|
Dunes of Liht'Habar I gasped for air as I woke, and looked around. I could feel the panic spreading its tendrils through my tightening chest. “No no no no! Brother! We need to move. The sun has already started rising.” When I mentioned the sun, he immediately sat up, startled and fearful. “Wha– Why?” He started crying, “pah and mah warned us.” “I know, I’m sorry. But we don’t have time to argue! Grab your stuff! We need to head for the settlement.” I scrambled to my feet and swung my equipment bag over my shoulder while I took hold of my younger brother's arm. I started dragging him in the direction of home. “Sis, wait! The bag of gold dust–” “Leave it! We don’t have time.” “But how will we eat if we don’t–” “I said leave it! We’re not dying here.” We ran as quickly as we could on the warm black desert sand. The morning sun would be up any moment. It was never easy to run on the dunes. Each step would cause your feet to sink a few inches into the fine sand, and when your feet pushed away, the sand gave way lessening your forward momentum. But we ran nonetheless, scrambling and struggling through the sand. “Sis, I can’t. I’m too tired. My legs ache!” “You don’t have a choice! We need to keep running!” “Sis–!” He tumbled, falling face-first into the sand. I looked back. I couldn’t leave him. Pah and mah would never forgive me. I wouldn’t forgive myself. While I was barely three years older, I was still his older sister. I glanced at the horizon where the sun had just risen, and threw my equipment pack to the ground, watching as it tumbled down the dune. “Come here. I’ll carry you!” “But your gear? We won’t be able to sift the sands without it!” “It doesn’t matter. We’ll find a way.” I grunted as I lifted the nine-year-old boy onto my back and continued running in the direction of home. The sun had already started to heat the black desert sand, and it was burning my feet with each step. “Only two more dunes. We can make it! Two more dunes and then we’re home.” I could feel my brother's tear streaked face nod in agreement against the back of my neck as I continued to wade through the ocean of black sand. My feet were starting to blister from the sand. Not for the first time, I wished I had desert boots. The sand suddenly shifted unexpectedly and I sprained my ankle. “Sis!” he shouted as I fell to my knees. “Climb onto my back!” I hoarsely commanded while tearing strips of cloth from my sari to wrap around my hands. It would offer some protection against the warm sand. “Two more dunes brother. We can make it,” I whispered as I slowly continued to crawl forward... What used to be known as the shallow seas is now nothing more than a seemingly never-ending wasteland filled with miles and miles of fine, scorching black sand. Standing on the edge where the dune sea starts, the landscape seems tranquil. At sundown, the sun reflects off the black, ore-infused sand, changing the landscape into a rainbow of vibrant metallic colors, glistening like jewels in the failing light. Because it was suicide to traverse the desert during daylight without the proper gear, nighttime was when the Liht’Habar came alive. In the cool of the moon rays, dust pirates sail across the basin looking for uninformed travelers and merchants to surprise and rob. Their ships are converted skiffs pulled by domesticated sand eels, and their faded white sails flutter in the breezy moonlight as they charge and dash over hills and dunes, shouting and carousing as they skid across the landscape. To the locals, the dust pirates are nothing more than an easily avoided nuisance, and experienced merchants never travel anywhere without their dust tarps to conceal themselves from unwanted attention. The dunes of Liht’Habar is home to various small settlements spread out like veins, being kept alive by the bustling city at the heart of the dunes. The city is renowned for its beautifully crafted ceramic and crystalline wares, but its true wealth lies in the flooded copper and gold mines in the bedrock beneath the sand where divers venture to retrieve trace amounts of precious metals. These metals are exported to the ‘mainland’ on the backs of huge, docile sand snails. The sand snails are normally 10 feet high and travel in large, guarded convoys. The precious metals are traded for food and other necessities. Sand sifters are a common sight at night. At dusk, these men and women venture into the desert with their dustpans and other equipment to sift the desert sand for traces of gold and copper dust. It’s a common profession amongst individuals living in the dunes, and it’s how most families provide for themselves. Other commoners sustain themselves by trapping the hardy dust crabs which can be found amongst the rock outcropping scattered across the dunes, or by harvesting the patches of leathery desert kelp-weed. The dunes also hold many dangers other than starvation, dehydration, death by rusty pirate sword, and heatstroke. Sand geysers are rare but deadly pits that act like quicksand. These dusty deathtraps suddenly give way and can swallow whole caravans in an instant, sending them tumbling into the watery caverns below the bedrock. Once collapsed, it takes a few months for the hole to be covered and concealed again with windswept sand hardened by the moisture escaping from below. Another possible danger is the sand shifters (not to be confused with the sand sifters.) The existence of sand shifters is more rumor than fact. They are described as savage, tribal folk who harness the raw power and anger of the desert sands. It’s said that when you meet one, they emit a high pitched screech from their throats while gesturing with flailing arms. More terrifying than the screech is that drunken survivors swear that the surrounding desert sand shifts and weaves in tune with the sand shifters flailing arms. What makes the dunes of Liht’Habar genuinely unique is that roughly every century, the mainland tends to see more than usual rainfall and flash storms. This overabundance of water trickles from the mountains and surrounding planes into deep chasms beneath the earth where it’s channeled ever downwards with increasing pressure until it erupts from the sand geysers in Liht’Habar. These eruptions continue, constantly for weeks on end, flattening most of the dunes and the sheer amount of water escaping is enough to transform the desert landscape into an ocean measuring almost a foot in depth. During this time all manners of weird and fantastic aquatic critters and plant life can be found living in the shallow waters. The desert's entire ecology and economy are changed. Due to the extreme underground water currents, it becomes too dangerous for divers to venture into the mines. Under wise counsel, the city of Liht’Habar continues to flourish and provide for the surrounding settlements. Instead of relying on the exports of precious metals, they start farming kelp-weed to be stored and traded for the years to come. It takes on average half a decade for the waters to disperse, changing the scenery back to its dry, seemingly tranquil desert environment. The dunes of Liht’Habar hold many secrets from generations pasts. It’s said that the basin used to be an actual ocean, that had thriving communities living in floating cities above the bedrock. Below the bedrock was an ancient deserted dwarven metropolis. The dwarven city was said to be a holy site, carved from miles and miles of solid gold and copper, and once discovered by the residents above, they started mining the sacred gold, blaspheming the god it belonged to. Enraged, the god shook the basin, causing cracks to form in the bedrock, and overnight the entire ocean drained into the city and deep chasms below, making it inaccessible to pilferers and miners. There are still rumors of treasure ships loaded to the brim with solid gold that is buried below the black dunes, and many adventurers have died trying to make their fortune by looking for these ships.
