The Eastern Deserts of The Kingdoms Of Shem, shaped by eons of relentless erosion, were composed of fine, razor-sharp sands that scoured the land. The wind, unimpeded by the flat terrain, howled across the desolate wastes with a fury that seemed the wrath of forgotten gods. In this harsh and unyielding land, the very air conspired with the sand to forge tempests of unparalleled ferocity.

The terrain itself, carved and weathered by millennia of unceasing winds, presented a landscape of towering dunes and exposed rock. The sands, imbued with a high concentration of quartz and other abrasive minerals, carried the bite of a thousand tiny blades. These particles, lifted by the cyclonic gales, could strip flesh from bone and wood from frame in mere moments.

The desert was a crucible of extremes. By day, the scorching sun heated the sands until they glowed with an unbearable intensity. By night, the swift cooling created powerful thermal currents, driving the winds to greater fury. The storms, born of these violent contrasts, could blanket the land in darkness and roar with a sound that drowned out all cries.

Cyclonic systems, driven by ancient and mysterious forces, would sweep through the region with relentless regularity, creating storms of a scale unmatched by the tempests of modern times.

Nearby volcanic activity added to the ferocity, casting ash and fine particulates into the storms, making them denser and more deadly. In these tumultuous storms, the sand’s erosive power was unrivaled. Wooden structures, no matter how stoutly built, were swiftly reduced to splinters and dust under the relentless barrage. Even the hardiest timbers could not withstand the ceaseless assault, eroded away as if by a million tiny chisels in the span of minutes.

The friction of the churning sands combined with volcanic gasses & ash generated great electrical storms, adding to the terror of these tempests. Lightning crackled through the swirling clouds, igniting fires and causing destruction beyond mere physical erosion. These sandstorms, vast and terrible, covered hundreds of miles and lasted for days, reducing visibility to nothing and filling the air with a deafening roar.

These desert tempests were ancient beyond the memory of men. of such power that they dwarfed the feeble storms of the present age. Even the now-familiar sands of the Sahara.

Thus, the chronicles record the age of the great sandstorms, a time when the land itself seemed to rise in anger, and survival demanded the utmost in human ingenuity and resilience.

As Nergal sends bats and dooms, to test the people of these realms and their mettle.