Deshret Continent

Deshret seems to have a lot of the 'largest' things. The largest mountain, the largest mountain chain, the largest desert, the largest oasis, and the largest- and only -sandsea.

— Archivist Nemo

Overview

This curiously triangular continent is home to the tallest mountain in the world, The Avon'Col, which is a long dormant volcano. Another distinctive landmark of Deshret is the massive Rayiq Mountain Ring, which circles almost along the edge of the entire continent. The Rayiq encases the Awldor's largest desert within, the Oniruuru Desert. The Nerehet Sandsea can be found on the Deshret continent as well, although getting to it as an outsider is a challenge. The mountain ring that practically outlines the continent is nigh impassable except for the few small gaps which are controlled by greedy lords. Do not skimp on bringing coins if planning to enter the inner continent through these gaps. If traveling to the inner region of Deshret, bring plenty of water for the air within the mountain ring is said to be incredibly dry.

The Gateways are the political powers of the continent. While the shores of the continent have more food there's more gems in the Oniruuru.

— Nailah Xuan, Salt Guild Farmer

Gateway Cities

Unlike the countries of Quassus, the major political powers on the Deshret Continent are concentrated in a few large cities called gateways. These cities are referred to as gateways due to their position within the rare open passes of the Rayiq Mountain Ring, which is largely considered to be impassable to most trailblazers. If the mountains are walls, then the cities have become their gates.
Being a Rayiq gate is an advantageous position that has given the authority within the gateway cities exclusive control over the only open trade routes to and from the Oniruuru Desert. This has allowed the gateways to impose hefty levies of various kinds on passing travelers. The fees have become so exorbitant in recent years that only the well-to-do can afford safe passage through a gateway city. Many of these individuals are involved in profitable guilds.
Most sources recognize Vavahady as the largest and most influential of the gateway cities.

Geography

Deshret possesses the largest desert in the world, and this desert makes up nearly the entirety of the continents inner surface. The borders of this desert is lined by The Mountain Ring, which is the largest and tallest mountain chain in Awldor. The tallness of these mountains has had the effect of preventing water vapor from reaching the inner continent. As a result, The Great Deshret Desert exists, although some suspect that some arcane forces are responsible for the jarring difference in climate on either side of the mountains. Perhaps the cause of the desert is related in some way to the forces that created The Sandsea). Those who have made it to the summit of one of the mountains remark that the inner Deshret region appears like a large bowl of dust. In fact, the lowest point in the desert is well below sea level. Note that the heat and dryness of the area will evaporate any water that may find its way past the mountains.
Note that the continent is so large that one person standing atop one mountain range cannot make out the other range. The Avon'Col, however, does provide the necessary backdrop to complete the bowl illusion.

The Nerehet Sandsea

The most striking feature of the Deshret Continent is the large Sandsea that surrounds The Avon'Col. It is a curious phenomena of liquid-like sand absent water. Travel across this abrasive sea is the only way to reach the Avon'Col, but vessels designed to travel water are not up to such a task. Vessels must be specifically built to traverse the abrasive shifting sands of the Nerehet. However, the resources required to build sandsea ships are scarce in the largest desert in Awldor.

Impassable Ring of Mountains

There are very few known passages over the Mountain Ring, and those that are found are soon closed due to rock slides, avalanches, and even arcane events are wont to close them. The number of permanent passages over the mountains can be counted on a single, five-fingered hand, and those passages are controlled by settlements looking to capitalize on valuable trade through such passages. The lords that control such passages that connect the inner region and outer region of Deshret are said to be richer than many Kings. Moreover, such lords have so much control that they can deny travel through the mountains to anyone if they so desire. It is the dream of many of the desert's inhabitants to scrounge up enough to pay for passage to the richer shores of Deshret.
A financially cheaper way of traveling to Deshret's inner region is to go through the vast and largely unexplored network of caves under the mountains. These caves are said to change seldomly, but that many horrors lie within their dark depths. Many adventurers have chosen this option when travel over the mountains prove fruitless and that includes having been unable to pay for passage through one of the permanent routes. Few survive the journey, and those that do seldom fail to have a harrowing tale or two to tell. It is said that the Dwarves once carved a massive metropolis of stone into and underneath the Mountain Ring, though its location has been lost to time.

Dust Bowl

The Great Deshret Desert is known for its almost continent wide dust storms that can occur between once to seven times a year. Those outside the mountain ring are still subject to the effects as sand is blown over the mountains and turns the sky to a yellowish hue when the dust is light, or red when the dust is heavy. The entire continental desert takes on a reddish hue during the heaviest days of such dust storms. Where this change in ambient color takes place is largely dependent on the whims of the wind. When such a dust storm occurs, observers on the peak of one of the mountains will see the entire bowl of Corona filled with thick clouds of dust.

Canyons

It can be difficult to map all of the canyons present within the Deshret Continent. Shifting sands can uncover one canyon and then fill up another. Most of these canyons are found near the base of the mountain ranges. It is probable that these canyons are remnants of mountains that have long ago been eroded by the windy and abrasive sandstorms the region is known for.

Desert Mouths

I once witnessed a Mouth devour an entire village. To think, all those hapless inhabitants thought they found sturdy ground. Had I not been hunting, I would have shared their fate. Now, I can find no rest in these lands.

