by Max Barry

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«12. . .8,0408,0418,0428,0438,0448,0458,046. . .44,43444,435»

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: uhh i must be seeing things. lets go

Karan, Elysia and Nadia head out to the ice cream thingy at the beach.
Meanwhile the dark suit figure goes after Howard to see what he's up to.

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:Karan, Elysia and Nadia head out to the ice cream thingy at the beach.
Meanwhile the dark suit figure goes after Howard to see what he's up to.

Howard: hello , who are you
Meanwhile
Nadia: ugh i hate walking

Repitilysia and Limeston

THE KADIJA DESERT : GEOGRAPHY OF A LOST SEA

“Dead Queens and living Goddesses – this is the old desert, the cradle of The Sea That Once Was”.

There are two Isilankas. The first one is the tea-producing Isilanka, bathed in a cool oceanic climate, covered in forests, plains and fields.
The second one lies in the south-east of the country, beyond the massive tectonic line of the Miifara Range. This is Kadija. This is the dry, hostile, mystical Isilanka.

The Kadija Desert is an old endoreic basin that once contained an inland sea, the Kadijan Ocean. For almost a thousand years, the pre-Kadijan civilisation lived there, in a microcosm center around the sea.
During early antiquity the sea started to drain, as climate slowly changed in this region, the westwards winds carrying rain towards the Kadijan Sea dying down as centuries passed. By late antiquity, the Kadijan Ocean had become a lake. The last remnants of the Sea were already gone by the early middle ages.

The Sea That Once Was is now a nigh-isolated world, populated by the Kadijan people and their qiths, the old nomadic clans that have become cooperative institutions.

From west to east - here is the Sea That Once Was.

THE MAKAAN STEPPES

These plains are what connects the Kadija desert to the rest of Isilanka. Despite being on the eastern side of the Miifara mountains, they still receive enough water to enable for the existence of arable land, fertile plains and even forests.
The Makaan steppes, contrary to their name, are not really steppes. The western part of the Makaan plains is covered in vast swathes of klarja, a dry, seasonal forest that is often considered as the eastern tendril of Peyruise’s primal forest.


Klarja woods in Makaan's steppes.

In the south-east, the Makaan steppes become drier and drier. Two main biotopes fill the plains. The dry savannah of the Alaran Plains, and the arid steppes of Makaan’s Plateau. The Makaan steppes are widely considered as the frontier between Erebia and Kadija, between northern and southern Isilanka. The border between the region of Peyruise and the semi-independent state of Samaris lies exactly in the middle of the Makaan plains, near the Red Cathedral, a semi-abandoned pantheist sanctuary whose massive walls watch above the steppes.


"The Red Cathedral - where candles are lit in the sand."

Near the Red Cathedral lies the antique city of Makaanyth, built near the Stone Grounds, where the raiders of the Kadijan Ephemerides used to gather their armies in the medieval era.
In the Kadijan social and political system, two qiths are traditionnaly roaming the Makaan steppes : Qith Adalsa, the ancestral wardens of the steppes, and Qith Masani, specialised in agriculture, cultivating the Blacksight Tea in Makaan's plateau.


Blacksight gardens in Makaan

THE OCREAN SHORE

The Ocrean Shore lies in the far west of the Kadija Desert. It’s part of The Wake, the western tendril of the Miifara Range. The sea bathes the Ocrean Shores, carrying rainy winds that are quickly stopped by the Korath Cliffs and Borado Hills, further isolating the desert from the oceanic climate of most Isilanka.


The shore of Borado.

The Ocrean Coast is bathed by a cold current, preventing most vegetal life from thriving alongside the shore ; its beaches are littered with wrecks and remnants of the Oniromancy Wars, and almost permanently covered in fog. The Kephrysan Canal, a half-covered artificial river, connects the sea to the outer rim of the Inner Desert. In the sharp hills and mountains of the shore lies the spire of Korys, The Lighthouse Above The Fog.


A Kadija temple beneath the Lighthouse.

The Ocrean Shore is the ancestral ground of qith Nymph, a half-outcast qith that lives by the sea, between sand and ocean.

THE OUTER DESERT, also known as THE CROWN

The limit between the Makaan steppes and the Outer Desert is not clear-cut. It’s a gradient, that goes from savannah, to steppe, to dry savannah again, then to rocky desert. The Crown is perhaps the richest part of the Kadija desert, at least historically speaking. It’s drier than the Makaan steppes, but several aquifers and small lake basins create several, relatively large areas of arable land like the Dry Forest or the Samira Plains, where Qith Masani has its ancestral grounds.


