In the storyline, Whisper Glimmers are partial Glimmers summoned using pages that were physically torn out from their lorebook. As Glimmers need to be formed directly from a lorebook, Whispers underwent an incomplete summoning that resulted in their ghostly state, becoming an echo of themselves.[1] Although they are incomplete in this form, an Illumineer can boost a Whisper to become fully-formed Glimmers.[2] Furthermore, Whispers that are combined with whole, untorn pages of a lorebook or have their page enchanted by ink gain new powers.[1] All Whispers come with the signature ability Boost to trigger new abilities or make themselves stronger.[3]
As opposed to their corporeal selves, Whispers have a translucent, wisp-like form with a light emanating from their bodies.[4] A sign of their incomplete state, all Whispers appear trailing off from the page they come from. These wisp trails follow the physics of the ink they were summoned from, giving them a colorful aura that corresponds to the ink's attributes.[5]
“This is a strange kind of magic. These ‘whispers’ seem independent, but they’re still incomplete.”