The Sandsea

The nation of Kalava'khir is one of the largest countries geographically on the continent of Ilvanys, but the regions that are actually inhabited are few, and very far between.   Throughout Kalava'khir are a number of oases, the largest of which are accompanied by the arcane crystalline cities that house the majority of the population. Between these cities are vast miles of desolate terrain, endless dunes that stretch beyond the horizon. This ocean of dunes and cracked land is what is referred to in Common as "The Sandsea".   Once upon a time, the nation of Kalava'khir was the Elven kingdom of Kalaevaan, a lush region comprised mostly of dense jungles. Following a catastrophe long ago, the life was drained from the region, turning the verdant geography into a wasteland and destroying the nation of Kalaevaan. The survivors of this catastrophe called the region "Khir", derived from an old Elven word meaning "desolate" or "ruin". Until the nation of Kalava'khir established itself centuries later, the lands of Khir were considered an inhospitable, cursed territory.   However, despite the destruction of Kalaevaan, Khir was not entirely devoid of life: While it has a reputation as being nearly impossible to traverse, some of the population of Kalaevaan survived, fracturing into two major groups. The first of these eventually went on to create the nation of Kalava'khir some generations later, but the latter roamed the desert, learning how to live among the burning sands of Khir. Following the Undead plague that swept the land, life eventually began to return to the Sandsea in its own way, developing a new ecosystem of creatures that could live beneath the harsh sun and ravaged terrain, and the people of the desert have learned to survive in this new ecosystem, largely by hunting the new local fauna and using Druidic magic to grow short-lived crops in the few areas where it's possible.   In the time since it was converted to a vast desert, the Sandsea has become home to a multitude of new species, some of which evolved to adapt to the harsh geography while others migrated into the new terrain once it became suitable for their species. Among these are the wyverns, an offshoot descendant of dragons that're able to glide upon the strong winds found throughout the region and make their nests upon the mountaintops that persisted after the land was corrupted. These draconic beasts have been tamed by the natives of the Sandsea, and are used as mounts to scout the terrain and hunt, and even within the cities of Kalava'khir stories of raiding wyvern-riders are well-known and respected. This reputation is only furthered by rumors that dragons themselves live within the region, which has led to a common belief that the wyvern-riders are actually envoys of these legendary beasts. Whether such claims are backed by fact or not is left a mystery, as the locals whom would benefit from such claims clearly would see no reason to dispel them, and outsiders have little way to confirm the information. However, stories of individuals getting lost while crossing the great Sandsea and spotting glimpses of large, draconic entities in the skies above are not uncommon, though whether such claims are the result of actual eyewitness accounts or simply the addled minds of parched wanderers remains mostly unclear.   Another, arguably more hostile threat found within the Sandsea are the Sandworms, or "Khorudahk" as they're called by the locals. Biologists that have made the ill-advised attempt to study these giant beasts generally conclude that they must be some form of tangential species from the infamous Purple Worms that are known to dig tunnels through the deeper regions of the world. Differentiating themselves from their Purple Worm cousins, however, these Sandworms seem to trade the highly potent venom found among the Purple Worms for even greater size and aggression. The most stark difference between the Purple Worm and the Khorudahk is that the former is coated in a thick, viscous membrane that they use to breath, whereas the latter lacks this film coating their outer body. Instead, the Khorudahk possesses a number of chitinous plates along the length of its body that length of its body that can fan out, during which it purges any dust and sand that it has gathered and intakes a large amount of oxygen whilst surfacing, not unlike the spiracle used by whales and dolphins to expunge water when they surface. As such, when these Sandworms surface, it is always accompanied by a massive, explosive dust cloud, followed by an eardrum-shattering "screech" as it in inhales a vast amount of air before burrowing once again. This makes these creatures especially difficult to wound in any significant fashion, as the nigh-impenetrable plates that cover its body only separate in the moments when the monster surfaces, which unfortunately for would-be hunters, is also the moment when they are the most deadly. Also interestingly, it seems these Sandworms lack the famously deadly stinger and accompanying venom found among Purple Worms, instead relying on raw force to overpower their enemies. The meat of a single Sandworm can sustain a tribe for weeks, but the methods by which the poisonous flesh can be cured and made safe for consumption is a closely-guarded secret of the nomadic tribes found throughout the Sandsea, and to this day without the aid of magic those who live in the cities of Kalava'khir are unable to properly replicate this process.   It is not only the fauna of the Sandsea that make it such a dangerous region, nor the blistering heat and seemingly-endless dunes. The sparse vegetation that can be found across the region is, as a general rule, poisonous: Some of this is attributed to simple evolutionary developments, while others seem to be a residual effect of the corruptive influence that transformed the land so long ago. Countless corpses are buried beneath the sands due to desperate wanderers finding what they believe to be salvation in the form of local plant life, only to realize too late its deadly toxicity. Some of these plants, such as the Fireblood Flower, are considered highly valuable in certain circles specifically for their potency as a poison ingredient. Furthermore, the weather itself is set against any would-be navigators, as sandstorms are not just frequent, but expected: If one is unaware of the methods by which they may anticipate one of these storms, they almost assuredly will find themselves buried beneath a wave of dust and sand, unable to do anything but await their inevitable, suffocating demise. Even in the rare cases when it does rain in the Sandsea, it often is so hot and dry in the region that the water actually evaporates before it reaches the parched ground and sand dunes, leaving nothing but taunting streaks of mist in the air above.   While there are those who have learned to survive in this hostile environment, for most the prospect of attempting to traverse the Sandsea is all but asking to die, and for this reason the Arcane Cities of Kalava'khir have developed arguably the most sophisticated system of teleportation magics on the continent with the specific goal of circumventing the need to cross the desert.