Welltowns and Waterlords

On Rezicath, water is life, and whoever holds it is king. In the coastal regions it is common flowly freely from the mountains ringing the continent, In Precipice City it naturally rises to the heights of the mountains by underground pressures. In the central desert however, water is nearly impossible to locate.
In very early stages of recorded Rezicathian history the desert was a dead zone. But as the explorations of the desert began and the first traces of the vast swathes of wealth hidden in the sands were located the desire to venture further into the inhospitable landscape rose. Precipice City was a settlement that existed merely because the freshest water in the continent was there, but it quickly adapted to being the basecamp for the desert expeditions. Those that ventured into the desert in these early days rarely came back.
The turning point was when an exiled traveler originally from Arahe named Valquira Vidal arrived and, after learning of the desert, spoke of her ability to magically locate underground waters and draw them to the surface. She was believed by few, so she sought to prove it. Those that accompanied her into the sands were amazed when she seemingly reached into the earth and brought up the water hidden beneath the sands. Ecstatic the followers returned to Precipice City finally with the secret to cracking the desert. They gathered more supplies and Valquira led the first proper expedition into the desert, led on by some unseen force the expedition discovered "Je'Kull'Ovek" The Welltown of Life, where water bubbled freely into a massive oasis next to the old city ruins.
The natives of Rezicath gave the rights of their discovery to Valquira, and she would reign here for the rest of her life as the first of the Waterlords. Her followers learned her techniques of water divining and they would become known as the Watersteaders. Eventually as the secret spread through those travelling the desert they began being known as Teisku. They established links with Precipice City and exchanged their services as desert guides for many of the vital materials and commodities the desert couldn't provide for them. The alliance between the Teisku and Precipice city has existed in a state of moderate stability through to modern Rezicath.
Those of the Teisku that were business minded established the Diviners Guild in Precipic city where they were known as 'The Water Lords.' Alongside The Cattle Masters they control the barrier between which expeditions proceed or fail by deciding if they will send a guide with them. They are a fair Guild that maintains communications with the Teisku Elders in Je'Kull'Ovek and together they keep the desert in balance. The Waterlords don't have complete control, Teisku people do as they please and freelance diviners offer their services to caravans the Waterlords deny aid to.
In modern Rezicath the Welltowns dot the desert in the thousands. The ability to draw the water is not a matter of secrecy among the Teisku, but of ability. However, teaching it to an outsider who has not earned the right is a deathly offence to the Teisku people. The issue with many of these smaller Welltowns is their lack of permanence. Locations established where there is water available will likely not be there within a month. The desert reserves can't sustain any permanent placements. And even if it could they would likely be overrun by the shifting sands before too long anyway.