The Samira Plains in summer

The Outer Desert is still a fairly livable place for the Kadija Desert. If rain is rare, nebulosity is still enough to mitigate heat during the day and frost during the night. Most of the Crown’s landscapes are rather dry and the patches of fertile lands are isolated, separated by vast swathes of arid, desert rocky land. The Crown houses two of Kadija’s biggest cities, both in terms of population and symbolic importance. The first one is Cassiopeia, the capital of Samaris, a recent city lying next to the Aldebaran Lake, the biggest body of water in the Kadija Desert.


Cassiopeia at night, skyline near Aldebaran's shore.

The second one is Salicandre, sometimes spelled Salicander, the ancestral capital city of Kadija, with majestic ruins that are the last stop for the Great Quarez, a massive underground aqueduct bringing water to Kadija from the Miifara mountain.


"Salicandre - damsel of the dunes, towering above the sand."

Most Kadijan qiths are located in the Crown, usually under the control of either qith Al-Aqsa, the powerful urban qith of Cassiopeia, or qith Saïmour, a qith that became an industrial company in the 1970s.

THE ELDER CONTINENT

Between the Crown and the Lost Shore lies a series of high sedimentary plateaus, standing a few hundred meters above the desert. It is usually speculated that they were once an archipelago in the shallowest part of the Kadijan Sea. The Elder Continent is physically separated from the rest of the Crown, and bears a unique ecosystem and biotope.


The Elder Continent in winter.

The top of the Elder Continent, the Elder Plain, recieves slightly more rain than the rest of the desert, enough for succulent plants to thrive. This plain connects to the Labyrinth, an extensive network of karst caves that connect to the Kadijan Aquifer, supplying pockets of unique, semi-underground life.

The Elder Continent houses the ruins and settlements of Kepherith, the City Where Death Has No Dominion.


"Clocks are broken. Hourglasses are empty. Death has no more dominion."

The Elder Continent is the realm of qith Elendis, an elusive community of historians and clock-makers.

THE INNER DESERT, also known as THE LOST SHORE

The Lost Shore marks the beginning of what was once a sea, but it is not a line in the sand. It’s also a gradient, between rock and sand, between dryness and real aridity, between men and machines.
Rain almost never reaches the Lost Shore, and most fossil aquifers are either unreachable, or exhausted. Water is scarce. Days are hot, nights are cold, the sky is incredibly clear.


Violet nights in the Lost Shore.

The Inner Desert is hostile, yet vital for Kadija, both repelling and attracting people. It houses the Solar Fields, as vast collection of solar panels and solar towers that supply Cassiopeia, and a good part of Isilanka, with cheap electricity.


Solat Towers in the Fields.

It is scarred by the Alley of Storms, a large dry plain where the powerful inland winds meet, creating dust storms that can ravage the desert for weeks, spreading dust westwards.


A dust storm in the Alley.

The Ishtar Plains are probably the most iconic part of the Inner Desert, with their signature red mesas and their shimmering dunes, even if they barely represent more than a fraction of the Lost Shore’s surface.


"Once, Kadija herself bled in the desert - this is how Ishtar was born."

Further south, the Veil Islands mark the limit with the Lost Sea, together with the deep desert radiotelescope array and observatories of the Ariane Crater. The crater also supplies Miifara Point with energy ; this large settlement broadcasts and amplifies radio signals to the entire desert.


"And there they look at the stars."

Somewhere in the desert lie the ruins of Soren, The Harbor That Was Lost.

The Inner Desert is equally populated with sedentary settlements, usually near oases or mines, and nomadic groups. Qith Meredith and qith Sarmia exploit the tungsten and rare earth mines of Skylark Cove, while qith Koras operates the Hexagon Oil Field, the only one of its kind in Isilanka, which brings a certain social stigma to its members. Qith Al-Aqsa sometimes ventures here, as well as qith Al-Sajuuk.


An Al-Aqsa convoy in the Lost Shore.

THE DEEP DESERT, or THE LOST SEA

The heart of the endoreic basin of Kadija is probably the most hostile part of Isilanka. The soil is barren. The wind carries salty sediments and white, thin dust, that paralyzes engines and cause desert sickness. When the heavy sediments of the old sea have been taken away by the wind, the ground is dark, covered in pitch-black basalt. The dunes shift under the wind. Water is more precious than blood. Days are long and burning. Nights are frozen.
When a storm hits a salt waste, breathing without assistance becomes impossible.

