Ethereal art

This page contains card art depicting ethereals.

Lore

An ethereal in World of Warcraft

This section uses content from Wowpedia.

Treading the chaotic spaces between worlds, the ethereals are astral travelers 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.

Ethereals can be found in Nagrand south of Lake Sunspring, in the Mana Tombs of Auchindoun, the Blade's Edge Mountains, and throughout the Netherstorm. A small number also dwell in Shattrath. The ethereals are driven by trade and economics, and accordingly their political structures are centered around trade princes and political "companies." The ethereal faction called The Consortium, which players can gain reputation with, is one of these. The ethereals that currently control the Mana Tombs in Auchindoun led by Nexus-Prince Shaffar are another of these "political companies." The Ethereum is a radical militant organization that attempts to avenge the destruction of the ethereal homeworld by void creatures. The Protectorate attempts to thwart the void and protect neutral races from the Ethereum's attacks.

The ethereals are similar to goblins, in the way their political systems work, and like the goblins the ethereals will support anyone who would further their profits, and oppose anyone who dares interfere with their plans. The Ethereals also share in the goblins' propensity for technology, though their technology appears to be far more powerful and otherworldly. Ethereals possess everything from the familiar, such as transporters, to the radical, such as their eco-domes. They utilize a unique school of magic known as technomancy.

While most ethereals seem completely neutral, the Consortium later allies with the Sha'tar.