The High Plains

The high plains are an interesting place. There are only three cities in the region, and all are very distinct and have little contact with each other. All three cities have strong connections outside this region, which means lots of goods flow in and out of the region. The three factions that control the region have agreed to protect each other's trading caravans coming in and out of the territory. This mutual defense agreement means that the High Plains is the safest region for travelers and traders alike. Many hard-pressed and bedraggled caravaneers have cried at first sight of the Wailing Arches, knowing they are the closest you can come to safety outside a city's walls.
A recent stipulation has been made, though: No trains can go through the region. This means that even though nearly all the trains and tracks in the Wild Winds Desert are made in Tsfun Barg, no tracks are leading to the city. This agreement and the tensions around it are the closest the region has come to war in the five years since the death of The Quarant.

Capital

None

Government

Monarchy(Tsfun Barg), Military Council(Fortress of the Sacred Four), Duarchy(Morpork)

Religions

The Holy Quarant, Der Hoykh Erat, Horneryat

Imports

Textiles, Wood Products, Grains, Fruit, Timber

Exports

Arnkrufuth Stone, Mithral, Adamantine, Gems, Gold, Steel, Iron, Wool, Hides

Major Geographical Features

The Wailing Arches

Time, wind, and the hands of several gods have dotted the High Plains' hills with dozens of huge and small stone arches. The arches are all made from the same bright red stone, not found anywhere else in the Wild Winds Desert. As winds flow through these arches, they sometimes emit sounds that can sound like anything from a low moan to quiet whispering to high-pitched shrieking. Many believe that communications with the lost dead or the gods can be divined by listening to these calls. Others have been lost to the shifting sands of the desert by following the call of these voices deep into the wilds. Many fell winds that plague the Wild Winds Desert are thought to originate among the Wailing Arches.

Important Sites

Morpork

Morpork is one of the two Orcish cities of the Wild Winds Desert. It is ruled by Queen Hashrahn who is married to Sovereign Thungtrell of the great city of Ankh. The tradition of marrying the city's rulers to each other began centuries ago to solidify and unify orcish power. By all accounts, this current union is one of the happiest in decades. Morpork is not only a major cultural center for the orcish and other wild races in the region but also a major trading hub. Many orcish, lizardfolk, and hobgoblin artisan make their home in Morpork and create amazing carving, scrimshaw, and weaving works.
The most famous feature of Morpork, particularly to non-orcs, is the vatteries. A whole section of the city is devoted to reducing and refining monstrous fluids into usable materials. Boiling down Desert Wyrm blood, Genie essence, or Dunewinder blubber into a refined and usable product is slow, tiring, and smelly work, but the orcs excel at it. This has led to a strong tradition of monster hunting, and many of the region's most famous monster hunters have come from Morpork.

Fortress of the Sacred Four

The young fortress on the Wilds Winds Desert and Al'Aradi border is the last bastion of power for the Arnarethian crusaders that descended on the region 10 years ago. The city, formerly known as Heyaht, was the first taken by the invading crusaders and was the main seat of power for five years. When their gods disappeared five years ago, the invaders were driven from all the cities and territories they had taken except for the Fortress of the Sacred Four.
This has left the city in a precarious situation. It sits on one of the two main trading routes between the Wild Winds Desert and Al'Aradia. In exchange for letting trade flow freely and keeping the route safe and secure, the rest of the Wild Winds Desert has agreed to let the city's inhabitants live in relative peace. That does not mean the city's residents are unaware of the deep animosity held towards them by the people of the desert. The Arnarethians who live in the Fortress of the Sacred Four have kept their identity as foreigners much more than the Crusaders who settled and stayed in other parts of the region after losing their gods.
Much of Heyaht was destroyed during the first siege and sacking of the city. The Fortress that rose from those ashes looks distinctly Ralendallian, with accents from the other countries that participated in the crusade. This has left the city with a distinct architectural style, mixing local materials with building traditions and styles from faraway lands. The people of the Fortress of the Sacred Four are equally blended with a mix of local peoples, crusaders and fanatics who stayed behind, and traders from across Arnareth who see the city as the most friendly port of the southern continent. It is one of the few places in the Wild Winds Desert where many of the luxuries and items from Arnareth can be readily, if expensively, found.

Tsfun Barg

 The ancient and ancestral seat of power for the dwarves of the Wild Winds Desert, Tsfun Barg is perhaps the safest and best-fortified city in all of Ermendia. Most visitors never see the extent of the great city, which fills the whole of Mount El'Traniif. The Upper City, which includes The Grand Citadel, Brightmantle Academy, Vergadain markets, and many a tavern, temple, inn, and home.The Upper city alone is larger than most towns and is only a small part of Tsfun Barg. Any who approach the city with ill intent are quickly disuaded by the many cannon that dot the mountain side ready to rain down death and vengeance on any who approach. 

Life and Society

Thanks to the relative stability and safety granted by the three-city alliance, life in the High Plains is safer than in much of the rest of the region. Trade, art, and innovation flourish here, and the people of Tsfun Barg, The Fortress of the Sacred Four and Morpork, enjoy longer stretches of peace than much of the rest of the region. This makes bold and reckless raiders from the Great Sand Sea and beyond think that this means the people here are weak. They rarely make it home to report that they were wrong.
Many of the innovations perfected in the region are centered around magic, metal, and war, the three things that shape all life in the Wild Winds Desert. This makes those in the employ of the rulers of the High Plains some of the best armed warriors in the Wild Winds Desert. Thanks to the great wealth that flows through and appears in the region, all three cities make liberal use of mercenary companies and adventure guilds to do their violent work for them. There has not been a major war in the region in many years, but there are frequent clashes between mercenary companies hired by the various cities seeking to secure a newly formed mineral bloom. Life in the region is fast-paced; it is a place where someone can make or lose a fortune or their life with the changing of the wind.

A Fast Moving Scout Ship used by Sand Scrubbers to locate mineral blooms. 

Type

Geopolitical, State

Power Structure

Semi-autonomous area

Economic System

Traditional

Caravan crossing into the High Plains and headed for Morpork.