The Wild Winds Desert
To the people of Ermendia, this land is seen as a place of wild magics, lost kingdoms, and mysterious technologies. For the people who make the desert their home, it is a harsh land full of opportunity, wealth, and power. The land is hostile, full of monsters eager to eat a stray or careless caravaneer, undead waiting to snatch the life and soul from the unwary, and wandering storms of wild magic and tearing winds. It is also full of wealth and opportunity—lost cities buried in the sands, their wealth and magics hidden from time. Minerals and gems rarely seen on the prime material appear seemingly randomly in the Great Sand Sea, causing great races to reach and harvest these materials before they disappear, or someone else scoops them up. The people who have made this land their home are tough, adaptable, bold, and in many cases wild. The land gives great opportunity to those willing to take it and promises death for those who try and fail.
It has been forgotten what caused the Wild Winds desert to form, but whatever it was left the land scarred and changed. The barrier between the material plane and the elemental planes is thin or broken throughout the great desert. This causes many of the unique aspects of the region. Magical fire has a chance to become permanent and sentient, gems and minerals appear from nowhere in the sands of the great sand sea, water left exposed to the air evaporates quickly, and the winds above the desert are so dangerous and unpredictable that flying more than 30 feet above the ground, or for more than an hour so is considered nearly suicidal. Travel by teleportation is also more dangerous than usual. Those who try to travel extra dimensionally farther than they can see report ending up in places they didn't mean to on the planet, or in different planes completely.
The monsters, much like the people who make the desert their home, are hardy, dangerous, and well-adapted to the harsh and magical lands. From undead that wanders too far from Hildakoen Hiria and becomes feral to the great dunewinders that dominate the shifting sands of the Great Sand Sea the monsters of the desert and to be feared, respected, and for some revered. The most revered, respected, and feared being that makes its home in the Wild Winds Desert is Lothaenorixius the great blue dragon that has dominated the region for as long as any humanoid can remember. Everyone lives in fear of the wrath of the blue tyrant. Few people in the region have lived a life not impacted in some way by the whims and machinations of this ancient being.
Time and Seasons:
Like so much of life in the Wild Winds Desert, especially for those that live outside The Four Rivers, the seasons are tracked and measured around water. The actual weather from season to season doesn’t change very much. It is dry, hot, and windy for most of the year. The only significant change is during the four great moons of the year. For each of these one-week periods, it rains almost without end. For those who live in cities or near one of the oases, this time is a break from the routine of the day-to-day. These week-long monsoons are met with festivals, grand events, and religious ceremonies among all the people of the desert. For those who make the great sand sea their home, it is also a time of high activity and significance. The water that they collect during this time has to be carefully collected and stored to last the wandering tribes for another three months until the next great rainfall. Many of these clans and tribes have permanent caches where they have been storing their water for generations.
Home and Hearth:
For the people of the great desert, nearly every aspect of their lives is determined by where they live. The Painted Elves of Stonewood live in small tribes high in the petrified trees, or the great ancient city of Garga Garawul. Their days are filled with growing new trees and harvesting those ready to be used for nearly every aspect of life. The dwarves of the three great dwarven cities are unrivaled craftspeople who spend their days creating amazing works unlike those found anywhere else. The people that make their homes around the oases or in the four rivers delta have lives not dissimilar from many farmers and traders to be found throughout much of the world. Those who make their homes wandering the great sand sea are always on the move. Some follow the trails of the creatures that make the shifting sands their home, while others travel across the sands in constant search of the great mineral wealth that can be found by the smart, brave, bold, or lucky.
Government:
The most common forms of government in the Wild Winds Desert are monarchies of some form or another. The Four Rivers has a feudal monarchy that has been going strong for nearly 600 years with the current family, the Haburai, having ruled for the last 400. Many of the cities of the oases are plutocratic monarchies run by the family with the most wealth and influence. The recent changes brought by the railroads have left many of these families on shaky ground. Peloch is ruled over by a council consisting of noble families, religious leaders, and powerful merchants. The Twin cities of Ankh and Morpork are ruled by matriarchal monarchies. The three dwarven cities are all ruled by monarchs, but in a rare convergence, they are all from the same family and are siblings. Garga Garawul is run by a council of arch druids, any who reaches the rank of arch druid is immediately added to the ruling council. Hildakoen Hiria is the only city in the region that is ruled by a high priest. Alfkurnon, High Priest of Nephthys has ruled the city for 2,000 years and doesn’t seem to be in danger of losing that position any time soon.
