the Refuge

The Refuge? ´Course i heard rumors of it but never been there or even gotten in sight of it. I wouldn´t even know anyone that has been there. By the stories they tell it must be an abhorrent place. They say only those go there that are nowhere else accepted. I mean i know a few people from Sy-tarmen and even south of there - gruesome characters mind you - and they seem comfortable enough with their surroundings. I almost dare not consider how bad people would have to be to get banned from there and sent into the desert.

— one merchant to another

The Refuge - as it is called mostly by its inhabitants and peoples of the northern, more civilized regions - is a camp-like settlemet in the southern parts of the Great Desert. Among the southlanders , be it from the flats of Naydan river , the borders of the Belt or the shores of First Haven Bay the Refuge is commonly called different names, of which "Camp halfwit" is only the nicest one.
Being a place of refuge for all those banned from society, their inhabitants are unwelcome wherever they show themselves. Thus they are forced to call the cruel desert sands their home. But whenever they come to close to its borders or any other settlements, these settlements will organise raids against the camp until the camp inhabitants move away. The refuge is therefore not always to be found in the same place, instead their camp moves through the desert from oasis to oasis which makes it very hard to find. Luckily for those who seek them out for aid, there is more than one refuge most times. They either get split up during flight or have to split when one oasis is to small to house the whole group.

Folklore and Tradition

The southlanders, being quite superstitious people, believe in the existence of black skinned monsters that wander the Great Desert. Any raids that happen close to the borders of the desert are blamed on these fairy tale monsters. Women that get raped during the attacks and fall pregnant after are believed to be carrying a cursed child: A half-breed.
Often the women are forced to abort their unborn infants, those who refuse are banned. The ones who keep their pregnancy secret or are hidden by their family are either banned after birth or separated from their newly born, the babies brought into the desert to die.
It takes a very brave woman to save herself and her baby. She must leave her home and wander alone through the desert, in search of the refuge, where she can give birth to her baby.
The infants and children that come here are raised as best a they might be under the given circumstances. As they are shunned by society for waht they are few leave the place until they are adults and have learned to adapt to society.

Defences

The Refuge has no defences. Its only protection is the vast emptyness of the desert and the ever-blowing wind that hides their tracks.

Alternative Name(s)

Camp halfwit

Type

Camp, Temporary