Plains of Purple Dust
The Plains of Purple Dust are the remnants of a centuries-ago war of eradication between two magical kingdoms. Experimental magical weapons and curses interacted with one another in unexpected ways, creating the terrible wild-magic zone known as the Plains of Purple Dust from the shattered remnants of the two realms. As the magic in the dust gradually converts non-magical matter around it, the Plains have gradually expanded.
Rituals cast by druidic circles and allied clerics have been able to slow and even reverse the transformation at the edge of the Plains, but they are never able to make enough headway before the winds rise and the casters are forced to end the rituals and take cover. Several druidic circles and churches repeat the rituals every year, as often as their strongest casters are able, ensuring the spread of the Plains is kept to a slow and relentless creep.
When the sandstorm winds blow from the south-east, they can form looming purple walls, with the stormfront crackling with lightning-like discharges of wild magic. The discharges earth themselves quickly unless travellers are within the Plains themselves, leaving the shimmering wall of glittering sand particles sweeping across the desert to envelope travellers.
Geography
Located within the south-eastern section of the Desert of Desolation, the Plains of Purple Dust are largely a featureless expanse resembling a normal sandy desert coloured purple. The sharp glitter of light off the crystalline sand gives away its makeup, and some areas of rock within the plains have resisted transmutation thanks to veins of magic-absorbing ore within them. These regions form buttes and mesas projecting out of the dust. There are tales that some of the buildings of the long-lost kingdoms have somehow survived, with treasure troves within - but they are told by individuals hideously changed by exposure to the wild magic of the plains, living examples of the risks of venturing past the border.
Localized Phenomena
Winds sweeping across the plains easily pick up the fine particles of crystal and sweep them through the air. The magically-charged crystals rubbing against one another swiftly create discharge effects much like static electricity earthing itself in shocks of wild magic. As the winds pick up, the discharges form coruscating bolts, striking the ground like multi-coloured lightning. These strikes form puddles of fused crystal, and the quantity of stored magic in close proximity can have unusual effects beyond even the normal strange magic of the area.
Spells cast within the plains often go haywire, frequently being supercharged or having unusual effects. Fireballs cast into the region may leave a shimmering circle of frost before it evaporates in the sun, or create hugely expanded globes of incandescent flame burning unwary casters. Scorching rays may turn into blasts of water or thickets of vines that grow with astonishing speed before turning into purple crystal sculptures that collapse with a tinkling crash.
Fauna & Flora
There are no commonly-recognised animals or plants in the plains, all having either fallen victim to Glitterlung or been transmuted centuries ago. However, there are rumours of movement having been sighted within the plains by observers: strange, angular creatures made of animate, seemingly-living crystal.
Natural Resources
The sand crystals contain a magical charge in each particle, with a high potential effect. Many magic-users have experimented with the sand over the centuries, to little avail. The insidious transmuting effect of the sand upon whatever it is in contact with is far too dangerous, and the only effective means of containing it, such as containers lined with walls of force, are so esoteric and expensive that they outweigh any advantage obtained from the magic of the crystals.
Rock formations within the plains resist the transformation effect thanks to veins of a rare magic-absorbing ore, but there is no practical way to mine them without risking exposure to the wild magic contained within the sandstorms which sweep the area.
Type
Desert
Location under
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