City and Countryside:
The lives of those who live in and near the cities are very different from those who make the sand sea their home. The daily life of those who farm the rich soils of the oases or the four rivers delta is much like the lives of peasant farmers everywhere. Their lives revolve around tending their crops, or livestock, managing their resources, and trying to survive or avoid the various dangers that stalk the desert. For those who live in the cities, their lives revolve around whatever trade it is that they do for a living. Due to the unique nature of the desert, there are more craftspeople per capita in the cities than in many other regions. Until recently travel between the cities was dangerous, difficult, and never done lightly. This led to most of the cities spreading throughout the desert developing very unique and independent identities, and people fiercely proud of their home cities. Since the advent and development of the rail lines travel between the cities has been safer and easier than ever before leading to a much greater exchange of goods, people, and ideas between the cities of the desert.
The people who make their lives wandering the sands live a completely different life from their urban brethren. Some take to the sands for the freedom it gives them, others for the wealth and glory to be had. Regardless of the reason, those who make the sands their home are some of the heartiest and toughest people to be found in any land. Several well-known and well-regarded halfling clans travel the sands from city to city. Before the railroads, these clans were one of the few reliable ways to move goods between the cities of the desert. There are still those who trust the halfling caravans more than the railroad and so these clans are still thriving. Orc, Gnoll, and Lizardfolk clans all make their home in parts of the Great Sand Sea. They subsist mostly off a mix of herding and raiding. While very few dwarves make their homes permanently in the desert they are always a significant presence. Their great Sand Sifters and other smaller ships are always at work sifting through the sands of the desert for the wealth they contain. Many other people live in the desert either in small families, or groups of families making their lives as herders, monster hunters, traders, and craftspeople.
Class and Station:
Over many centuries of strife and warfare, most of the cities Desert have developed an enlightened feudal system. Lords and high merchant families hold lands in the name of their monarch and high councils. Raising armies, collecting taxes and tithes, and defending the interests of their rulers all fall to these lords. They are expected to answer the call to arms when summoned and enact the monarch’s will to the best of their abilities. This system supports independent and flexible war bands that can move to defend the shifting interests of the rulers of the lands.
The Peasantry:
Common farmers, herds people, and laborers make up most of the humanoid population across the Wild Winds Desert. The peasantry forms the solid base upon which the power structures of nobles, merchants, temples, cities, and kingdoms all rest. Most peasants are not bound to the lands they work in and owe no special allegiance to the noble who rules over them, other than obeying their laws and paying their taxes. For many of these peasant families, their families have been working and living on the land longer than the most recent noble ruling over them.
Many do not own the lands they work on but instead rent crops and pastureland from the noble or merchant who owns it, paying tax in a tithe of whatever they produce on the land. Those who own the lands that they work are known as freeholders and are rare and looked upon with envy by their less free fellows. While many nobles lay claim to large swathes of the Great Sand Sea they find it very hard to manage and rule the peoples that do not live among the oasis. These nomadic and wandering peoples enjoy a greater degree of freedom, but they pay for it with significantly less security than their more urban counterparts.
Tradesfolk and Merchants:
A step above peasants, skilled crafts folk and merchants generate wealth and prosperity for any city or town they live and work in. The great guilds of many of the cities wield incredible power that rivals that of both the high nobility and great temples. So much of life among the cities of the great sand sea relies on the steady flow of goods between the kingdoms. The recent advent of the rail lines has made this simpler, but a boycott or blockade by one of the great guilds could still bring a city to its knees. For those not counted among a guild's ranks a tithe of any money made or risk violence, banishment, or even death at the hands of one of the guilds. The wealthiest merchants are virtually indistinguishable from mighty lords. Even if born from peasant stock a guild leader or powerful merchant might call themselves a ‘lord’ or ‘prince’ and get away with it.
Clergy:
Those who have answered the call to serve one of the many gods who are worshiped across the Wild Winds Desert are nearly universally respected and revered. Even the lowest acolytes and mendicants are given the respect afforded to guild merchants and crafts folk. The heads of these churches and faiths hold stations comparable to a baron or a count and the high priest of a well-loved faith, such as Taia in Peloch is equal to that of a grand duke or king. The rivalries, in both philosophy and politics that these churches hold are the only thing that keep them from becoming the dominant political power in most cities. A fact the nobility and great merchants are well aware of and eager to maintain and exploit.
