Koorul
Koorul is the Draconic name for an extensive canyon system filled with banded colors of rock in remote wilderness. For millennia, this has been a precious resource of water, shelter, and cultural significance for all Desert dwellers.
Physical description / Structure
The canyons of Koorul display a broad spectrum of colors within the bending and swaying layers of its stone cliffs. Each of hundreds of shades of red, yellow, orange, blue, and purple seem brighter at the time of day when that color is most vibrant in the sun above. Dots and streaks of green stand out stark against the earthen painting where seeds have found enough water to sprout.
Koorul is said to have multiple waterfalls, but one is certain to be found when a traveler wanders deep enough. The waterfall is referenced in many stories and legends among the Desert peoples, especially noted for the fact that one can’t follow a stream to its source. The falls seem only to come into existence when the sound of rushing water can be heard around a bend.
Water exits from an opening high up at the dead-end of a tall crevice, to land into a broad, shallow pool. The stream flows only a short way beyond its origin before disappearing beneath another stone cliff, just before reaching the bend leading out. The steep, forward-leaning angle of the cliffs discourages easy climbing for most sentients, though there is plenty of space along the smooth banks to rest and perform rituals.
Sources claiming the exact size and shape of Koorul are inconsistent; much like the location of the Desert Spire, it can be difficult to find among the dunes, or one may get lost in its labyrinth and come out a far distance in the opposite direction one had been traveling.
Cunning wildlife thrives in Koorul. While it is possible to obtain food by hunting within the canyons, most find it too difficult, laying eyes on creatures only a few moments before they disappear from sight. Foraging is a bit easier, but beyond this, the canyons do not give many reasons to stay within its cliffs.
History
Koorul has remained neutral ground for thousands of generations. The invisible Ley Line which passes through the flourishing canyons has long drawn mystics and mages most sensitive to the song of its winds. It has long been a place of solitude, of meditation, and of ritual.
Though generous with experiences, sensations, and even visions, the unsettling and unexplained occurrences which accompany them have proven too frequent and disorienting to encourage long-term claim by any one or group of sentients.
In addition, any mystic or mage who has attempted to close off and guard its waterfalls and winding pathways for any price has always seemed to come to a gruesome end before building their advantage. The Desert peoples like to say that Koorul defends itself.
