The Petrichor of Sarthik

As winter descends along the coasts of The Far Reaches, the mists rise. Fishermen scramble back to shore and the wise seek shelter. The Petrichor of Sarthik heralds the storm.

The mortals of this world must be reminded from time to time that, before the gods, they are as ants before the rains. They could do with more such reminders.

— - Talvyr the Darkstorm, High Priest of Sarthik

When I smell the Petrichor coming, I row hard for shore and don't stop 'til I hit trees. I seen people hesitate before. We bury the ones what wash up and the sea take the rest.

— -Kai the Fisherman

A Different Kind of Mist

While the coastline of the Reaches is often a misty place, covered with a fog so dense, you can hardly see the waves right in front of you, the Petrichor brings with it the start of the cloudburst season. To the uninitiated, it appears as any other rolling white out, blanketing the coast and swallowing the sea and land as it comes, but the smell is the telling part - as the fog reaches land this time, it brings with it the soft musk of the earth, the natural sweetness of sea grasses, and the crisp breath of the brewing storm.

The Fury of Sarthik

The storm god is a cruel and capricious deity. His priests claim that the Petrichor is fair warning that he is about to release his wrath upon the land once again. They say that those who ignore the smell that comes with the Petrichor have rightfully peaked the god's anger, and many a fisherman has met an untimely end in confusion even as his fellows rowed hard for shore. If the clerics are correct, then to be fair, the Lord of Storms does send a clear message: the scent of the Petrichor can be truly overwhelming to behold. It serves as an obvious marker for any who know to smell for it. Only new arrivals to the Reaches should ever be caught off guard.

Turning the Seasons

The Petrichor invariably brings with it the short but brutal rainy season of The Far Reaches. It arrives all at once, usually on a clear day somewhere between The beginning of Deeprest and the end of Dawnrush. As winter grips most of the rest of the hemisphere, storms take hold here, lashing the land but bringing with them the promise of new growth and the turning of the seasons.