Nobility:
Nobles hold their power either through long tradition, martial or arcane might, or economic influence. The highest of these rule whole kingdoms and oversee the welfare of their peoples, adjudicating over disputes, seeking alliances, declaring war, and trying to bend fortune and fate to the good of their people. Their lives are dominated by alliances, marriages, power brokering, and leisure. For the lower nobility, much of their time is spent enacting the will of those above them, actually running the lands of their monarchs, and maintaining the warriors and soldiers t. The lowest of nobles are those that have earned their titles, but no lands to go with them. These hedge knights, or landless lords and ladies often serve those above them as warriors, bodyguards, generals, diplomats, and anything else their lord requires, often for a hefty stipend. Some of these landless knights instead sell their skills to powerful merchants who love to brag they have a Nobel at their call.
Adventurers:
Adventurers are those individuals who make their way through the world trading their affinity for violence, magic, or stealth for wealth, power, and influence. These people are well armed, magically capable, and dangerous to their enemies. . . and sometimes their friends. Kings, Queens, Merchant Princes, and High Priests all know that if there is a particularly sticky problem to be solved or a great treasure to be found there is no one better than an adventurer or three to get the job done. The lost cities, great monsters, dangerous peoples, and ever-shifting politics of the Wild Winds Desert make for a seemingly endless list of opportunities for bold and brave adventurers.
Adventuring Companies:
Groups of adventurers sometimes form communal groups that share treasure, resources, responsibility, and risk. These companies stand a much better chance of getting an official, or long-standing contract with a particular city or noble. Sometimes these companies will band together into full Adventuring Guilds who will control whole territories and have exclusive contracts with cities like any other merchant guild. The best known of these is The White Stone Guild based in Peloch which has been in operation for more than 600 years.
Languages:
There are dozens of languages spoken across the shifting sands, every major species has its language and there are several different dialogues of the most common language, some spoken only in one city. Dwarven, Elven, Orcish, and Halfling are relatively unchanged from their Arnarethian cousins. The accent is certainly different but the structure of the languages is comparable enough that halflings from Ralendall can understand halflings from Peloch with relatively little trouble.
Arambasti:
The most common language spoken across the desert is Armabasti. It is a lyrical language that is great for both speaking and singing and travels well across great distances. Nearly everyone who makes their home in The Wild Winds Desert speaks Arambasti, and it is the dominant language spoken by humans.
Generamne:
A strange mix of all four of the primordial languages, Generamne is common among both those with Genie blood in their families, as well as the people who make the Great Sand Sea their home. This language is unique to the region and not found anywhere else. It is a strange language full of both soft flowing sounds from Auran and Aquan as well as hard stiff consonances from Ignin and Terran.
Pelandall:
A language unique to Peloch, Pelandall is a strange mix of Arambasti and Ralendallien. This language is leftover from the years when Ralnedall laid claim to Peloch during its great crusade. While the invaders have for the most part been driven out, some people settled there and their children and children's children are still to be found in the city.
Trawk Le:
Trawk Le is the sign language used by the dwarves who make their homes throughout the region. Due to how the metals and gems of the desert are harvested and turned into goods there is both a need for an ability to communicate without speaking, as well as a high instance of hearing loss amongst the dwarves. To combat this the dwarves of the Wild Winds Desert have developed a unique form of sign language that most dwarves learn at the same time as their spoken language.
Coin and Commerce:
If one single reason explains how humans have: come to dominate so much of the world compared to older, wiser species, it might be this: Humans are Ermendia’s best merchants. The great ports of Arnareth spin gold like a spider spins silk. Dwarves excel at pure industry and craftsmanship, and elves command ancient magic conceived long before humans walked Ermendria’s lands, but humans command a different and perhaps more powerful magic, The magic of gold.
The growth of human prosperity and influence in lands that were once wilderness is the single greatest development in the lands of Ermendria over the last thousand years or so. Human settlers carve out freeholds and villages from the virgin wilderness, often fighting for their lives and property against the monsters (or sometimes the elves, fey folk, or forest creatures) who dwell there. From the new settlements flow raw materials such as timber, furs, valuable ores, and perhaps fish or meat. More humans come to harvest. The waiting riches and new cities are born. Eventually, a city is surrounded by farmland instead of forest, and the process repeats in some other trackless forest or mountain valley.
Perhaps nowhere is this more obvious than The Wild Winds Desert. Humans are the newest people to call the region home, and yet within a relatively short time, they have come to dominate the region. The whims, feuds, and policies of the human rulers and settlements shape the lives of everyone who makes the desert their home. Of all the forces that shape daily life, none is more influential than money and trade. Cities, kingdoms, dynasties, all rise and fall with the fortunes that are made in the desert.
Agriculture:
Agriculture in the region is, like everywhere else, dictated by water. Most people who live in The Wild Winds Desert are involved in creating food in some way. Whether that is tending crops, raising livestock, fishing, hunting, or processing food into finished products, most people's lives revolve around food creation.