The air is still.

The Bone Plains are said to be covered in the long-decayed bodies of marine creatures, but have since long turned into a salty wasteland, like the Sea Graveyard.


"The dunes never forgive, even though they sometimes forget."

There are ruins and strange symbols scattered in the desert, the remnants of old Kadijan temples and sanctuaries. This is the case nearby the Compass, where old Kadijan inscriptions litter the soil like an open book facing the sky. Near Andromeda’s Crossroads lie the rusted wreck of one of the first sandcarriers, prowl facing the sky.


"It was a great machine, but sand had to take its bloody tool."

Sometimes life weirdly finds a way. Deep within the Lost Sea is The Garden of Elisabeth, where an old fossil aquifer naturally connects to the surface, creating a series of fertile valleys where weird, endemic species thrive since centuries.


The Garden of Elisabeth, western quadran

Next to the garden is The White Field, a series of automatic labs, radar arrays and radio systems dedicated to weather and climate monitoring, as well as The Dune Berth, the last permanent settlement in the south, where qith Sajuuk maintains and assembles its sandcarriers.

After the garden, everything dies.

The wastes reign supreme, in all their beauty.

This is Kadija’s Cradle, The Ocean Lost To Time.

Temperatures in the deep desert can reach up to 70 degrees celsius in the day and go down to minus 30 in the night. Cloudiness is almost nonexistent and rain is a vague dream. Simply living in the Lost Sea requires specific training and equipment, like self-cooling suits. There are only two qiths existing in the Lost Sea. Qith Sajuuk, the powerful nomads of the wastes, roaming the desert with their sandcarriers, exploiting rare earths, salt and hidden oases. Qith Nyx, maintaining the old ruins, keeping the records of what was once Kadija’s Mother Ocean.


"We are Sajuuk. We are the wardens of the wastes. We mourn the Sea."

THE ABYSS

The heart of Kadija.

At some point, in a place where even Sajuuk’s sandcarriers never go, the ground disappears and turns black. Harsh cliffs cut through the desert like a scythe.

This is the Night Trench, a natural depression that was once the heart of the Lost Sea. Deep down, at minus two thousand meters beneath sea level lies a mineral plain, closer to the surface of a moon than a desert on Earth.


"The soil is black. Scarred. Barren. Rocks cut like a blade."

The old faults that once opened the sea are still active here. Dormant. They scar the black ground like an old wound. The air is heavy, saturated with salt, sulphur and mineral dust. Black basalt needles tower under the sky.

There’s a rift under the burning sun. There’s an old stone staircase diving deep within it.
Under the shade of the basalt cliffs lies a small pond. The water inside it is warm and saturated with salt. It is weirdly welcoming.

This is The Eye of The Lost.
This is the very last remnant of the sea lost to time.


"They say it is one of Kadija's Tears. I say it is the Heart of the Sea."

No one lives here.
There’s no point. There’s nothing.

And there’s certainly not a long-lost qith lurking in the basalt plains, mourning a dead ocean.

Some questions were never meant to be asked in the desert.

Read factbook

I might have gone a bit overboard with this one.

Limeston, The last stars, Jar Wattinree, Samasbhi, and 3 othersHaven and Sanctuary, Empector, and Windcont city

Doing it rightland

Guys, Stan Lee died this morning. The creator of untold wonders of Marvel Superheroes. He will be missed by us all.

Limeston, Jokesters, Isilanka, Empector, and 3 othersArthropyria, Windcont city, and Pentaerythrityl

Katrzynija wrote:Howard: hello , who are you

Snek In Black: Greetings, my name is not important.

Katrzynija wrote:Meanwhile
Nadia: ugh i hate walking

Karan: You wanna go out but you don't wanna walk? ò~ô

Limeston

Doing it rightland wrote:Guys, Stan Lee died this morning. The creator of untold wonders of Marvel Superheroes. He will be missed by us all.

Damn, that is kinda sad

Limeston, Vykaria, Doing it rightland, and Empector

Repitilysia wrote:Snek In Black: Greetings, my name is not important.
Karan: You wanna go out but you don't wanna walk? ò~ô

Howard: ok
Nadia: a bit

Repitilysia and Limeston

Repitilysia-Greetings,my name is not important Gassian-YES IT IS

Limeston and Swordsmen

Katrzynija wrote:Howard: ok

Snek In Black just stands there.

