I wonder if that Creed guy has a hand on all this… I mean, he was doing some research on Aetherial beings and other stuff…
Just to add on to your response to him some of the early lore notes explain that the Aetherials will leave a possessed host if death is impending. Odd he missed it since he seems so interested in the story element of the game 
I didn’t miss it but I must have forgotten it. It’s been a long time since I’ve read all those little early snippets of conversation and all the dropped notes. I get all excited when I find a new one and love piecing it all together. I guess the next time I make a new character I shouldn’t just get all click happy and actually read the text.
If our little people were being experimented on by the warden maybe they’re ex-cons. Although, he was also taking in a lot of corpses, too. Perhaps a side effect of being inhabited by an aetherial in some cases is being brought back to life if they leave early.
Also, another interesting effect of prior inhabitation by one might be lingering resistance to aetherial zones. I’ve tried that theory repeatedly in such zones but so far it hasn’t been proven correct empirically. Maybe Creed can work on that for us in the future.
OMG, that would be amazing! Finish up to a point in the story (or and endgame side quest) and now you can easily travel over Aetherfire. Those spots are the only thing I really hate about this game! (I don’t have a problem with them being there, but I’m not very good at getting through them alive and I play HC).
looks Awesome! nice crate
Lookin great! Cant wait!
Mavien’s Sphere works really well with those patches 
Sadly 50%+ Aether resistance doesn’t anymore though, so speed and heals are the key to survival.
TQ Yetis yessssss! Can you guys just keep making content every month heh? The environments are amazing, want more more more!
we are the only one this is true for, correct ?
I mean, we’re killing possessed people right and left and those Aetherials aren’t leaving anybody’s body
Hmm…is there no animation for when a Possessed Arcanist/Elementalist dies, like what happens when you kill an Aether Watcher? I can’t recall one way or the other.
Boss-wise, the only creature that’s really been possessed is the Warden, and even he may not have been possessed any longer once we reach him:
Edit: Note that there seems to be some difference between possession and animation. I don’t think the Amalgamation or the Herald of the Flame are inhabited by Aetherials and are rather controlled through Aether Crystals, like the deceased of Burial Hill.
Hangman Jarvis
Welcome to Devil’s Crossing, possibly the last refuge of humanity.
You were possessed, so we strung you up as we do with all Aetherial ‘Taken’. Seems the spirit fled your body before your life ran out.
I’d have left you to hang but the Captain had other plans. He sees some purpose in you and I’m not going to argue.
Seems ol Cap’n had figured out that death, or the appearance of, had a tendency to flush the Aetherials out.
Inquisitor Creed - 2nd Entry
As I was packing to resume my journey to Burrwitch, my assistance was urgently requested at a logging camp in the Old Grove west of Devil’s Crossing, where strange animal attacks have left three lumbermen listless and pale.
Upon arriving, I received a somber greeting from the foreman who informed me that the bitten workers had gone mad and fled the premises. They were reported to have spoken in an unknown tongue. The foreman showed me the remains of the animals. Two gray foxes and a hound, suffering some sort of horrific mange, lay in a hastily dug pit behind the outhouse. The foreman told me the animals suddenly died when confronted by the workers and a strange green vapor emanated from their remains. Shortly afterwards, the three lumbermen fell ill and their mental state rapidly deteriorated. It appears that my presence in this region is most warranted.
While this hints that they can leave at will, as in this case they seem inclined to ‘trade up’ from the animal hosts, perhaps the bites make it easier for them to take over the human hosts. It could have been that the animals had already long been dead physically due to the ‘horrific mange’ but the Aetherial presence had been keeping them animated long after. Your own circumstances appear to have come about slightly different since as far as I’m aware our character has suffered no other known injuries upon being ‘Taken’. Seems to me the Aetherials have more than one way to go about it all.
‘we’ are the only one we know of, it should be a more general principle though I would assume
I mean, we’re killing possessed people right and left and those Aetherials aren’t leaving anybody’s body
I am not sure we kill many possessed people, we kill zombies, criminals and monsters, the only one who is possessed I am aware of is the Warden
http://grimcalc.com/monster?f=human_possessed_b01
http://grimcalc.com/monster?f=human_possessed_a02
http://grimcalc.com/monster?f=human_possessed_c01
http://grimcalc.com/monster?f=human_possessed_a01
Looking forward to it Zantai! 
must have missed that the mages are possessed 
Haha! This is exactly what I think GD needs needs more of!
I imagine that bastard is like Jagang from the Sword of Truth series. Basically some mastermind who’s sitting comfortably somewhere in his domain, sending out his/her spirit to randomly possess people.
If anything, I’ve learned in the GD world to “trust nobody”. Everyone is in it for themselves, despite what they claim is good intentions. There’s plenty of quest turn-ins with questionable ending dialogue.
Though, I’m not sure if you guys noticed but that woman in ACT 3 refers to your possession. How much I believe what she says, is a different story.
In terms of what we’ve seen in game for possession; the scarecrow guys seem to be some kind of aetherial spirit that possesses an inanimate object. Therefore, I really don’t think a lowly peon could possess a living creature easily.
Otherwise, the order of Deaths Vigil would have a bunch of liches roaming around. Since possession to me seems more like their field of expertise. Most of the aetherial creatures are just corrupted animals/monsters. Except the crystals…(beware the clusters lol).
Why do i get that sinking feeling that we will be entering the portcullis in the heavily corrupted aether in Deadmans Gulch.
Something clearly sinister lurks there and i reckon we can find out next update.
I believe this could be a way to the vaults of the Luminari.
Looks so promising, good luck!