Perdition Storm

A Perdition Storm is a supernatural phenomenon that occurs deep inside the cavernous tunnels of the Perdition Gates. It is caused when high winds generate enough power to lift the individual grains of sand that powder the cave floors. This poses incredible danger to the work of the Perdition Sand Gatherers.
The dig teams have a rudimentary system of wind chimes and ribbons to warn the looks-outs along the tunnels that a storm is brewing. They appear very quickly, and it has proven impossible for the harriers to outrun the storms. Every section of the tunnels is required to have a hide-out constructed so that the workers have somewhere to shelter from the horrendous storms. Despite this, the sand storms have been known to cause death by causing the collapse of weaker tunnel structures. The bodies of the ten men had to be dug out of the collected sand.
The largest loss of life occured some five months after the Sand Gatherers entered the Perdition Gates for the first time. Although the first few miles of tunnels had previously been mapped by reconnaissance teams, they had not encountered the storms. The team of Sand Gatherers were therefore woefully unprepared for the appearance of the howling winds that whipped the black sand up in a frenzy.
No one is entirely sure how it is possible for subteranean sand storms to exist. The wind always blows towards the cave entrance; in all the years of excervations, no other entrances into the cave systems have been found. For many, the only plausible explanation is that the winds are expelled from Perdition itself. Some miners believe that the winds carry the Raven's handmaidens out into the world to hunt for unReliquaried Souls; others believe it is simply a by-product of the torments the Raven is inflicting upon the Souls in its care.

This article is a rough draft, written for Summer Camp 2023

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural

Black Sand Storm via Bing by Caitlin Wright

Miners in the Sand Storm via Bing by Caitlin Wright