Sands of Solace

Background

The Sands of Solace are portions of a magical powder given to people who reach the Purple Oasis, which imbue them with the magical energy to easily survive the trip back to any edge of the desert with no food or shelter.

History

According to followers of Nachi, anyone can follow in the footsteps of the Purple Pilgrim; if they are pious or determined enough, will be rewarded for their arduous, limit-pushing journey by becoming a Sphere Bridge, a conduit of two opposing Spheres.

However, no-one has yet displayed this, other than the Pilgrim himself.

For everyone else, there are the Sands of Solace.

Effect

Although the exact effects vary from person to person, the general symptoms after either eating or snorting the Sands include:

• Ability to survive 3-4 days without food or water
• Extreme resilience to temperature and weather conditions
• Strong desire to be among friends and family
• Infallible sense of direction
• For monoduga, an inability to access the hivemind for a few days

Origin

As with anything clearly magical in nature, many people have tried to figure out from which Sphere the Sands originate. Unfortunately, they turn to normal sand if they're removed from the Oasis, and the Pilgrim only gives them to people who truly need them, making thorough research impossible.

That said, there are three theories as to their origin:

The Push

Anything related to life and longevity makes the Push a strong contender. Push energy normally assists in healing from wounds however, something that isn't caused by the Sands, and the Sphere also wouldnt normally account for the desire to be among friends.

The Settler

The Settler's focus on connection and stability would account for the endurance and desire to be among friends, but such a direct use of energy to not need food or water isn't something the Sphere typically allows.

The Beast

The Beast could explain not needing food and water, as well as the sense of direction, but the near-unanimous effect of people spending days returning to their home is completely antithetical to a Sphere usually so focused on instinct and short-term gains.

Identification is made much harder due to the colour. Everything about the Oasis and the Sands is purple, a colour normally associated with the Voice. Energy from the Voice wouldn't account for any of the symptoms of the Sands (except potentially a desire to be among friends), so the mysetery remains.

Type

Metaphysical

Color

Purple

Further Reading