The Sahara Desert

Earth is home to many variable geographic areas. Unlike many places in the multiverse like Orkanis or Dreandril, the climates and structure of Earth appears to be entirely natural. The sheer size of the Sahara Desert is a marvel in its own right, then, even to travellers from worlds with more distinctively supernatural geography. In addition to being a place of great natural wonder, its inhospitable nature has made it a haven for some Seven mages, leading to the establishment of some Sanctuaries in the region.

Climate and Life

These 9.2 million square kilometres of desert are known as some of the hottest on the Earth's surface. Contrary to the popular belief of many, pure sand is rather rare with most of the area taken up by rock formations and some regions of shifting gravel and coarse rock. What little life that survives here does so near small oases or close to the coasts. 
Foxes are the archetypical Saharan animal, although it is not impossible to come across wild dogs, cheetahs and gazelles. Snakes, scorpions and ants are also well-known crawling things here, although they are mostly feared for their venomous bites and painful stings. Terrans often keep domesticated goats and camels to help travel the desert and provide sustenance, and these humans tend to stick to the oases or the coasts.

Sanctuaries in the Desert

Besides the Sanctuaries that are normal for small cities (such as in Timbuktu, Tripoli, Agadez and Nouakchott), many small groups of mages have relocated into the desert in order to be away from nearby mundane societies. These Sanctuaries are often areas of scholarship, the dry desert air being particularly suited for the preservation of old parchment and written materials from much older magical societies. Magic also simplifies the process of living in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet, meaning that they can stay away from major roads and trade routes without worrying about mundane interference.

Alternative Name(s)

صَحَارَى (original Arabic, said "sahara")

Type

Desert

Location under

Earth

The Incident at Murzuk

Murzuk is located in the nation of Libya in the north-central part of the desert. The country has been deep in the throes of civil war for most of the past decade and a half.
While Murzuk is far from the fighting, a group of soldiers loyal to the government in Tripoli came under attack there a few years ago. What they didn't know was that a recent mage was among them and he instinctively threw up a wall of thorns to block incoming gunfire. The Seven had to quickly step in to provide a mundane explanation for the event, but there are still occasional rumours of a saint living among the people of the town.

All images used in this article were created by me, EmperorCharlesII, unless otherwise credited.