The original site of the dark market was founded upon a site of great power, an interdimensional wrinkle in the flow of aether throughout the dimensions. While aether flows through everything there are times when it pools in eddies and pools such as in these wrinkles and pockets. These pools are outside the concept of normality, and normally impossible to be touched by normal hands. However, these pools of energy have many small rivulets and streams and one of the strongest flowed through an ancient inn in the forest of Gridania.
The aetherwells attract all manner of creatures and powers from beyond normal ken, creatures of the void and light amongst the least of those beings. The D’Autrey’s found a stalemated battled taking place through spies they had inserted into the unaware ownership that had recently bought the inn. Using fell magic and magitek, Koshan Hydenschule and his assistants managed to tap into this reserve of power and claim the well fully for the D’autrey clan and banish the extra-dimensional beings to other places.
 

After the D’Autreys took control, they were able to use the aetherwell as a source of power for all sorts of magical devices including the dreaded slave collars. This power also bred a certain complacency, and the prior masquerade of a shadowy bdsm bar became harder and harder to maintain as the hunger of the D’autrey family consumed more and more people and turned them into chattel.

 

Eventually, as it must in a land so tightly guarded as Gridania, the D’Autrey’s and the guests and employees of the dark market had to relocate to Shirogane. Koshan fractured the conduit that tapped into the aetherwell in warding and disguising the evacuation from Gridania onto fleets of air and sea ships, and in a furious explosion of aether managed to ward off a massive strike from the Elementals before fleeing the land.
 

Upon arriving in Shirogane, it was discovered that there seemed to be a new aetherwell of sorts located nearby to where the new home base of the dark market had been established. Initial analysis of the aetherwell has led to the discovery that it has an aspect of Water, in contrast to the Earth aspect in the Gridanian well.
 

This new aetherwell is far different than the original one, it resists being moved or tapped into. At best the dark market can use a chain of slaves to carry small amounts of aetheric energy into the batteries that power the D’autrey’s devices.

This slave chain is not enough, and is drawing attention from the authorities and from extra dimensional creatures. Koshan and others are studying the aetherwell to devise new ways to tap into this energy source and siphon it as before. Will the market succeed in capturing this new source of energy, or will the dark market’s base of power from which so much recent success slowly dwindle away?