The Usmay Desert
The Usmay Desert is a huge expanse that covers the southeastern peninsula of Walica. It is the largest desert and the home of the Usmians, Citizens of Usmay who rely on gifted individuals to terraform their areas, creating oases that provide refuge against sandstorms that are very common in the area. It is lined by The Wall to the North, which prevents the desert's expansion into Ashines, and The Voornes Mountains To the west.
Geography
The desert and its dunes cover the entirety of Usmay and is only broken up by hidden, occasionally uncovered caves, and the oases that Usmay creates as refuges for their citizens. Sandstorms are often preceded by a low moaning or 'singing', which are often mythologized as sirens that lure travelers unaware of the dangers. Rocky formations occur towards the west, with the central areas generally consisting of shifting dunes. There are stories of a city buried under the sands, but none have been able to find them. coastal areas
Ecosystem
There arent a lot of animals or plants in the Usmay Desert but they are mostly reptilian with some small mammals. The reptiles mostly sun themselves in the morning and afternoons, sleeping covered in the sand during the cold nights, the mammals will also bury themselves, but will hide in the caves wherever possible, coming out at night to hunt and forage, the caves are the only natural source of water in the desert and naturally much of the plant-life that can be found will be found around these caves, any natural oases will be found around these. There are very few plants that can survive outside of these environments and consequently those that are adapted are protected by being drought resistant, highly poisonous, or physically repulsive through spines or scent. Animals and people have adapted to these protections in various ways in order to consume them, leading to very creative adaptations such as the Sandglider which possesses very hard smooth flat feet that it can use to glide over and through the sand by using a 'waving' movement of its body, that it also uses to shave spiny plants before consuming the inside flesh.
Ecosystem Cycles
The entirety of Usmay is arid, and the desert is no exception, with the exception of the coast, rainfall is very rare, only occurring about once or twice a year when particularly strong headwinds blow humidity from The Southern Sea or The Eastern Sea allowing torrential rains to fall in areas that it lands. This ignites the soil, and countless plants begin rapidly growing to accept the moisture. Locals call this "Green Fire" or "The Fire of Life" , within a matter of days, these new plants grow, bloom and germinate, and those who can stay silent, are usually able to hear a soft popping sound coming from these plants as they grow. The plants drop their seeds back into the sand as conditions begin drying, and before long, Sandstorms move in to reclaim the land for the desert, erasing any remnants of life. There are sects of Usmians who follow and chart these headwinds in order to find, catalogue and transplant many of these rare plants in order to discover any medicinal effects buried amid the sand.
Localized Phenomena
"The Green Fire" or "The Fire of Life is a rare Phenomenon where seeds that lay dormant and amid the sand is activated by a sudden downpour and the entire landscape erupts into lush fields of strange looking plants
"The Siren Song" is a phenomenon that occcurs particularly in the sandier parts of the desert just before a sandstorm begins, where winds rub the grains of sand together causing them to vibrate and hum at different frequencies, this gives the illusion of someone or someones singing, leading to many accounts of the Desert Sirens who lure unknowing individuals to their deaths, leaving only sun-bleached bones behind.
"The God-Perches" are large boulders in the north boardering The Voornes Mountains that are curiously stood atop thin spires. Their formation is a mystery, but there are many myths associated with their formation. What is known is that when the wind is just right, it whistles though, suggesting spirits to the locals who see it as both a holy and cursed place depending on community.
History
The Desert has existed for thousands pf years, though it was not always so large, as evidenced by the existance of The Wall, which suggests that a group of unknown people built it to protect the rest of Walica.
The Country of Usmay was established just after the The Acran War by desert nomads who were forced to isolate and protect themselves. They were forced to adapt and have come up with ingenious innovations to adapt to and utilize the agressive conditions to their benefit. They are no strangers to terraforming the land and predicting weather patterns. They are very comforatable using stars for navigation and have similar star formations they use for navigation as The Oshus to keep their way amid the ever changing landscape.
Tourism
There are myths of a hidden city among the sands, but there is no evidence that one ever existed let alone can be found today. This among other myths are huge draws for tourists from all over. Combined with the famous hospitality of Usmians, Usmay is a major destination country for those who seek myth, and adventure, but also those who come to admire the adaptations Usmay has made for such a hostile environment. The people are incredibly welcoming as their faith and culture dictate it to be so, but naturally there are pickpockets everywhere to take advantage of the foreigners.
So called "Weather Watchers" are a group of Usmian researchers who look for The Green Fire. Naturally Tourists come from all over to travel with them to witness the phenomenon and help the researchers with cataloguing the various flora that sprout.
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