Great Sh'Maari
The Great Shmaari is the largest and hottest desert in the known world. It lies in the southern regions of Mahador, occupying nearly half of the entire continent.
Geography
Located in the southern half of the vast Mahadorian interior, the Great Sh'maari is a large and relatively flat expanse of endless dunes and sun-baked rock pillars, outcrops and mountains. It is flanked in the north and south by two large mountain ranges, the Goraan Mountains to the north and the Styres volcanic range to the south. To the west, the desert ends at the Khartian sea, while on the complete other side of the continent, the desert slowly transitions into the Asderaani grasslands as humidity from the The Great Eastern Sea brings seasonal rains to the region.
South-east of the region known as Near Sh'maari and west of the desert's central region, lies the K'thar depression, an enormous area of sunken land going as deep as 2km bellow sea level. Taking the form of an elongated oval shape along the mountanious western coast of Mahador, it is surounded on three sides by steep cliffs, in the north, south and west. Its estern side is alot shallower and the descent is relatively smooth. Small dunes occupie the despression eastern side, while the rest of the surface is made out of calcified rocks and salt crystals. Various bones and fossils of marine animals, like fish, crabs, and some aquatic plants can be found deep within the sun-baked rocky surface of the depresion as well as on its cliffsides. Many Samarian and Mahadorian scholars believe that this depression used to be some kind of sea, as similar findings have been made near the Dying Sea, thousands of kilometres away in the Continent of Samaria. Nowdays, it is one of the few areas in Hysal where life is non-existant. Not even insects can survive in this environment.
Ecosystem
The Great Sh'Maari is one of the least biologicaly diverse regions in Hysal, to the point that some may even call it largely lifeless. This is because of the intense temperatures both during the day, and during the night, couple with a chronic lack of water in most of the Desert, means that plant life is nearly non-existant. No known large animals live in this region, including replites and mamals that live in the Near Sh'maari region. The only life present here revolve around 3 main species. One plant, the Wispering Grass and two insects species, the Graxin Spider and most notably, the Fire Beetles.
Localized Phenomena
Electric Sandstorms
During the wet season in the Asderaani Grasslands, thunderstorms regulary form, fueled by the humidity of the Great eastern sea. They loose much of their precipitation before reaching the edge of the desert, but are still able to carry strong winds. These winds can disturb the loose sand of the regions, causing it to rise above the ground. Small pebbles can even be carried within the cloud if the winds are strong enough. The static energy of the sand grains is amplified by the presence of Lycen dust, which causes even more sand and dust to be lifted as well as amplify the static energy present within the clouds, which creates very intense lighting. These are usualy of an orange or reddish colour. Pushed by the prevaling winds of the region, the yellowish-brown cloud moves west through most of the desert, reaching the western edge of the continent in about a week. Some of the dust continues on above the Khartian sea, even reaching as far the Continent of Viuzhul.Roaring Dust Clouds
In very intense versions of these storms, the constant lighting generates near endless thunder. This sound, mixed with the sound of the winds creates a roar-like sound, which is powerful enough to be heard even before the dust clouds even appear on the horizon.Climate
The region is one of the most inhospitable to life in Hysal. Daytime temperatures in the interior regulary reach values above 60°C, while they plundge to around 10°C during the night. Rain in the interior is non-existent, while it is very rare even on the desert's boundaries.
Occasional rains are possible on the western edge of the desert during the wet season, as the rain clouds from the The Great Eastern Sea moving over the Asderani grasslands sometimes carry enough water to make it into the desert. Fog, carried by the winds drifting over the Khartian sea, sometimes reach the south-western coast of Mahador, and deliver much needed moisture to the western coast.
The entirely of the desert experiences frequent sandstorms generated during the transition between the wet and dry season, where the winds are at their strongest. Collapsing thunderstorms over the Asderani Grasslands generate gusts of winds that can kickstart a sandstorm that lasts for days over most of the desert.
Fauna & Flora
Wispering Grass
Wispering Grass is a species of heat and drought resistant grass that grows atop large dunes or rocky outcrops along the western coast of the desert, in an area located between the Khartian sea and the Sand Pit. When the seasonal fog drifs overt the dune, the blades of grass are able to condence the water into droplets. It is the only food and water source of the Fire Beetle.Fire Beetles
As their name suggests, these beetle-like insects are able to produce fire, and are thus another species of Elemental Animals. They can be found all over the Great Sh'maari desert, as they can be carried by sandstorms, but are mostly located along the western coast of the desert, or roughly within the same regions as Wispering Grass.Graxin Spiders
While Graxin Spider are native to the Near Sh'maari desert, they can also be found in the western regions of the Great Sh'maari, where they feed on the Fire Beetles. Since their food source here is much more limited than in the Near Sh'maari, they usualy grow smaller than their counterparts in the north-west.Natural Resources
The sand of the desert contains a high concentration of Lycen crystals, crushed and eroded into grains by the constant sandstorms blowing over the region. However, the licen dust or powder still contains traces amounts of Nexurium. This energy fuels the production of very intense lightning, which strikes the ground with a great amount of power. As it does, it super heats the sand, transforming it into fulgurites: fuzed, glassy sand tubes. These are dug out, cut into smaller peices, polished, and then crafted into Talismans, used to amplify the natural divination abilities of Soothsayer. These are very popular in both the Kingdom of Tomboraan and the Kingdom of Asderaan and to a lesser extant, within the Arakan Confederation. All three countries trade them with each other as well as with the Asari nomads, natives to the Great Sh'maari, who are experts in the fabrication of those talismans.
Alternative Name(s)
The Great Sand Sea / The Boiling Sands
Type
Desert
Inhabiting Species
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