Aether Storms

Aether Storms are the atmospheric manifestation of Aether that for as long as history records have nearly completely blocked travel between the continents of Liria. Early in history, the storms weren't the impassable barriers they are now, however they did require a sturdy ship, skilled crew, and luck to sail through them. The Elves had managed a handful of successful expeditions towards the lands north of Rinas and The Shattered Isle. It is speculated that many of the non-elf races also found there way through the storm at the time as well, but no records of them are known to exist. Shortly after these expeditions, the storms became to thick and violent and all attempts since then have been lost or returned in complete disaster. 
Aether Storms appear as large walls of heavy clouds with zero visibility within. The clouds rise as far as the eye can see and range from a bright white to near black depending on the severity of the storms currently raging inside, the clouds also give off a bluish hue from the Aether that permeates the cloud formations. Lightning can be seen streaking through the cloud storms without pause in the worst places with more than one hundred strikes having been recorded in less than a minute and those are the strike just visible from observing from outside the storms. From the record of the only successful expeditions, the storms are nearly five kilometers wide.
With some of the newest technology being researched from the uncovered ruins, groups of researchers have been attempting to invent ways to survive a trip through the storms and explored the closed parts of Liria, currently, they have met with little success.