Dawalsha Desert
The Dawalsha Desert is the expansive arid area consisting of sand dunes and xeric shrubland that spans the entirety of the Lyfeldean kingdom or Nursham.
Geography
Due to the lack of freshwater reserves available within the expansive dunes of the Dawalsha Desert, Nursham's largest cities are those built around the few oases scattered across the landscape. These oases boast respite from the harsh sunlight, both in the form of the cool waters of the pools of water and the shade provided by the many date palms and citrus trees that thrive from the natural irrigation beneath the sand.
Beyond the fortress of strong palms and other hardy trees that protect the oasis townships from sand blown in by desert winds, the rest of the Dawalsha Desert is a largely unregulated wasteland. There are hundreds of villages that inhabit the barren landscape, though these smaller clusters of houses do not have the luxury of underground aquifers to supply them with clean water. Instead, these villagers rely on collecting water that forms via condensation, especially that left behind after nighttime fog. The fae folk who live in these small townships utilise ridged conical contraptions that capture water from plants either collected by condensation or transpired, and funnel it into a cannister underneath. Water is also collected as it condenses on the water-repellent backs of the gigantic beetles that many villagers use to plough land, harvest crops and for transport.
History
As the Dawalsha Desert is a difficult and harsh terrain to traverse, many previous High Kings (or Sultans) of Nursham have decided to remain in the safety of their palaces within the oasis capital of Al-Mudiya. These rulers of generations past preferred to send their scribes and soldiers to roam the desert to collate data on what each village needed and to ensure their taxes were paid, without the villagers having to make the dangerous journey to the capital themselves. With the lack of outreach and care from the High Kings, the Dawalsha Desert became a largely unregulated area and many citizens who were fed up with being ignored by their ruler resorted to nomadic lives of piracy roaming the endless sand dunes and raiding the nobility of other villages and towns. However, when Jahrif Mesbah ascended the throne, it became his personal mission to research the needs of his kingdom and build a connection with his citizens even if they reside in the furthest corners of Nursham. Jahrif was also highly interested in research and academia, like many of Nursham's citizens, with a particular focus on astral navigation that he wanted to use to improve access for ordinary travellers and tourists to travel around and through his kingdom. Although he could not stop the bands of pirates that had formed over the many years of neglect prior to his rule, Jahrif's presence and visitations across the kingdom did decrease the number of raids and the people felt safer than they ever had, until his disappearance.
Since Jahrif has been missing and the priests have assumed control of Nursham in his stead, the Dawalsha Desert has become an even more lawless environment as the conflicting Sunrise and Sunset Sects refuse to entertain any issues beyond their debates within the capital. As such, the number of pirate crews and subsequent raids is at its highest in history, with no monarchial or government leadership to control the lands outside of Al-Mudiya.
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