Defining the element of aether? Help me!

Okay, I have a bit of a dilemma. I am currently writing an older YA novel set in a fictional world in the 1940s with a very heavy dieselpunk backdrop where there is an ongoing war between religion and alchemy. Religion heavily influences the world governments. Alchemists can basically manipulate existing substances and transform it into something else. There are some alchemists that specialize in manipulating a particular element. There are five main elements: earth, air, water, fire, and aether. And there are there many, many secondary elements (like metal for instance).

Earth, air, water, and fire are very common elements to control, but aether is in a game of its own. It can not be found in their plane of existence unless someone already has the ability to manipulate it. Well, I've got a character who can manipulate it, but I am trying to figure out how to define her powers. I've researched and researched about aether, but I can't figure out what powers to give her that defines the element of aether. I frequently use this website called Superpower Listing and it has a very detailed, extensive list of powers that can be used a person with aether manipulation (which is in the link), but I don't want to give her too many powers because that would be a cop-out to me.

I was actually going to start out with one simple power (like Light Manipulation or something) where she seems that this is only the element that she is meant to control, but as she continues to use this power, it eventually develops and grows into aether manipulation.

Can someone please, please, please help me here? Any suggestions?

MysticPunk said:

It's fiction. Figure out how a person in your story would do it and go from there. I don't understand the problem. You want to be accurate, sure, but you're talking about things that aren't real so there is no "right" answer. Figure out what works in your story. Make it make sense and make it be consistent with the rest of your work and it's fine.

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Actually, this is what I am trying to do now, lol. I am trying to figure out what my character would do, but I would just like a new suggestions to help me out. I am not trying to accurate, but I do like opinions and suggestions of others because for the most part, when I ask for help in the AW forums about one of my stories I always get great advice and suggestions.

Veinglory: I really, really like that idea. So maybe I could have her purify aether into pure life-force energy or chi. Thank you!

Castaspella: I had been thinking about giving her the ability the heal, so I really like your suggestions. I do think there needs to be some side effects for her if she uses too much or uses her own life-force to heal someone. Vampire Academy has a similar element now that I recall, so I should try not to mimic that too much.

Taking Veinglory's suggestion and yours Castaspella, the element of aether is such a complex thing (you could basically say it is the element that created all of the other elements), but if she purifies it into a single form such as life-force energy and she could manipulate the raw form of it when in desperation and that could cause nasty side-effects.