Ethereals

Origin
'So you want to create a God, your God? Isn't that was man has ALWAYS done?'

The Ethereals are a race born from Man. However, they are not natural in any way. Where a Ghost is a rare, yet by all means natural, occurrence, an Ethereal is not. These creatures are the result of mankind's thirst for power. The power to transcend the physical realm. It started soon after the cataclysm that swept the earth. Mankind found itself wanting an even more powerful weapon against the non-Human species, something more powerful than magic. Immortality. In a way, they achieved it. In a way, they did not.

History
After their creation, this species quickly became detested, and feared. This is understandable. The lesser individuals of this species act as parasites, feeding off of living creatures. It does not help that they seem to have little interest in actually treating others as actual living, breathing, thinking individuals. They are notorious for having no regard for the lives of others. As of late, there has been more study into them, but it has turned up only a few things. The results of that research will be compiled here.

Appearance
The appearance of these creatures varies greatly, dependent upon their power. The weakest ones, at rank E, are little more than wisps of light, when they allow themselves to be seen. They tend to become more formed as they go up in rank, the rank B's being quite recognizably humanoid. For the most part, they keep this shape, however, there are cases of abnormal individuals.

The easiest way to tell the power of an Ethereal, has actually been by simply looking at their color. The weakest ones are known to be a very pale blue, almost white color, whereas the most powerful are found to be golden in color.

It is hard to gauge the size of the lower ranks, as they tend to lack a real form, and are very rarely seen outside of their host. For the most part, the rank E's are simply a pale light, up to the size of a basketball. C's have a long, comet shaped appearance, with long tails up to 5 feet in length. Rank B's are vaguely humanoid, standing from 5 to 7 feet tall. A's tend to be even more pronounced in their form, again being Humanoid, and about the same size. It is in the EXTREMELY rare S ranks that abnormalities are mostly found. For the most part, they have humanoid forms that follow the same sort of size parameters, but very rare individuals are known to reach immense sizes. There is reported to once have been a sighting of a massive Ethereal shaped like a squid that was 2 miles long. These reports are unconfirmed.

Behavior
In order to survive, the weakest individuals of this race must inhabit the body of a host. They feed off of the host, and are hidden from view. However, they can be sensed by those attuned to magical, angelic, and demonic energy. The more powerful ones, however, have been found to not require a host. They are... strange. They seem to just wander the earth aimlessly, with no true goal. Of course, it would be helpful if they could be bothered to talk to investigators.

While the more powerful Ethereals do not appear to need to feed off of other creatures, they have been known to inhabit their bodies for a time. It is speculated that perhaps this is a time of rest for them. Removing them is effectively the same as removing a Ghost, Demon, or Angel.

Abilities
Ethereals possess a range of abilities, some of which are known, and several that are not. They are known to be able to inhabit the body of another, not so much possessing it, as merely taking refuge within it. Making physical contact with a living creature in any way allows them to drain its life force. They have been seen to possess psychic abilities, able to influence the actions of others as they see fit. They speak via telepathy. They can go through solid objects, and are unaffected by gravity one way or another.

Ethereals are known to possess magic, though their use of it is unknown to Witches. Ethereal magic has been seen to attack an individual's soul directly, or the individual's body as well, in a strange sort of burning, as well as melting, of the victim's flesh. Their magic appears as a sort of light, the same as their body. Also, Wind magic has been observed, with powerful individuals changing the weather at will. Strangely enough, in a single, isolated case, an Ethereal was observed to actually mend an individual's damaged soul. Besides this, it is unclear as to what their magical capabilities are.

Weaknesses
It has been found that Ethereals are vulnerable to magical, angelic, and demonic energy. Also, even though Psychics are incapable of reading their minds, their attacks on them are actually rather effective, to the point that they can cause an Ethereal's entire body to rupture.

Diet
Ethereals feed upon the energy, or mana, of other individuals. Due to this, Witches and Wizards appear to be a favorite prey, if that is the right term. The weakest individuals seem to require a constant amount of sustenance, whereas the most powerful ones seem to be able to sustain themselves.

Lifestyle/Lifespan
Ethereals live their lives as parasites, or as wandering nomads. They seem to care little for this world, and the events that happen in it. As far as we know, they are immortal, though not invulnerable. The only recorded deaths of Ethereals have been when they were killed by another individual. It has been found that they can also kill eachother, thought why these cases happen is unknown.

Reproduction
Ethereals cannot actually reproduce. Not in the general sense anyways. It has been found that they can create more of their kind, by ripping the soul from a Human. That chances of this succeeding, however, seem to be rather low, with the victim (though at times the individual actually volunteers) dying 75% of the time. In the case that it is successful, a new Ethereal is born.

Death
When an Ethereal dies, one can feel a ripple in the very fabric of existence. It does no harm, and seems to have no real effect. After death, the Ethereal's, whatever one wants to call it, soul, essence, existence, is said to be sent to The Void.

Ranks
Rank E - Whisp - The weakest of Ethereals, these individuals are known to live within their host, and influence it, 90% of the time. The hosts of these individuals have reported that they actually converse with the Ethereal. Beyond this, they are harmless. These individuals are pale to the point of almost being white.

Rank C - Leech - Still forced to rely on a host, these individuals must feed off of the host to survive, but have been found to be able to survive outside the host for about two hours without serious negative effects. They can force those around themselves to be dizzy, and can actually attack the souls of others, tearing away at them. A pale blue color.

Rank B - Wanderer - No longer forced to depend upon a single host, these individuals are known to travel around the world. They can go about 2 or 3 days without residing within a host, but after that, there are severe consequences to their health. They can produce deadly bolts of orange light, the same color as themselves. The lowest rank shown to appear humanoid.

Rank A - Transcended - Powerful individuals, they have been observed to go weeks without feeding. They can change a sunny afternoon into a drizzly downpour. They can attack the souls of weaker targets with ease, tearing them away and consuming them in moments. They are known to possess extensive telepathic powers. Red in color.

Rank S - Leviathan - The most powerful Ethereals. These individuals have immensely powerful telepathic abilities. Also, their magical light has been known to burn through metal, stone, and of course, flesh, with ease. They are a golden color, and are said to possess immense knowledge.