Prismatic Shardlands

Hanging off the eastern coast of the Qisman Caliphate sits a solitary island, covered coast to coast with dunes of dazzlingly vibrant white sand, speckled with bits of red, green, and blue. Despite how serene and beautiful this land may seem, it is largely hostile and inhospitable. Along the entire expanse of the island, only one major settlement has managed to withstand the malevolence of the desert: Penumbra, the homeland of the Ilana.

Prismatic Shardlands

## Geology

The shardlands have managed to defy simple categorization. While it is traditionally classified as a "Desert," it is not especially hot, nor arid. Most notably, its colorful "sand" is not a heterogenous blend of rocks and minerals, but rather a homogenous dust comprised of a singular type of gemstone: Solarium. This gemstone is what gives the Shardlands its distinctive appearance, with the minor variations of the sand's color owed to the varying internal structure of the gem.

### Solarium

As one might expect from its name, Solarium derives most of its peculiar properties from its interaction with solar energies. Solarium efficiently collects solar radiation, storing the energy within its crystalline structure and giving it its distinctive color. While most particles of Solarium within the desert are white, minor differences in structure result in some outliers, which are often red, blue, or green.

Notably, Solarium that is lacking a sufficient amount of sunlight loses its color and becomes pitch black. This inactive Solarium remains insatiable, however, and saps thermal energy from its nearby surroundings. Due to these unique properties, nights in the Shardlands can be insufferably cold, yet beautiful, as the dunes appear as if they were obsidian, calmly shimmering with light purple hues in the night sky.

Problems begin to arise within the Shardlands once vast swathes of Solarium sand collect a sufficiently excessive amount of solar energies-- a natural result of cloudless days. The Solarium sand becomes unstable, converting its immense solar energy into kinetic energy, sending any nearby sand into a frenzy alongside itself. This domino effect is what creates the islands deadly shardstorms, where vast swathes of Solarium sand kick themselves into the air and wreak havoc across the landscape, the monomolecular edges of the gem particles shredding flesh beyond recognition. While the size and severity of shardstorms vary depending on the overlying weather conditions of the island, they are without fail a daily occurrence on the shardlands.

However, beneath the sand of the shardlands sits a solid foundation, dotted with expansive cave networks which house the only fauna that can thrive on the island. Unlike the sands above, the caverns beneath are composed of a single, massive chunk of distinctly dark, yet inert Solarium, which has gone so long without solar energies it has lost its desire for power.

## Flora and Fauna

The fauna that make the shardlands' caves their home are very unique. Given the land above is comprised of gemstones, it is impossible for plants of any form to flourish. Therefore, the fauna that live within the shardlands photosynthesize out of necessity, harvesting what energy they can during the relatively calm sunrises and sunsets. To ensure their survival even during harsh shardstorms, all animals within the shardlands form a solid exterior, often composed of, or appearing as, Solarium. Despite their gem-like appearance, these lifeforms are still undeniably organic; their strong yet brittle carapaces protect and conceal their delicate flesh. Due to the unique challenges the shardlands present, its ecology would be largely devoid of predators, were it not for one species of sapients in particular: The Ilana.