Many of the wandering tribes keep herds of livestock. Goats, camels, sheep, and even giant insects are kept and cultivated by these tribes. Many of the oases cities set aside portions of their lands for these tribes to cultivate for themselves, in exchange the tribes protect caravans that move through their territories, and guarantee trade continues to flow. Because of their nomadic lives, these tribes are often the first to come across new deposits of gems, powdered minerals, and even blasting powder. This means that many of these tribes are actually very wealthy and trade heavily with the cities.
The Four Rivers produce nearly two-thirds of all the food eaten in the Wild Winds Desert. It is the only region that produces enough food and other agricultural products to not only export it around the desert but to other lands as well. The beef, parchment, and in particular the olive oil that is produced in this region is prized throughout the desert and beyond. The northern cities of the Great Sand Sea rely heavily on food imported from the Four Rivers. The southern cities rely much more heavily on imports flowing through Peloch from Vyaparik and Chitram on the other side of the Deep Stone Mountains.
Industry:
Unsurprisingly, the most industrious peoples of the region are the three dwarven cities. From the trains that now crisscross the desert, to the bulk of the raw metal and coinage, to the most prized manufactured goods including blasting powder and the guns that harness it, all of these things flow from the three great dwarven citadels. Solid metal ore is rare in the desert. The mountains, which are rich in lots of different kinds of stone, have no metal ore left in them and haven't for a long time. Instead, there are whole families of dwarves who spend nearly all their time crisscrossing the sands in search of valuable gems and minerals that have come through from the elemental plane of Earth. These mineral blooms happen, seemingly at random, and can appear anywhere. To make sure they are ready to take advantage on a moment's notice the dwarves constructed large traveling mining operations. These rolling villages, sometimes called sand scrubbers, are a triumph of both industry and magic and have helped the dwarves of the Wild Wind Desert to become some of the richest in all of Ermendia.
Dwarves are not the only people to hunt for wealth in the desert. Halfling clans favor speed over size, using a mix of fast-moving sand skiffs and swift-footed mounts these industrious clans try to out-race the dwarven sand scrubbers and snatch up as much of the wealth as possible before being driven off by the larger and more powerful dwarven clans. While the other wandering clans of the desert dabble in mineral hunting, it is not their main focus. A talented Diviner can make quite a living helping to predict and guide these mineral hunters to valuables first.
For the elves of Stonewood, almost all of their industry is focused on the cultivation of their unique trees. As the trees age they become more and more petrified, a holdover of whatever magic caused the desert to be formed. This means that depending on when you harvest the trees they have all sorts of amazing applications. From extremely sturdy and strong bows to rock-hard wooden armor and weapons to unique works of art carved from wood found nowhere else the trees of Stonewood are the central focus of the elven industry of the desert.
Thanks to the unique ways magic acts in the desert and the unique materials that are found here magic items of all kinds are made here and find their way all around the world. These items are prized for their quality, their unique properties, and the amazing magic they are capable of. This has led to, especially in the cities of the Great Sand Sea a culture that values artisans of all stripes. Glassblowing, Masonry, Weapon and Armor Smithing, Metalworking, Gem Cutting, Weaving, and many other industries thrive in the cities, supported by materials brought in by the tribes that spend their lives in the deep desert. From rare plants to uncommon gems to monster parts or living monsters of all kinds, a steady stream of raw materials from the deep desert is needed to keep the artisans of the cities busy and profitable.
Trade:
Trade is, in many ways the most influential force across the wild sands of the desert. More than war, weather, the whims of the gods, or the greatest of magics trade and money shape the lives of everyone between the two great mountain ranges. Thanks to the Wild Winds Desert's unique nature, several goods that can't be found anywhere else are made here. These items help to make the region comparatively very wealthy. With the creation of the rail lines that now circle the desert, it is easier than ever to move goods both within the desert and to ports allowing them to be exported to far-off ports. This has spread the wealth out more evenly than ever before, much of the wealth concentrated in the Four River Kingdoms and Peloch has spread out now that the cities of the central desert can get their goods to ports and far-off markets easier than ever.
Arnkrufuth Stone:
This stone is found only in the Deepstone Mountains and is one of the most sought-after goods in and out of the Wild Winds Desert. It is an extremely hard stone ranging in color from light grey to deep black and is always flecked with specs of gems and other minerals. It is not found in large veins, like other ores, but in small seemingly random pockets throughout the mountains and below them. What makes this stone so valuable is its unique magical property. When a spell is cast into the stone, the same way you would cast a spell on a person the stone absorbs the spell and continues the effect without the caster needing to concentrate on it. The larger the piece of stone the longer the spell effect will be maintained by the stone. A piece of stone the size of a fist can maintain a spell for 8 hours. The largest single piece ever found is in Tsfun Barg, it was carved into the main audience chamber the the queen holds her court in.
