Deadly Desert

The **Deadly Desert** is the mysteriously cursed desert that completely surrounds the magical Land of Oz. On maps, the eastern quadrant of the desert is called the Deadly Desert, while the other three quadrants of desert are called the *"Shifting Sands"* the *"Impassable Desert"* and the *"Great Sandy Waste"*. Despite the different names given, each side of the sands are sworn to be very dangerous, due to it's oppressive weather, many hostile creatures, and high sand dunes.

Glinda placed a ring of giant black dangerous mountains around the land of Oz at some point. These mountains attract any stranger attempting to enter Oz (natives are unaffected), dooming them to death by hyperthermia. The effect can be countered by eating magic grapes growing in a remote part of Oz. There is also a tunnel that leads from the Mountains of Doom to the Emerald City. This feature remained constant through the rest of the Oz series. The desert is used as a literary device to explain why Oz is essentially cut off from the rest of the world.

## Geography

The Deadly Desert is a large plot of land, featuring sand dunes that can pile up ridiculously high. As the climate birthed unfortunate living conditions, the desert is ironically deserted with no people or towns anywhere in sight. Spanning in all directions, it is incredibly difficult to get out of, having taken one of the few survivors of the deserts wrath "a full week of walking" in order to escape.

The temperature of the Deadly Desert is incredibly oppressive, being scorching at day and freezing at night, making it both the hottest and the coldest place on the entire continent.

### Flora and Fauna

The desert contains various plants and animals which have adapted to the harsh conditions humans couldn't.

#### Sand Scorpion

The sand scorpions within the Deadly Desert are fearsome creatures. While some smaller ones travel in packs, the larger and more ferocious of the Scorpions prefer to hunt alone. Being carnivorous, they have an amazing sense of smell and can track down their next meal from miles away. Obtaining dinner is easy with their raw brute strength and if that isn't enough alone, their stingers have a potent poison which can kill someone only moments after it enters their body.

## History

Little is known about the history of the Deadly Desert, but it is rumored to have always been to dangerous to live in. Often, King Krewl will bring groups of slaves out to the desert and observe them suffer for fun.

## Trivia

* The desert was actually named by the residents of Oz.

## Notable Crossings

* Dorothy Gale and her little pet dog named Toto were rifted through an inter-dimensional portal and carried over the desert into Oz in a small shack made from a oversized crate by a mysterious magical cyclone and were carried back again by the magic Ruby Slippers Dorothy obtained while in that land. (*The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*)
* A powerful storm blew The Wizard of Oz across the desert in a hot air balloon into Oz. 19 years later, The Wizard left Oz in another hot air balloon. (*Oz The Great and Powerful*)
* Danny and his companions crossed the desert twice in the flying Gump. (*Multiverse Chronicles: An Unexpected Journey*)
* Queen Ozma, the teenage ruler of Oz, crossed the desert to the neighboring Mushroom Kingdom of Wisdom in the Wonderland of Ev Through the Looking-Glass with her whole royal court by use of a magical infinitely unrolling carpet created by Glinda the Good Fairy. (*Multiverse Chronicles: Prince Dandelion*)
* Danny Oliver-Gale, Jake Sterling, The Shaggy-Man, The Wizard of Oz, and Button-Bright crossed the desert into Oz by use of a sand ship built by The Shaggy-Man. (*Multiverse Chronicles: The Wizard Returns*)
* The Royal Court of Oz dug a tunnel underneath the desert to allow outsiders to visit Oz. (Mentioned in passing)
* Trot, Billy, and Button-Bright flew over the desert carried by birds and led by Flipper the Ork. (*Multiverse Chronicles: Through the Looking-Glass*)
* Kiki Aru transformed himself into a bird and flew over from Oz, exploring the various countries of Nonestica. (*Multiverse Chronicles: Krewl's Revenge*)