I don't mind any spoilers either, since everything is practically in my excerpt series and short stories.
In Ethra, there is a entity called the guide. It is a passive god like being that is the source of everything and is connected to everyone through Aether. (Essentially magic/mana)
Through its blessing, it is attached to every Ethrian's true self, which is hidden in their subconscious. It gives them a path based on their personality (think of someone choosing your class in a game based on what they think your play style is) and your path defines your skills, which is how you utilize Aether .
So, essentially, the more you know about your true self, the more connected you are to the guide, which means you can make use of a lot more Aether. Moreover, in certain cases where you reach a certain understanding of your true self, you progress further on your "path" and branch out from your initial path skills, or your path can evolve/change.
There is also another way to gain power, the method being "the winds shadow", where you learn about your true self by learning what the opposite of your true self is.
As a last note: anyone can technically utilize Aether any way they want through the guide's blessing, but the magic of Ethra is heavily equation based and skills are essentially a shortcut on your calculator.