Blasting Powder:
Of all the minerals, gems, precious metals, and other things that appear in the Great Wind Desert none are more sought after than blasting powder(also known as Bix by the dwarves). This strange sandlike powder appears, seemingly at random throughout the great sand sea, and every time it does it is a mad scramble to harvest it. Up until recently, only the dwarves used the blasting powder for anything. Many a desert clan became rich harvesting bix and selling it to the dwarves. Recently the Bloodsteel guild in Peloch has started buying Bix as well making harvesting it quickly more important than ever. While the vast majority of firearms are still made in the three dwarven cities, the new and quickly growing market for them in Peloch may soon create a power shift in the blasting powder market.
Desert Pearls:
For a long time desert pearls, also known as Alhu Jawharra, were only found by luck. They were not grown or farmed in any way. Recently a particularly daring clan of Halflings known as the Winder Whisperers have started to intentionally create them. This is dangerous, and nearly suicidal since alhu jawharra occurs when a small gem, or even a fleck of gem gets caught between the scales of a juvenile Dunewinder. As these great worms mature their body coats the small gem in these layers of scale. By the time the dunewinder reaches maturity these desert pearls can be as large as a watermelon, though most are closer to the size of an egg. Depending on what gems were the seed of the pearl these potent precious spheres can be used to enhance the effects of elemental magic. The complex interactions between the seed gems and their elemental affinity are carefully tracked and documented by mage academies throughout the region. With the Winder Whisperers making alhu jawharra more common and available people are beginning to experiment more with them. Who knows what potential has yet to be unlocked within these precious pearls?
Bloodsteel:
Bloodsteel first came about as a necessity. With iron and other metals being so uncommon people turned to the iron within them to forge tools and weapons. Bloodsteel is made when iron, is acquired by exposing blood to the magic of the Wild Winds desert. As with all other uncovered liquids, the blood evaporates, leaving behind its iron. From there the iron is forged into bloodsteel. Bloodsteel has a slight red tinge to it and smells faintly of fresh blood and smoke. Now bloodsteel is manufactured by members of the Bloodsteel Guild. The guild has a monopoly on the production of Bloodsteel throughout the region. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t those who make it illegally but whenever these black market makers are found by the guild they are ruthlessly stomped out. Bloodsteel is prized mostly for its magical properties. When made out of humanoid blood these tools are much easier to enchant than weapons made of other materials. When made from the blood of magical creatures the metal still holds power similar to what the creature had in life. The most deadly weapons in the region's history were all made of this unique metal.
Firewire:
Loved by locals and sought after by connoisseurs throughout the world this beverage is known for its spicy flavor and ability to give its drinkers the ability to see glimpses of the future. It is made throughout the region with every vintner believing theirs is the best. Many local festivals and ceremonies revolve around the production of this wine.
Coinage:
While coins are accepted nearly everywhere, it is not the only form of currency accepted in most of the Wild Winds Desert. Bartering and trade are very common among the wandering tribes and the peasants. It is also just as common to pay in, silver, or gem dust as it is in coins or whole gems. Some villages and clans don't use money at all and instead have long lists of debts and credits that they constantly trade on. Usually, it is the job of one of the elders of the clan to remember and chronicle all the debts of credits of the clan.
Travel:
Travel options were unchanged for generations until recently. You could travel the sands on foot or mounted; dangerous but not impossible. For generations, the fastest way of traveling across the sands was by using sand skiffs. Light and sturdy, these ships resembled ships of the sea, except they have large running blades on the bottom to skip across the rough terrain of the desert. Though some people sail the great sand sea alone or on solo ships, many move in large clan-sized caravans. Solo travelers are rare, given all the dangers of the great sand sea, but they are not unheard of. Most people prefer to travel in large groups, either as established caravans or in thrown-together groups of people heading in the same direction. Over time, certain routes, especially between the oases, became well known and traveled enough to be relatively safe.
The advent and rapid expansion of the rail system has completely changed travel across the sands. For the first several years after the trains started running, they were only used for transporting goods and materials, never people. Last year, a group out of Peloch called Vander and Carn revealed they had created a passenger-carrying train. Because it was the only one, it was hugely expensive, but since then, they have worked hard to create more passenger trains, and while it is still not the cheapest means of traveling, it is much more in reach than ever before.
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