Long ago a great calamity struck the earth, destroying much of it and merging what remained with pieces of other worlds. With these worlds came Aether, a new form of energy that can allow one to transcend the bounds of normal mortality and human limitations. In a world where humans absorb the essence of aether beasts to gain power, Aiden Hawke joins the class of humans known as arcanists, people who defeat aether beasts and absorb their essence into cores they forge within themselves, and who infuse themselves with the aether that permeates the world around them to increase the power of their body and mind. However, unlike most, Aiden will find that he holds a unique gift and that his journey as an arcanist will not be so simple.