The Great Expanse

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The Great Expanse is a massive desert on the continent Evirs. It formed when the dragon Durgurath was slain. His blood seeped into the ground poisoning it, and ever since, magic has been dying out from the land. Now, it's a barren and hostile land without water. Sand sweeps across the desert with few rocky outcroppings to break it up. Magic doesn't work over the area, so mages avoid it. On Evirs, it's seen as a death sentence to even venture out into the desert, and criminals who flee there to escape the law are considered dead. Over the thousands of years since the dragon's death, the desert has been expanding. No one is quite sure how to slow or even reverse the damage to the land. However, despite such inhospitable conditions, some forms of life have managed to survive. A species of shrew has managed to thrive in the desert, and there are various snakes and insects which do well in the arid conditions, too. Even some plants, notably a nocturnal shrub dot the landscape. There's also a kind of spiky plant which is able to create its own water with sharp leaves and thorns where water condenses at dawn. Most recently, some explorers from Otorveia have started exploring into the desert trying to uncover ruins and information from the empire that used to be there. It's a dangerou job, and they've barely been able to penetrate the heart of the desert where the remains of the dragon are rumored to be. The old capital city, while not near the center of the desert, is lost to time for location and remains undiscovered. As far as the climate, the temperatures fluctuate wildly from blistering heat during the day to freezing cold at night. Most creatures try to remain underground. There aren't any rivers or bodies of water, and the only rain that reaches the desert is brief. A few days out of every year, the goddess Valtena visits the region, and it rains. Otherwise, there isn't a drop of water to be seen above ground. Underground where it's cooler is a different story. Mages can't cast spells in the desert making the place even less forgiving. Every expedition has to be done without magic.
Type
Desert
Location under


Cover image: by DigitalCurio

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