Great desert of Northern Abyssia
The Great Desert of Northern Abyssia extends across the whole of the continent from East to West. Only the border areas and the scattered oasis have any life to be found. From the narrow river valley of Aegyptos in the east, the Black Talon ridge of the south and the Altan mountains of the Mahgrabtan states in the west, the entire desert is filled with rolling dunes of sand, harsh obsidian outcrops of rock and fields of fiery sky glass. To the north lies the Sea of Spilled Wine.
In the center of the desert is a depression. Fed by oasis around the periphery and limited run off from the Black Talons during the wet season is a caustic soda, hyper saline lake. The waters are deadly to any being unaccustomed to it. The depression being relatively swallow often dries up causing algae and bacteria to bloom. At this time the lake is a reddish pink color. The only creatures that can live in it are a few birds, crustaceans and a few fish along the shore.
During the dry season caravans will journey to the depression lake to mine salt. These miners must remain vigilant for raiders and slavers from the lost City a Thaylos to the south. Thaylos ruled by a cruel breed of beastmen, the lamias. Creatures with the lower bodies of multiple beasts and the upper torso of humans. Along with other beastmen that serve them, mostly those of predatory and scavenger stock they value taking humans captive as they can only breed with themselves and humans. Other races if fortunate are fed upon, otherwise they are enslaved.
Regardless of the Thaylosian threat and the climatic difficulties there is a region in the great dunes that is said to be the lair of a great serpent. No one knows for certain. Those who have journeyed there have never returned.
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