The Desiccation

During my travels to the South West I came across a nomadic tribe that moved in a most particular way. They spent most of their time deep in a lush oaisis on the far end of a desert. This one spot held plentiful resources, but on the far end of the oasis is another desert, this one even starker than the other. The ground so devoid of water it was cracked and brittle and the plants gray and leafless. As the month went on the area of the desert would grow starting at a few feet and growing exponentially each day. Anything that found itself over the line would find itself drained of all of its water in an instant. I asked what would happen to a person caught on the otherside and my guide shook her head and pointed to what might have been a large wolf of sorts a few feet into the area that looked as shrivled as if it had been there for years though I don't remember it from the day before. This desert grows and grows and pushes the people further and further out of the oasis until they are right on the edge of two deserts with barely any food remaining. A few more weeks in the normal sands and the zone just snaps back to it's original position...leaving behind the green jungle that it had eaten before. With that the tribe heads back inside for another month of plenty before everything starts up again. They've built their seasons and calendar around the whole thing. I've asked if any of them know why it does what it does and they say the answers lie in the center where no one can travel. As significant as the answers may be I agree with them. The web of items and powers needed to cross would be not worth the risk.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane