Aether Storm

Myterious storms that roll across the continent, always West to East. Consists of raw, untamed Aether. Aether Storms last for exactly 8 hours, and occur at regular intervals, ranging from every 8-72 hours, in increments of 8 hours, between each storm. The major cities and settlements have detection systems that will warn of an incoming Aether Storm up to a few hours ahead of time, but most places are given very little warning, as the forward storm arc forms and moves across the continent extremely fast. Aether Storms are extremely dangerous. Being left out exposed in one has a very high chance of turning one into an Aetherite, or worse. The only way to protect oneself from a storm is to either be underground, in a specially protected enclosure/building, or to be an Aetherite, who are immune to the storm's effects.
Using special devices, such as Aether Towers, people have learned how to harness the power of the storms and use them to charge batteries, Aether Coins, and city infrastructure. Many forms of old world technology, such as (extremely rare) energy rifles, flashlights, and scanners have been updated to user powercells fueled by Aether energy. There have recently been a splash of rumors on the existent of a new portable charging unit, sort of a mini Aether Tower, that might allow smaller settlements or camps to charge their ammo, powercells, and Aether Coins directly. If this does exist, then it would be a closely guarded secret, as the Erians controlling the Central Bank likely wish to maintain their monopoly on Aether recharging services