The warlike peoples of the Hissing Wastes had long been a thorn in the side of the expanding Empire, but until the 14th century there was little the Imperial Army could do about it. None knew the secret hiding places of the Desert Elves’ water sources, and few could endure the intense heat of the black sand deserts. Even fewer could cross the glaring white salt-flats that marked the Orcish territories to the desert’s east, though the flat expanse revealed the great city at Mord Azdul, shimmering through the haze. Then, in the late 1560s, an enterprising young artificer named Roxie Rivetrim out of Bobbingdenn patented a series of inventions that revolutionized desert warfare. First were the Bracers of Cooling, which could be tuned to create up to a 15 foot radius of mild atmosphere even in the hottest of wastelands. Next came WatRfindR, a dowsing rod capable of penetrating the shamanic protections the Desert Elves placed on their wells. Finally, and perhaps most importantly to the development of the world, she created the Levitation Crystal, which could lift up to 500 pounds per ounce of crystal. With these inventions, the Imperial army finally took the fight directly to the desert dwellers, and in 1581, the Mordic Peace was established, bringing the southern half of Eribax finally into the fold of Imperial control.