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2021 20:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 16:22 |
|
|
City of Peisherra "STOP! I'm a citizen!" The serpent stopped, poised to strike. Its glowing, soulless eyes flickered from an electrical short as it towered over the child. "Are you going to let us pass?" The child asked again. "I don't think this is going to work. If you don't get me in, I'm going to need my satchel of coins back," the voice belonged to a scruffy man covered in scars. "It'll work. Just give it a second." The serpent stood unmoving. Its rusted clockwork intestines were clicking and whirring in rhythm with its flickering eyes. It seemed like a miracle that the creature hadn't fallen apart yet until you saw the shimmering membrane of magic light up from strain when the beast moved. "OK, now slowly step forward with me and–" The serpent let loose a terrifying screech from its metal jaws in an attempt to warn and intimidate its audience of two. "Stop! Don't run. If you run, it will chase you." The child said as she stared defiantly at the serpent. "I– How do you know all of this?" "I use to play in the tidepools when I was younger and had to pass the guardians every day." "When you were younger? Little girl, you're barely seven now?" "So? What of it? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't–" The serpent screeched again, feigning an attack by snapping at the child. "STOP! I'm a citizen, and I demand you let us pass, right this instant, or I'll report you to the city mages as being faulty!" The patched-together serpent creaked and released a burst of hot steam from one of the metal protrusions on its back before hesitantly withdrawing into the darkness. "See, I told you it would work. Why do you want to get into the city so badly anyway?" The man sneered and carefully followed the child deeper into the labyrinth of caves, taking care to follow her instructions by only stepping where she stepped. "I've got a date with one of the merchants. He owes me a lot of money." The city of Peisherra is said to be impenetrable. It's dug inside a sheer oceanside cliff and has a magnitude of conventional and magical defenses to keep outsiders out. Despite this, its real safety comes from generations worth of shady, backroom negotiations with nobles and other people of importance from all over the land. Disgraced and corrupt nobles tend to flee to Peisherra once they are no longer welcome in their own country, but only those that are owed favors or have made sizeable contributions to the city's coffers in the past are welcome. Peisherra has a healthy economy built on its flourishing naval trade routes. All maritime traffic can only enter the port through either the low tide or high tide sea caves. These caves open up to an immense cavity inside the cliffs and are always bustling with trade and commerce no matter the time of day. On the Northside of the cliffs is a third sea cave known only as slit-throat passage. From here, the local pirates run their operations. The city is officially against piracy's barbaric practice, but due to the treacherousness of navigating the slit-throat passage, they have not evicted the pirates. It should also be noted that merchant vessels belonging to citizens of Peisherra do not seem to be robbed by the local pirates. The same goes for any ships that have bought piracy insurance for a nominal fee. The city nobles and other wealthy individuals have homes carved from the stone with windows to the outside. These homes are often extravagant as neighbors try to one-up each other. Gold plated floors, indoor bathing pools, and swathes of servants are a common sight. The cavernous passages that connect the city are carved with expert artistry, each being a masterfully crafted piece of art. The city is ruled by five houses, the richest of the rich. Each family chooses a member to represent their interests, and these five individuals form the city's leadership. They listen to petitions and hand out punishment and reward as they see fit. Because membership is determined by wealth, anyone could potentially serve on the leadership given enough gold. Despite this, the current five ruling families have been the same five ruling families for over a century. They are loyal to each other and have managed to accumulate such large quantities of wealth that it would put the hoard of most dragons to shame. Other than the magical and mechanical theft deterrents, the whole city is guarded by twelve giant clockwork sea serpents. These serpents will follow the commands of the council of leadership and have eliminated uncountable threats while on duty over the centuries. The secret to creating more serpents have long been lost, and the remaining ones are maintained by mages and engineers living in the city.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2021 20:50
|
|