The Dunes of Chiarei

"I travelled north for two days, leaving the frontier town of Penrith far behind me. The frozen forest around me harbored many dangers, but I crept slowly and carefully past ice bears, wolves, and trolls. Once, I could have sworn I saw a frost dragon soaring far above the trees. Then one day, after laboring up a steep slope, the trees fell away and before me I saw the Dunes of Chiarei: untouched and inhospitable."

The Dunes of Chiarei stretch across a majority of the continent, from the Great Ice Shelf south to the frozen forests. It is believed that Chiarei once lay further south on Galactus, as the Dunes are in fact made up of sand, as one might find in a drier and warmer location such as Crisel. The rough winds that scour the area clean of debris and of life would have dismantled these dunes eventually were it not for the layer of ice and snow covering them, locking each dune in place. This, combined with the arid climate and extreme cold of the far north, makes it impossible for the region to support any form of life.

On rare occasions, a brave explorer will set out across the dunes in search of a fabled treasure hidden somewhere within the Great Ice Shelf. Many of these adventurers have not returned, or come back in a state of extreme hypothermia, practically frozen solid in some cases. They report harsh wind storms and in some instances a rare blizzard, making the journey impossible to continue. Others speak in terrified whispers of a terrible beast lurking beneath the icy surface, lying in wait for unfortunates to fall into its gaping jaws. But the combined efforts of these explorers has left some good: a series of caves dug into the sides of the dunes, past the ice and into the sand itself. In these caves, generous travellers store rations, water, and firewood, providing safe shelters for the next treasure hunters in the hopes that one of them may eventually find the fabled treasure.

Type

Desert, Ice