The Great Desol

Between the Negresti Empire and the Curran republics lies a massive desert that the people of Iolivus call 'The Great Desol'. It is a mostly barren wasteland of sand dunes, rock outcropping and punishing sunlight. The desert extends all the way to the southern coast of Iolivus and only the barest strip of hospitable land clings to the desert's edge where the ocean laps against the land. This harsh climate combined with the fact that the waters off the coast of the Great Desol are a labyrinth of sharp rock spires and sudden changes in current has seen trade and interaction between Iolivus's two great societies kept to a minimum and directed through the few established trade routes. One of these trade routes relies on the existence of an oasis in the middle of the Desol called the Azurine Basin that exists around a curious natural phenomenon called the Iridescent Nexus. As the only readily habitable environment in the Great Desol, many people have settled in the oasis, eventually founding the city of Pogña.

Pogña

The city of Pogña is built like a ring around a large crystal clear pool of water called the Azurine Basin and is itself surrounded by a tropical forest that is supported by the basin. Pogña is the only easily habitable stop in the Great Desol and so is the hot spot for trade between the people that live on the Desol's outer edges.
Pogña is a city of squat, square building made from adobe and sandstone. As a center for trade, the many markets of Pogña are covered by billowing cloth awnings built on wooden scaffolds in order to shade the people that live and trade in the city streets. These markets are a lively and bustling place where hawkers sell water carried from the basin, deliciously spiced foods cooked over open pit ovens, and juicy fruits collected from the tropical forest that surrounds the city.

The Nexus Keepers

In addition to its position as a mercantile center, Pogña is also known as a center for research and learning as it is administered by an order of monks known as the Nexus Keepers. The Nexus Keepers were originally a traveling group of warrior scholars who devoted themselves to the study of the elements through both martial and scholarly pursuits. While their martial discipline was designed to emulate the cycles of the elemental planes, it was not until their order came to Pogña and beheld the Iridescent Nexus that their pursuits came into focus. They decided to settle in Pogña and built the Nexus Bastion on the Azurine Basin's northern shore and named themselves the Nexus Keepers. From this cloister they dedicated themselves to the study of the Iridescent Nexus. They view the neutrality and stability of Pogña to be paramount to their studies going unhindered and have thus risen to the position of administrators for the city where they have a reputation for fair treatment under the laws.
In addition to their roles as scholars and administrators, the Nexus Keepers are sometimes called upon to defend the city that they call home. Occasional raids from desert dwelling creatures are easily rebuffed by the monks' martial skills. The real danger to Pogña comes from the very thing that keeps it alive, The Iridescent Nexus.

The Iridescent Nexus

The Iridescent Nexus appears to be a point in space above the center of the Azurine Basin that cycles through convergences of the 4 prime elements: Air, Water, Fire, Earth. During an Auran (Air) Convergence, maelstrom winds explode from the Nexus. During a Pyran (Fire) convergence, a column of flame erupts like an inferno, boiling the waters of the basin and lighting the sky. Terran (Earth) convergences are perhaps the least chaotic as a crystal begins growing slowly in the air at the position of the Nexus. This crystal grows until the convergence shifts when it drops into the basin below the Nexus. The crystal is prized as a source of elemental energies for the working of magics, however it is very dangerous to attempt to collect it as a shift in the Nexus could easily be deadly for someone up close. The final type of convergence, Aquan (Water), is what allows Pogña to exist. When water erupts from the Nexus, a torrent of fresh water erupts from the Nexus creating a beautiful floating fountain that pours into the Azurine basin, refilling it and supporting the verdant biome of tropical plant and animal life that lives around Pogña.
While the Nexus is what allows life the thrive in the oasis, during a convergence the aperature of the Nexus is tied directly into the corresponding elemental plane. While this causes predictable natural effects, at times the denizens of those planes can fine their way through the Nexus and into Pogña. These elemental creatures are often disoriented and enraged and must be dispatched by The Nexus Keepers before they can cause significant damage to the oasis and its people.

Tabaxi Clans

While Pogña is the only obviously habitable place in the Desol; clever and rugged life forms have discovered ways to live in the desert. Among these are the Tabaxi. Clans of Tabaxi have discovered subterranean caves and tunnels beneath the desert that follow a system of underground rivers and lakes. Entrances to these labyrinthine tunnels and how to navigate them is a closely kept secret of the Tabaxi clans and while they are happy to interact with outsiders above ground, they jealously guard the secret entrances to their subterranean warren. As the Tabaxi live mostly without sunlight, they have developed a distinct agriculture in their underground settlements that relies on fungus and other things that do not require sunlight to glow. Those who have been given the privilege of visiting a Tabaxi settlement have reported about beautiful formations of luminescent fungus and lichen and culinary delicacies made from the aquatic life that dwells in the underground waterways.
Most Tabaxi clans are interested in trade with surface dwellers as their innate curiosity pushes them to explore and learn about the surface world. Some even leave the clans to explore the wider world of Iolivus. But, some clans resent the fact that they are forced to trade for the secrets of the overworld and have taken to raiding trading caravans. This is led to a distrust of Tabaxi in Pogña; though this distrust falls short of open hostility.

Type

Desert

Location under

Iolivus

Included Locations

• Pogña

Owning Organization

The Nexus Keepers