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: a bit

Karan: :/

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:Snek In Black just stands there.
Karan: :/

Ooc: lets skip to em gettin there

Repitilysia and Limeston

Katrzynija wrote:Ooc: lets skip to em gettin there

OOC: Sure?
IC:
Karan: Well, here we are. Ice cream.
(BIG FLASHY BUILDING LIKE WHOOOOOA seems like they really overcompensating for just an ice cream store)

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:OOC: Sure?
IC:
Karan: Well, here we are. Ice cream.
(BIG FLASHY BUILDING LIKE WHOOOOOA seems like they really overcompensating for just an ice cream store)

Nadia: did they realy get so much profit to buy these ? :o

Repitilysia, Limeston, and Arthropyria

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: did they realy get so much profit to buy these ? :o

Karan: Well, to be able to build that with just ice cream profits... I guess they must sell quite the NICE cream, eh? Eh?
Elysia: "Boo."
Karan: >:|

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:Karan: Well, to be able to build that with just ice cream profits... I guess they must sell quite the NICE cream, eh? Eh?
Elysia: "Boo."
Karan: >:|

Nadia: ye that was a terrible joke (that game ded ehem)

Repitilysia and Limeston

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: ye that was a terrible joke (that game ded ehem)

Karan: Let us just go inside. (Game?)

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:Karan: Let us just go inside. (Game?)

Nadia: ok (nicecream is an item in undertale) ( tbh in my opinion the game ded but people still like it)

Repitilysia and Limeston

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: ok (nicecream is an item in undertale) ( tbh in my opinion the game ded but people still like it)

Karan: Huh, this place is bi- (Oh... Oh yeah, hehe, there was that thingy.) (Didn't a second game get launched tho?)
Ice Cream Clerk Woman: Greetings, welcome to the Imperial Ice- OH MY GOODNESS IT'S THE EMPEROR!!!
THE EMPRESS TOO!!!
AND... Uh... Who are you? (To nadia)

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:Karan: Huh, this place is bi- (Oh... Oh yeah, hehe, there was that thingy.) (Didn't a second game get launched tho?)
Ice Cream Clerk Woman: Greetings, welcome to the Imperial Ice- OH MY GOODNESS IT'S THE EMPEROR!!!
THE EMPRESS TOO!!!
AND... Uh... Who are you? (To nadia)

Nadia: umm Princess of Katrzynija . (yeah it did )

Repitilysia and Limeston

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: umm Princess of Katrzynija . (yeah it did )

Ice Cream Clerk Woman: Oh... Okay.
WELL BACK TO THE EMPEROR!!! *Glee*
Karan: Uhh... We're here for i-
Ice Cream Clerk Woman: ICE CREAM?! SURE!!! FOLLOW ME!!!
Karan: Okay...?

Limeston

Clicking the first issue

Clicking the first issue is ranked 161,727th in the world and 6,916th in the Pacific for Nudest, with 11 Cheeks Per Square Mile.

Naked owo (the true essence of owo)

Repitilysia wrote:Ice Cream Clerk Woman: Oh... Okay.
WELL BACK TO THE EMPEROR!!! *Glee*
Karan: Uhh... We're here for i-
Ice Cream Clerk Woman: ICE CREAM?! SURE!!! FOLLOW ME!!!
Karan: Okay...?

Nadia: gee

Repitilysia and Limeston

Clicking the first issue wrote:Clicking the first issue is ranked 161,727th in the world and 6,916th in the Pacific for Nudest, with 11 Cheeks Per Square Mile.

Naked owo (the true essence of owo)

*Unsure if boop*

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: gee

Karan: I think this woman may have an issu-
Ice Cream Clerk Woman: HERE YOU GO!!! A NICE TABLE!!! WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ORDER?!

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:*Unsure if boop*
Karan: I think this woman may have an issu-
Ice Cream Clerk Woman: HERE YOU GO!!! A NICE TABLE!!! WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ORDER?!

Nadia: **doesnt say nothin**

Repitilysia and Limeston

Katrzynija wrote:Nadia: **doesnt say nothin**

Karan: Uhhh... Why don't you order first, Nadia?
The Ice Cream Clerk Woman turns to Nadia's direction like whoa heck is this person even a person or is it a machine? lol

Limeston

Repitilysia wrote:Karan: Uhhh... Why don't you order first, Nadia?
The Ice Cream Clerk Woman turns to Nadia's direction like whoa heck is this person even a person or is it a machine? lol

Nadia: **thinks: Karan im gonna end you !**
Uhh a vanilla ice cream please.

Repitilysia and Limeston

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