The Red Desert

“…echoes of the dead are carried on the wind. Their
mournful wail and stinging sun pushes a traveler to the cliff shadows, but
there are hungry eyes, both human and inhuman. A false step can lead the
unaware down a sand pit to never be seen again. Within the sands lie a great
many treasures for the vagabond, yet death is found in equal measure…”

-Excerpt from Raphael Gordon’s *A Tour of Titan*

tunnels of a rocky bluff now house a Desert Drake flight. Their territory covers
40 miles, and are constantly attacking and raiding supply lines to feed their
growing colony. A bounty system has been placed across all three Catliphates that a Desert Drake head is worth 500 gold, and the queen's head is worth 5000 gold.

### **Kimbal,** the Golden City

Located next to the Huron River, Kimbal is known for its ruler and master merchant Glaurung. An ancient Golden Dragon, Glaurung keeps order in the city through his sheer presence and his legion of Dragoons. Established 999 years ago, the city has grown from its meager beginnings as a fishing village into the metropolis that rivals even Avalon.

## Inhabitants

### **Sentient Races**

Catgirls, Humans, Saurians, and Orcs are the most common races found in the Red Desert, followed by the rare Oread and Owlperson.

### Desert Nagas

A race of snake people that are similar to the Saurians, but have long lower
bodies. Females are the dominant sex and are bigger than the males as well as
taking leadership positions. They are cunning hunters, ambushing prey and
strangling them with their powerful tails. Naga shamans are a powerful and deadly
enemy, summoning creatures from other dimensions to devour their enemies. There are deadly variants with a paralyzing venom in their teeth.

### Desert Drake

A
distant cousin of the Dragon, Desert Drakes are among the more cunning of their
kind. Despite their simple intelligence, a Desert Drake is capable of hunting
down prey for tens of miles. They take a mouthful of sand and spew it into
their target’s eyes and then pounce upon the prey while they are blind. A wary
traveler will look for signs of an ambush, such as claw marks on nearby rocks,
or the almost imperceptible sight of a sand mound breathing.

Their
hierarchy is made of a queen that rises to mate once a year, where only the
strongest and fastest male will have the honor of becoming her brood mate. Once
finished, the queen will lay a clutch of eggs numbering from 12 to 24, and will
hatch in roughly six months.

### **Carpocerous** (Black Shadow)

Giant reptilian bird with leathery wings and a long sailed tail. With
a wingspan of 80 feet, it can create blistering wind speeds of up to 50 miles
per hour. With its powerful and deadly clawed talons, the Carpocerous descends
and can lift even cows and other pack animals with ease. Setting its nest upon
the highest bluff it can, Carpocerous defend its eggs with extreme hostility.
One egg goes for a price of 10,000 gold pieces, for they make outstanding
mounts. The training is difficult and expensive, but a Carpocerous mount will
be able to take a whole family across the desert in a day. If one should see
its enormous shadow, they should dive immediately for cover and hope the beast
is not hungry.

### **Sandworm**

If Carpocerous rules the skies, then Sandworms control the earth, devouring
any that wander into their territory. Using a series of very sensitive tendrils
at the end of its tail, a sandworm can easily “see” an area up to 200 feet in
diameter. Its diet consists mostly of minerals found deep underground, though
they display a preference towards meat. Because of this, a Sandworm’s fecal
matter contains rare metals that have been tempered by powerful stomach acids. Groups
of self-proclaimed “Worm-hunters” track and slay the beast, selling every part
of it to the various Desert Catliphates.