The Hun Desert

The Hun Desert is the Isles' largest desert and is located in the Abnak region. It's expanse covers most of the inland areas of the southern portion of the island, and bleeds into the rocky plains of the southern section of the Tiashan Region.

Geography

The Hun Desert is expansive. It is nestled between the coastal jungles and hills of the Abnak Region, and encompasses much of the landmass moving east to west. While a desert, it is moderate in temperature during most of the year, but sees very little precipitation year long outside of the storm channel. The Hun features rolling dunes, rocky plateaus, and thin but tall mountains. A few rivers run down from the mountains, primarily in the center of the desert, and flow into the southern sea. These areas of fresh water are home to thin forests that blend into jungles near the coast.
Monoliths, cracked statues, and forgotten temples lay both out in the sun, and hidden beneath the sands here. With each passing year, new discoveries are being unveiled or rehidden by the heavy winds that wrack the area. The settlers of the desert, mainly the orcs of Abnak, utilize the many rocky outcroppings as walls of their villages, blocking much of the wind and harsh sunlight. It is also in these formations that the [Immortals] of the area carved their great homes and palaces; the most popular and still used being [The Pit of King Abnak].
Most of the desert is hilly, with the center of the desert being the highest in elevation. Tall dunes of red-brown sand fill much of the desert. In the flatter parts, scrub-land, sandstone flats, and thickets of [Shardstone] can be found.

Localized Phenomena

The Storm Channel

A localized weather phenomena known as the Storm Channel can be found near the center of the Hun Desert and encompasses an area of about a hundred miles wide and three-hundred miles long. The channel covers most of the central mountain ranges and part of the Storm Run River. 
Within this channel are several unnatural lightning and rainstorms that wrack the area with wind, rain, and lightning. Dark clouds seem to be ever present over the area, and do not seem to move out from the channel into other areas of the desert or the region. Several creatures live within the channel that otherwise would not usually be found in the Hun Desert, which makes for an interesting and diverse ecosystem. Flora and fauna here seemed to have uniquely adapted to the weather and have even gained supernatural abilities or powers such as the [Gusthawk] ability to supercharge its flight speed with supernatural wind manipulation.
Due to the excessive rain in the area the channel is often sought after by rain-herders, who make the long and dangerous trip to the channel and back. Current practices involve large caravans fetching large barrels full of rain water and bringing them back to villages and towns across the desert.

Zap Sand

If the heat, dry weather, lack of water, and dangerous creatures were not enough, even the sands of the desert themselves can be dangerous, if not deadly to an unsuspecting traveler. Much of the land itself has been suffused with draconic magic, and it is this magic over the centuries before Dragon Fall that has caused the sands to occasionally become electric. Locals refer to it as Zap Sand - sand that gives off sudden electrifying sparks, strong enough to hurt, and sometimes kill anyone who treads on it. Luckily for local life, patches of zap sand are rare. Unfortunately, they are random and every changing. A patch you find today, might be gone in an hour, or a day. A path once thought safe, could suddenly become shockingly dangerous. 
During the day zap sand can be especially hard to spot, but at night, you can see the sparks and crackles of hot blue light from hundreds of yards away. However, zap sand can be harvested and preserved for later use. Such a process has become more popular in the last decade, and metal vials of zap sand are reaching markets all across the isles.

Natural Resources

Stone is plentiful in the desert. Over the years several quarries have been built and maintained to excavate stone from the earth for use in Abnak. When the Immortals were in their dragon forms, several would have burrowed under the sands, seeking privacy, treasure, and respite. Some of these tunnels and holes were later transformed into mines and quarries. Some of the more common types of ore found in the ground here include copper, tin, and iron. Several mines are still in operation and King Raashad II is has been pushing for increased mining and metalwork over the last several years.
Another precious resource found in the Hun Desert is shardstone. A jagged black-gray material that often is confused for obsidian, shardstone is found in patches known as glades across the desert. These small hand-sized stones stick up from the earth and are found in small clusters in groupings of three to seven. It is believed that these glades were created by electrical discharges from dragons. The discharges would fuse with the sands and dirt and transform into shardstone. Sometimes pieces of shardstone retain electrical properties or an affinity for lightning magic.
Shardstone is durable and sharp, and exceedingly hard to work and cut. Its favored use has been the creation of weapons and ceremonial tools. The discovery of a shardstone glade can prove to be extremely profitable and thus is greatly sought after and horded.

Alternative Name(s)

The Shocking Sands

Type

Desert

Location under

Abnak Region

Included Locations

• The Pit