Raraku

Raraku [RARE-uh-koo],Steven Erikson Gardens of the Moon 20th Anniversary Interview - Ten Very Big Books podcast - As pronounced by Steven Erikson at 01:19:12 also known as the Holy Desert, was a region west of the Pan'potsun Odhan on Seven Cities.Deadhouse Gates, Glossary, UK MMPB p.938 It lay in the northwest of the subcontinent between the cities of Ehrlitan and Karashimesh.
It was in Raraku that the Bridgeburners were formedDeadhouse Gates, Chapter 5, US HC p.131 and later, where Sha'ik led her Whirlwind rebellion.
In the time of the First Empire, Raraku had been an inland freshwater sea couched in the lap of high mountains.House of Chains, Chapter 14 Salt water had seeped into the sea's northern end through the vast limestone escarpment separating it from Longshan Bay.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.84 Conch shells and other evidence of long dead marine life could still be found along the ancient shorelines.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 2, US HC p.65
When the winds blew hard enough to move the sands, they often revealed the remains of vast roads and the casualties and detritus of past battles.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 6, US HC p.167 The desert was littered with false trails laid by its inhabitants to lead invaders to their deaths.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 5, US HC p.131
At night, the desert's heat quickly dissipated to be replaced by a chill wind. The desert came to life as Rhizan, Capemoths, Chigger fleas, and desert wolves came out to hunt and feed.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.300
== Pan'arak Oasis ==
The Pan'arak Oasis was said to lay at the very heart of the desert and served as the base of operations for the Army of the Whirlwind. It had been the site of the last of the First Empire's island enclaves until the city had been violently destroyed by invaders who settled upon its remains. Now only endless ruins of a city characterized by spacious gardens, courtyards, pools, and fountains remained. The oasis' vast quantity of water and the agriculture it allowed was able to support the eleven tribes of forty thousand people and their animals who lived there.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.477
Amidst the ruins, the current residents built mudbrick homes, hide tents, yurts, horse pens, a market center, and a large library.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.284 Neighbourhood markets stretched the lengths of streets protected from the sun by awnings.
The huge, multi-chambered palace tent on the city's parade ground was the residence of Sha'ik.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.478 It had no need for guards as the Whirlwind Goddess' presence was strongly felt. Somewhere inside the tent's maze of rooms was Sha'ik's throne room where stood a tall-backed chair of sun-bleached wood. Along the sides of the room were pillows for visitors. A permanent sorcery kept the room lit and warm.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.301-302
A quiet area of the city known as the Circle of Temples was home to the crumbling ruins of temples to forgotten Gods. The oasis' most pitiable, diseased, and destitute gathered there as a scattering of minor healers moved among them to cure what ailments they could. Until the arrival of Sha'ik Reborn, the area was also home to three thousand orphaned children who were preyed upon by the local pimps.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.285 Leoman and Toblakai made their home there in a deep, octagonal, well furnished, brick-lined pit.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.285 
Two vast kraals on the lower slopes of the hills outside the city penned goats and sheep. The animals were driven to pastures east of the ruins to forage for food.
About a league to the west of the city were groves of bone-white trees petrified down to the smallest twig. Within one clearing lay a low altar made of flagstones where the Chosen One often went to read and wonder. Nearby, was another clearing where Toblakai kept a mason's chest and the necessary tools to carve the stone trees into sculptures. The grove was populated by large numbers of Flare-necks.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.298-300
==Tremorlor==
The desert's true heart was the Azath House Tremorlor, which held together a torn and fragmented warren. Legend also said Raraku was the place from which Icarium emerged.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 15, US HC p.417-418
==In Deadhouse Gates==
As the Whirlwind rebellion began, a towering sandstorm over a mile in width encircled Raraku.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 6, US HC p.166Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 17, US HC p.465 In some places the winds were so forceful that the sand stripped the flesh of those attempting to pass through it.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 14, US HC p.374 After Felisin Paran arrived at the oasis to be accepted as Sha'ik Reborn the sandstorm retracted to create an immense golden column above her that could be seen as far as Vathar Forest, several hundred leagues away.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.481Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 19, US HC p.492
==In House of Chains==
After the start of the Whirlwind rebellion, the population at Pan'arak Oasis swelled to nearly a hundred thousand people.House of Chains, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.344 This included tens of thousands of warriors and their followers.House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.281
After the battle between the Whirlwind Army and the Malaz 14th Army, the desert was flooded by a rush of water. The 14th Army was left safely stranded atop the coral islands encircling the oasis.House of Chains, Chapter 26, US SFBC p.844-845
==In The Bonehunters==
Six months after the inland sea's return, Raraku's waters were silty and ochre-coloured with regular, choppy waves. Insects swarmed the shoreline and even the spirits of the deep springs had awakened. To those sensitive to such things, the sea seemed young, raw, and vulnerable.The Bonehunters, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.392 Icarium and Mappo visited the warm shallows of the sea's western shore, recalling their last visit millennia ago.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.81-84
Later, the new Master of the Deck, Ganoes Paran, came to the sea's northern shore with Ganath. He performed a ritual that summoned hundreds of thousands of dead warriors including Humans, Trell, Barghast, Imass, and Jaghut. Among them were all the dead Bridgeburners, who he recruited to help him find the Deragoth.The Bonehunters, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.392-397
When Iskaral Pust walked the shores of the sea, he noted the first tiny fish to appear in the reborn waters. Mogora later stocked the sea with a half-dozen young freshwater sharks.The Bonehunters, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.412-413
==Notes and references==
Category:Deserts
Category:Locations
Category:Seven Cities
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