The Sea of Sand is one of the most treacherous and deceitful tracts of waste in the heart of the Djaraha desert.
The wind rises mournfully over the blasted waste of the Sea of Sand. It is easy to becmone lost in this land, there is no landmark. All of the rocks look the same, the same wind scoured arches, the same sun blasted pillars. The Eye of the Lion beats hard upon us, and the water is running low. I had though us saved when I saw the shimmer of water on the horizon, but I was brought to wasteful tears. There is naught but sand, no rock protudes, no hardy desert scrub. All is sand...
excerpt from the travel diary of the Merchant Khami, deceased.
The interior of Calcobrina is desert, dry and inhospitable. Despite this, there are entire nations and societies who spend their entire lives within the confines of the red rock and arid scrub. The Calcobrinan Cyclopes as well as the Latrani Orc and the Seitch Tribes inhabit this land. By no means is Djaraha empty.
The heart of Djaraha is the Sea of Sand. This tractlass waste has no set border, it moves like a moving thing. Some of the freeholds of the Sietch and the Latrani have been swallowed by the Sea of Sand, only to be uncovered again decades later when the sea shifts away. Some local tribes have set rituals to ward away the Sea of Sand, and merchants who decide to cross the rocky expanse of Djaraha rather than try to sail around it make offerings at every shrine along the route to keep from wandering into the Sea of Sand.
In many ways, the Sea of Sand is a living organism, one that is several hundred miles across, subsisting on electricity generated by the wind and sand, and by drawing the moisture out of everything it encounters. It despizes water, and any oasis provides refuge from the insidious embrace of the sand.
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- Calcobrina by Scrasamax Bound
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- Calcobrina Scrasamax linked by Scrasamax
- Calcobrinan Cyclopes Scrasamax linked by Scrasamax
- Latrani Orc Scrasamax linked by Scrasamax
- Seitch Tribes Scrasamax linked by Scrasamax
A living desert? Is it really alive in some way or is that just a myth.
Alive in the sense of a sentient, self willed creature, no. In the sense of a massive organism that lacks a nervous system, yes. It exists akin to a giant plant like organism, but it feeds on static electricity, and on the ley lines that run through its borders. It can move and respond to stimulus, but it cannot carry on a conversation.
Great concept, confusing execution. I like all the linked materials. It allows you to have a shorter post and expand out through the other posts.
Simple and evocative, the sea of sand being somewhat animate is a neat detail.