Aura refers to the luminous field of ethereal energy that surrounds sentient beings in Noblesse. This energy permeates their bodies and is constantly radiating outward.
This energy can be manipulated in various ways for a myriad of effects. It is the underlying concept behind, as well as the foremost of, many of the supernatural powers in the manhwa.
Nature[]
Aura is the supernatural phenomenon in which the potent internal energy that comes from the soul is manifested as a powerful force on the outside of the body.
Most auras are dormant or very weak and cannot be perceived by the average person. Aura manipulation and perception are abilities that can be unlocked through various means, whether it be strenuous training, technological enhancements, or, in the case of some beings like Nobles, naturally.
The nature of aura is that it is fundamentally linked to the soul and thus it could manifest around anything containing one, regardless of it being organic or inorganic. For example, soul weapons are partially sentient weapons which contain the spirits of previous Noble clan leaders, and as a result of this they often have auras of their own. This is presumably a manifestation of the aggregation of the spiritual energy of multiple souls.
Characteristics[]
Aura seems to have certain distinct characteristics. These include:
- Appearance: Auras usually take the appearance of colorful flame-like energy radiating off a person. However, some look akin to electricity or even steam. Weak auras are typically invisible, or take on a subtle, pale gray glow. More potent auras cover a wide spectrum of colors - red, blue, purple, green, white, orange, etc. The color of one's aura seems to relate to its intensity as well as the individual's personality.
- Presence: Because of the aura's nature as the manifestation of one's spiritual force, it has a distinct feeling to it. If one can familiarize themselves with the 'feel' of certain auras, they can detect whenever certain individuals are present. A portion of one's aura is released whenever they use their powers.
- Type: It has been explicitly stated that each of the different species have distinct auras, characterized by the average measure of spiritual power those beings have. For example, human auras are generally weak because the vast majority of humans lack the power to release and manipulate their spiritual energy. Races that are generally more aware of supernatural phenomena and have an affinity for manipulating their spiritual energy like Nobles and werewolves have stronger auras.
- Radiation: Aura is unconsciously radiated by the majority of beings. However, one can train themself to consciously radiate more energy for a variety of effects. Also, even though aura naturally radiates off a person, the release of energy can be cut off.
- Psychological Effect: Aura is a unique force because it affects living things not just in a physical way, but also mentally and emotionally. It is a medium through which your thoughts and emotions can be expressed and detected. Auras can express hatred and bloodlust as well as instill fear and awe. These emotions, when detected by the enemy, can overwhelm their mind, sending them into a stunned state for a short amount of time. Aura amplifies emotions to the point where they can cause physical effects such as momentary paralysis, sweating, pain, violent shaking, etc. Because of this, combatants with strong auras can dominate their enemy just by releasing their aura.
Usage[]
- Empathy: Aura is often used as a medium through which powerful emotions can be conveyed. Aura, at its core, seems to be a force that is able to create empathy between two or more people. Powerful emotions can have psychosomatic effects on the people sensing them. Auras that exude violent, wrathful, vengeful or sorrowful emotions are called 'dark auras'. The potency of one's aura is greatly affected by their emotional state and personal psyche. Powerful emotions can enhance the power of an aura, not just in the destructive sense, but in giving it the power to affect people on a subconscious level.
- Catalyst: Aura can also be used as a catalyst for unlocking or releasing certain things. Due to its nature as a personal power, it is often used as a trigger to reveal messages left for specific people[1]. It can also be used to identify whether or not an individual is able to view or use certain objects like soul weapons.
- Physical Enhancement: By willing yourself to release larger amounts of aura and then channelling that energy to a specific body part, one can enhance greatly their physical ability as well as other abilities they might have. However, this burst of power is typically brief, and exhausts the user. Also, powerful wielders of aura can cover their entire body it. Users can also create explosions with enough force to wipe out a large portion, if not the entirety, of a city.
- Detection: Similarly, aura is used to detect certain people. As each aura has a distinct 'feel', it is easy to determine when a certain individual is present at a specific location or using their power. However, Kartas, the Kertia soul weapon gives the current clan leader the ability to erase his aura, benefiting an assassin.
- Energy Projection: Aura can also be applied in battle. Beings with naturally powerful auras like clan leaders are able to highly concentrate and manipulate it within battle. For example, clan leaders are able to manifest the symbol of their clan with their soul weapon. This is their most powerful attack as it releases the entirety of their powers and travels at a blistering speed to strike their opponent. In addition, because aura can interact with normal matter, its power can be tapped into via highly advanced technology, allowing for a myriad of beings to accomplish this. Aura is used to create extremely durable force fields, explosions, and destructive waves of energy. Most commonly, aura is concentrated and fired from the palm as a powerful energy beam, capable of leveling multiple city blocks. Aura can also be used to overwhelm the enemy's senses, effectively paralyzing them. Frankenstein in particular has shown great mastery of aura manipulation, to the point where he can make hundreds of solid aura constructs and manipulate them mentally.
- Crafting: Aura can be manipulated in order to forge objects with supernatural properties, such as items to suppress one's life force. It seems that the process involves envisioning the object you want to create and then releasing waves of aura energies of varying intensities to form a dense point of focused aura. This 'singularity' must then be further forged in some way to create the object which retains small amounts of the wielder's aura.
- Pseudo-Flight: A passive ability used by the majority of characters with powerful aura. This ability allows them to levitate for extended periods of time and to fly at high speeds.
- Transmutation: Regis K. Landegre has demonstrated the ability to transmute his aura into a natural form of energy: electricity. It is unknown if this is a power that is common in all Nobles, or if it is an ability unique to him.
- Soul Weapons: Within a soul weapon exist the souls of the previous clan leaders. Seeing as how aura originates from the soul, each soul weapon possesses an aura of its own, created from the manifestation of the accumulated spiritual energies of multiple souls. Many soul weapons, such as Death Scythe, Blood Witch, and Izarok, utilize this composite aura as part of their unique abilities.
Trivia[]
- In parapsychology spiritual practice, an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (like the halo or aureola in religious art). The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness.
Aura is very similar to other spiritual energy concepts in other manga, anime and manhwa:
- Bleach is a manga and anime series by Tite Kubo. All Bleach characters are 'souls'. Living humans contain souls within their bodies. Disembodied souls, or spirits, have a form composed of particles of spiritual energy called Reishi. Characters have levels of spiritual energy within them, called Reiryoku. When Reiryoku is manifested as concentrated spiritual energy it is called Reiatsu (霊圧 spiritual pressure). Shinigami (death gods) have the power to manipulate these spiritual forces to combat evil disembodied souls called Hollows.
- In Toriyama's Dragon Ball, the concept of ki is basically the same as the aura in Noblesse: a latent supernatural energy. In Dragon Ball, characters can sense others by focusing on their ki, shoot energy beams, and use it for flight like Noblesse. Dragon Ball's ki is based off the real-life concept of chi, which is prevalent in traditional Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts.
- In Hunter x Hunter, aura is the metaphysical life force that lies dormant in most beings, with those who can manipulate it being regarded as superhuman. The art of manipulating aura through mental focus is called Nen.
- Shaman King is a manga and anime series by Hiroyuki Takei. The characters are shamans or mediums that use a spiritual energy called Furyoku to materialize their spirit guardians.
- Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga and anime series by Yoshihiro Togashi. Yu Yu Hakusho characters are either human or yokai, and have spiritual powers called reiki (for humans) and yoki (for yokai).