Conduit

One who absorbs the aethir and uses it as a weapon. Similar to a darkening, they use powerful magicks to clear out rooms of foes. However, unlike a darkening, they must conduct the aethir before they can use it. After using a skill, conduits lose all stored aethir. The energy drawn from the aethir does not simply disappear, however, and results in an explosion of energy centered on the conduit. The conduit takes damage equal to the remaining stored aethir.

Conduits can store massive amounts of aethir, which can be harmless if they don’t over-conduct, but they are likely to be killed by the blast if they over-conduct. Certain villages with many conduits have developed devices that absorb aethir, but these are highly unstable. When held to the flesh of the Conduit, it absorbs a small amount of aethir and crumbles to dust, releasing the aethir back to the environment. These devices are incredibly rare and most doubt there is anyone alive who knows how to craft them; however, due to their aethir-absorbing nature, most find them useless, rendering them as nearly worthless in the markets.

Conduits use staves, wands, chakram, and an assortment of weapons that can be strapped to their wrists. These items assist in the conduction of aethir, however, so powerful versions should only be used if the conduit is using powerful magicks.

Conduits are generally intelligent folk, but tend to lack common sense. They are immune to the aethir’s poison, but are curiously still harmed by its incarnations. They live long lives so long as they don’t blow themselves up. There are very few conduit nobles, but this is probably because young nobles are hardly ever given a chance to play in aethir; their homes have been cleared of it.