— Mumed Hahpet, Bard

There is another variety of canyon that is altogether strange, though rare. In the south-eastern region of the continent, there is a kind of phenomena known as "desert mouths." These canyons are not formed by any natural process, they are open up unexpectedly like a mouth. There it will remain for an indefinite period of time before closing again. Travelers have fallen to their deaths when one of these mouths opened and others have been crushed when they close again. While arcane forces are undoubtedly involved, the exact nature of the magic is not yet known. A native high mage of the region, one Tai Kao, has been studying the phenomena for most of her life. She claims to be close to discovering the true nature of the Desert Mouths, but is not yet ready to reveal to the world what she knows. It is said that she knows enough to be able to summon are close Desert Mouths at will, and that she has hidden her secret lair within one such feature. Some have speculated that the mouths are her doing, but this seems dubious as the phenomena appears to have been an ever present feature of he south-eastern region of the continent.

Ancient Ruins

Like all other places in the world, Deshret bears the remains of the once mighty civilization of the Ancients. Entire cities, still present even after the calamities of the reat Collapse, can be found along the coasts as well as in the interior desert. Many ruins within the desert have only been sighted for a brief time before the sands cover them again. As large cities, which are also mass graves for the old world, contain high populations of ghosts and undead, the shifting sands of the desert are a danger to travelers. While a group of shifting dunes can cover up a town or city, it may not cover up the ruins enough. Therefore, if a band of travelers made camp atop a large ruin unknowingly they could find themselves haunted (at best) or hunted (at worst) throughout the night.

The Antarctic

Along the southern end of the continent lies a region of ice and snow. A narrow temperate zone buffers the tropical and desert parts of the continent from the snow-covered tundra lands. Fjords, rivers, and islands define Deshret's southern region. Icy caverns and canyons are also known to be common features of this sparsely populated eastern half of this region. Expanses of evergreens are a common sight on the comparatively lush western half of the Antarctic region.
It is within this snowy region that Deshret lies in close proximity to the Glacialis Continent at two points. There are theories that many tribes may have unknowingly set foot on another continent in the past and in the present believing the land to be another island.

Fauna & Flora

Fauna

Camels, snakes, desert chameleons, foxes, hyenas, wargs, and armadillos are known to inhabit various spots of the Deshret Desert. Within the mountain ring life tends to cling to the mountain slopes or to an oasis. Outside the mountain ring a rich variety of birds, snakes, apes, and insect life are present. Sometimes the wildlife within these differing habitats will encroach upon the other's habitat often without success. Such instances are rare as the mountain ring is largely impassable except for the few safe routes over the mountains or in the many, dark caves underneath. Perhaps the most striking sort of creature that inhabits the continent are the massive Desert Worms, swarms of which have been known to devour entire villages.

Flora

The outer edges of the continent are home to lush rain-forests and generally any kind of biome rich in vegetation. Which is why it is all the more jarring when such a rich complexity of life is practically absent past the Mountain Ring. The desert within is not entirely devoid of all trees and bushes, but they are rare. The fauna that does exist in the Great Deshret Desert, in areas that are not covered in sand dunes or in The Sandsea itself, include brittle-bush, desert ironwood, and several varieties of cacti. Most of these plants are found among the small oases scattered throughout the desert.

All artwork is by starfarertheta unless otherwise stated.

Alternative Name(s)

The Great Dust Bowl, Corona Continent

Type

Continent

Included Locations

• Avon'Col
• Gateway City of Vavahady
• Oniruuru Desert
• Rayiq Mountain Ring
• The Nerehet Sandsea

Inhabiting Species

• Devious Urchins

Natural Resources

What the desert lacks in vegetation and wildlife it more than makes up for in exposed ore deposits. Such ores include:

• Copper
• Gold
• Iron
• Lead
• Mercury
• Platinum
• Silver
• Tin
• Zinc

Other types of resources that are in abundance include several kinds of rock:

• Granite
• Limestone
• Marble
• Quartz
• Mica
• Magnetite
• Halite (Rock Salt)

Several gemstones can also be found in the desert, as well as in the interior of the surrounding mountains, and the Avon'Col itself.

• Azurite
• Amethyst
• Diamond
• Emerald
• Sapphire
• Ruby
• Turquoise
• Tourmaline
• Obsidian
• Agate
• Opal
• Wulfenite

---

Common Flora

The following are a rare occurrence in the dry Oniruuru Desert, most likely to be found in an oasis.

• Shrubs
• Bushes
• Grasses
• Date Palm Trees

---

Common Fauna

The following are a rare occurrence in the dry Oniruuru Desert, most likely to be found in an oasis.

• Vultures
• Camels
• Oryx
• Gazelles
• Jerboas
• Dung Beetles
• Sand Cat
• Spotted Hyena

---

Typical Magic Fields

• Aero
• Igni
• Acid

Note(s) from the Archivists

Archivist Enna and I actually visited the northern coast of the Deshret Continent. That jungle is more dense than you would think. And the mountains, they looked huge even from the port town we were at. I suppose Taenya has a point where crossing that is concerned. - Archivist Bob
A lot of other travelers besides myself would have made the point as well. - Archivist Taenya