Stodor Desert

Were it not for a lack of water, vegetation and shelter, the Stodor would almost be pleasantly habitable.

— Ordall Marvo Niscent, realm guide

A Dry Basin

by Julien Lavallee

Located in southern Garyiala, the Stodor encompasses a large part of the Vogar Basin. Flanked by the Mirdarn Mountains in the northeast and the Rurzun Mountains in the south, it is sheltered from the weather. The basin is drained by the Vogar River, which runs south of the desert and ends up in the large saline Mirror Lake. While most rivers draining the mountains dry up in the sands of the desert, the Rilris River also reaches Mirror lake in summer.

A Cold Wasteland

by Martino Pietropoli

Vegetation is sparse in the Stodor. Thin thickets of tamarisk and few herbs survive throughout the desert where groundwater lies close to the surface. Near the rivers, and especially near the Vogar River, vegetation is richer. There, feather grass, wormwood, acacia and poplars can be found in small forests.
Similarly, animal life is few. In the forests, deer and wild boar can be found, as well as wolves and foxes. In the sand dunes, rabbits, gerbils, jerboas and several reptiles live, and owls, woodpeckers and jays are the most common birds.

Nomads of the Desert

The few people who make the Stodor desert their home are mostly Utrurg and few Rurzani Garyialans. Both are nomadic cattle herders. The Utrurg are native to the desert and migrate up and down the Vogar and the Rilris. The Rurzani are native to the Rurzan Mountains, and migrate north into the desert when the rivers flow in summer. Both groups travel the salt road and trade salt and other goods between Garyiala and the untainted regions in Utreas.

Since the Stodor is mainly uninhabitable, the Garyialan government uses it as a place to dispose of extinct sun crystals.

They are burried in wooden or steel boxes in holes about five meters deep, to ensure they cannot harm the living.