kills Dimensius in a rather anti-climactic outland quest. Therefore the Protectorate hasn’t appeared ingame since, and we could assume they’re disbanded or have moved onto other matters.
The Protectorate seem loosely-allied with the Consortium.
The Consortium
The Consortium are ethereal smugglers, traders and thieves that have come to Outland. Their main base of operations and biggest settlement is the Stormspire, but they can be found at Midrealm Post, Aeris Landing in Nagrand, within the Mana-Tombs of Auchindoun and various other places.
The Consortium seem loosely-allied with the Protectorate.
Technomancy
K’aresh had hyper-advanced technology, and have a unique school of magic named Technomancy, which seems to work by blending together magic and technology in ways Azerothians couldn’t even percieve. Not only Arcane magic- but Void as well.
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Transmogrification – Yes, this is actually a thing, not just a game mechanic! We don’t know its real applications in lore but it’s said to ‘alter an item’s arcane essence in ways previously unimaginable’. The Netherguard have hostile NPCs named ‘transmogrifiers’, so it could have combat applications.
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Void Storage – Apparently the technomancer’s apparatus can house things in a small pocket dimension, according to the dialogue. We could infer they’re opening void rifts and placing things inside for safekeeping.
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Eco domes – As far as we know the ethereals created these as an experiment to revive Draenor’s ecosystem. They serve as enormous greenhouses and are both arcane and technological in nature.
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Power packs – [This model ]is used all over Ethereal sites as general clutter, but in quests it’s always referred to as a power pack of generator of some kind. How they harness/store energy seems unique.
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Portals – [This model] is also repeatedly used everywhere, but a toy named ‘Ethereal Portal’ replaces your Hearthstone with it. A quest text in the Legion mage artifact quest also referred to it as a portal.
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Hologram Communicators – [This model] is consistently used as a long-distance communicator by Nexus Princes to keep them safe. It projects a hologram from a remote location. Curiously it also seems to be used in the transmog shops.
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Prisons – These [pink bubbles] are stated to be stasis chambers or prisons. I like to assume they serve the same purpose as an ethereals’ wrappings- to keep their soul contained without dissipating.
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Void Gathering Devices – There are a few models that appear to be sucking a purple energy in from the space around them, similar to the roofs of the blood elf manaforges. We could assume these are generators gathering void and charging up energy cells with them- as some of them are wired to these ‘power packs’.
Anatomy
There are currently three known kinds of Ethereal. Arcane Ethereals, which are the original and most common kind- comprised of their soul fused with arcane energy. Void ethereals, which have become infused with the Void and hear whispers similar to the way the Void Elves do- and Nexus Stalkers, who appear to be Void Ethereals who have become almost entirely Void energy. We don’t know how sentient Nexus Stalkers are, but they’re seen as aberrations to the other factions- so we can assume not very.
“…Only their advanced technology allowed them to survive - barely - as beings of pure energy. Ultimately, it was this very change that allowed them to battle Dimensius on an even-footing and travel through the Twisting Nether to find refuge.”
– [Ask CDev answers, round 1]
Keyword: Barely. Knowing that Ethereals had to bind their souls with enchanted wrappings to give them enough shape to survive, we can infer from this that they can survive a small time outside of their wrappings before they dissipate and die out. In Blade’s Edge mountains we see Unbound Ethereals, represented by the ghost model wandering about the camp: this information conflicts, but perhaps they’re injured ethereals who’ve lost their wrappings and are waiting to be re-bound.
“…Their bodies can take many forms, able to be compacted into small sizes, or expanded to their true form: a mass of glowing energy with vaguely distinguishable head, eyes, and arms. When not covered in their magical wrappings, they are described as beings of pure energy; a mass of irregular power.”
– [A Thousand Years of War]
The Ethereal death animation shows a mass of energy bursting free from the wrappings- which then dissipates into nothingness, leaving the metal accessories behind as a pile on the floor. While this is clearly a very simplified version of whatever happens, we can assume to kill an ethereal you break the wrappings and wait for them to fade away. As their souls are tangled up in this ‘essence’ containing either Arcane or Void, I believe it could kill an Ethereal if you pumped them full of Fel or Light respectively.
Whether Ethereals eat and drink is up to speculation. The companion pet Ethereal Soul-Trader sells drinkable items that are said to have odd effects on fleshy imbibers- which could imply they can drink, although the NPC outside the World End’s Tavern says it has nothing to offer those of his kind. This is yet to be confirmed, but personally I think it’s difficult to imagine them having a way to digest anything but raw energy. Drinks and foods that supply them with magical energy to absorb could be possible- or they could just not eat at all. This is up to you.
Whether Ethereals can or need to sleep is not stated, but they only seem to have ‘beds’ in inns designed for fleshy customers.
Roleplaying Tips
The Ethereals spent a great deal of time in the Twisting Nether, the plane between worlds.
“It exploded into being around him. There were a thousand ways to perceive this place. Every voyager saw it differently, depending on circumstance and form and state of mind. For him it was a black, airless void in which a billion stars twinkled. Behind and beneath him blazed the world from which he had come. Through the void trailed the snake of energy he had summoned, guiding him outward into infinity.”
– World of Warcraft: Illidan pg. 194
When considering they were forced to actively live alongside demons in this chaotic, surreal environment, shortly after their flesh was torn from their souls; we can imagine they didn’t quite come out the same as when they entered. This can be interpreted any way you like. On the whole, Ethereals seem to be characterised in-game as detached, surreal and dripping with feigned politeness. It’s stated in a quest text that Ethereals like to designate ‘Flesh-handlers’ to deal with matters of flesh- implying they’ve become so detached from what they once were, they now struggle to communicate with physical beings. We could read that the transmogrifiers’ slightly overbearing and creepy salesmanship is a result of them learning stock phrases from a flesh-handler in an attempt to sound more ‘human’.
The Ethereals, good, evil or neutral all seem to share a fondness for creating hideous mutant flesh-beasts to employ as slaves- this could simply be a choice of weapon, or it could be a reflection of how far separated they’ve become from their own reality that they see flesh as nothing more than a mockery now. Their morality around trading animals seems very unhinged.
The K’areshi canonically refer to all non-ethereals as ‘Fleshlings’. It’s unclear if this is in a mocking manner or simply their terminology.
A neutral, playable Ethereal who trades with other races would likely speak Common or Orcish for trading on Azeroth- as well as Thalassian and/or Draenei due to their time on Outland. We can also assume the K’areshi had a language of their own, which we can refer to as simply ‘K’areshi’ until told otherwise.
Ethereal names seem to be Arabic-inspired, with vowels changed around- Similar to the Draenei, they do not have last names. However most seem to have a title that seems of importance in day-to-day life, like Nexus Prince of Locus Walker.
The Ethereal Soul-Trader pet trades with the player using his own unique currency, Ethereal Credits. However when the player earns a salary with the Consortium, it’s paid in gems. It’s unclear what their official currency is- or if it varies from faction to faction.
Notes:
The Void Ethereal [Shadreen the Watcher] is seen spawning at the end of Trial of Style sometimes, conducting shady business with the show hosts.
Shadreen says: Have you gathered the information I require?
Nastasia Flairwatcher says: Yes, here are the results.
Shadreen says: …you have done well. My master shall be pleased to see this.
I also saw this NPC randomly spawning around Telogrus Rift on the inaccessible outer island, but I haven’t seen him ever since newer patches came out. Has anyone else seen him recently? Could <The Watcher> mean he’s some kind of Ethereum Spy spying on Locus-Walker? That’s my crackpot theory and you heard it here first, folks.