Ishalla Desert

Far to the south, across the Strait of Vath'ero, lies the Ishalla desert. A magical wasteland filled with nothing but dunes and the ruins of long forgotten civilizations, the Ishalla desert is so infused with magic that those trying to cross it without the proper guides are incapable of leaving. Doomed to wander for eternity until they are happened upon by those capable of traversing its dunes saftely or dying of starvation or thirst.

Geography

The Ishalla desert's sun-bleached dunes stretch out from the coast of the Strait of Vath'ero toward the south. The desolate expanse is only broken by the ruins of the civilizations that once called the area home or, rarely, an oasis. It is around such oases that the majority of life in the desert dwells among the surprisingly verdant grass that springs forth from the crystalline waters nourishing touch. To the south, where the desert starts to meet the lands south of it, the land begins to take on a more shrub-filled appearance as sand becomes less common and the ground becomes more cracked and rocky only to eventually give way entirely to shrubby grasslands.

Localized Phenomena

The Ishalla Desert is so blasted by arcane energies that it is impossible for most living creatures to cross the dunes in any meaningful way. Those without the capability are doomed to wander lost across the sands constantly finding themselves making circles with no way of righting their course. This phenomena applies even to the native fauna of the desert which is why the majority of life in the desert can only be found around the few lush oases that can be found by a lucky few. The only people known to be exempt from this—save powerful sorcerers that can break the enchantment, if only for a while—are the Sand Elves, whose nomadic lifestyle seems unaffected by the magic of the area and their erstwhile companions, the suntailed foxes

Alternative Name(s)

The Great Expanse, The Endless Sands of Ishalla, The Scorched Wastes

Type

Desert

Location under

The Wild Lands

Related Ethnicities

• Sand Elves

Inhabiting Species

• Suntailed Fox