Iruck Cold Desert

Place

Place Name:

Iruck Cold Desert

Biome:

Cold Desert

Size:

2500 km2

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

Iruck Cold Desert is a very geographically diverse region. The northern part of the desert is the coldest and also the most desolate. No life lives in this part of Iruck, and nothing can be found here except for sand. Further south the sand dunes begin to form into rolling hills and more plants and animals become present. At the very southern end of Iruck lies some actual mountains, which were named by the local Perser kin’toni clan, Hackat. Hackat are a small grouping of desert mountains formed from sandstone. There are four peaks in total and they are closely clumped together.

The local Perser kin’toni clan have settled down in the centre of these mountains. They live in small huts made of animals hides and sticks. The mountains help to block out the cold winds that stream into Iruck from the north. The tallest peak was used as a vantage point so the clan could watch out for incoming enemies. Although eventually the clan’s leader and high priest built his own hut on top of this mountain so he could watch the events that unfolded in the lake below. Near Hackat lies the one of the only sources of water in Iruck Cold Desert.

Lake Iruck is several kilometres wide and several hundred metres deep. It is shaped in a perfect circle and the local Perser kin’toni clan believe that it was once the mouth of a massive volcano. The water of the lake does not freeze over in the winter, as the lake is too far south for the full extent of the northern Taerel winter to reach it. Although some shallow parts of the lake do sometimes freeze. On one shore of the lake the local Perser kin’toni clan constructed their first settlement outside of Hackat.This once small fishing village was called Hackeet by the Perser kin’toni.

Originally it was comprised of a few simple huts, but over time the village has progressed remarkably. Now it is made of several hundred huts and contains several wharfs that lead out over the lake. The once standalone Hackeet has now been connected to a zu’aan village on the far side of the lake known as Lamoa. Lamoa was built by the nearby zu’aan city state of Nuro to sustain its populations dietary needs. When the local Perser kin’toni clan joined up the Nuronese these two villages were joined across the lake by floating walkways. The zu’aan city state of Nuro is located a few kilometres west of Lake Iruck.

It has quickly become a large and powerful city with widespread influences. Their alliance with the Perser kin’toni clan has essentially granted their citizens with immortality. Nuro is a massive city with high sandstone walls lined with various defences. They have a strong army and the desert around the city is full of bunkers and other defences in case of attack. Allying with a kin’toni clan has made the Nuronese disliked by many other zu’aan and they have done what they deemed necessary to protect their people.

Plants

The plant life in Iruck Cold Desert is very different to most other regions. The plants here mostly live without any water and in freezing cold temperatures. The local plants are very tough and even sometimes dangerous. Some of the local plants have even contributed to dissuading potential invaders away from the region.

Iruck razorgrass

Iruck razorgrass is a species of plant that are native and unique to Iruck Cold Desert. These plants live in the northern parts of Iruck as they prefer the cold. They grow their roots deep into the sand to find any moisture they can get. Some of the plants that have been pulled out have had roots up to fifty metres long. Iruck Razorgrass can live for months on just a tiny amount of moisture and they have another method of quenching their thirst. Iruck Razorgrass was named after their sharp thorns that grow just above the surface of the sand.

The thorns are small but there are hundreds of them on each plant. The are the same colour as the dull grey sand and are almost impossible to see. Stepping on them will cause severe pain and bleeding. The razorgrass uses the blood to sustain itself and is capable of sinking its thorns back beneath the sand if in danger. Since the thorns are so plentiful several kin’toni have suffered from severe nerve and tendon damage, in many cases causing them to lose their feet entirely.

Hackeet idukas

Hackeet idukas are a species of aquatic plant that are native and unique to Iruck Cold Desert. These plants can only be found in Lake Iruck. The grow out in the centre of the lake where the water is deepest. The actual plant grows at the bottom of the lake, far out of reach of the kin’toni and zu’aan. However, to get sunlight the plants release super long tendrils to the surface. These tendrils can stretch for hundreds of metres but are thin and can easily snap. When they reach the surface, they grow a large flat lily. These idukas are bright green and often sprout white flowers.

The local Perser kin’toni often use these flowers as gifts.

Iruck voor

Iruck voor are a very dangerous species of carnivorous plant that are native and unique to Iruck Cold Desert. The plants themselves are actually very large, but their exact size ranges have not been discovered. This is because they live beneath the sand much like their razorgrass cousins. Iruck voor pile sand overtop of their massive mouths and use sensitive pressure plates to sense prey moving nearby. When an unsuspecting animal or kin’toni steps over the mouth it retracts its lips and the prey falls into a big round area inside the plant.

This is the stomach. The walls are lined with thousands of small spines that will injure at the touch. However, the prey usually dies of suffocation when they plant excretes its digestive juices into its stomach until it fills up the entire thing. Some legendary kin’toni have been able to cut their way out, but not without taking a fair amount of damage.

Animals

The wildlife in Iruck Cold Desert is mostly passive herbivores. There are no large predators as the region’s environment is not well suited to them. Most of the regions more powerful predators moved north and did not return to Iruck. The biggest threat to the animals that remain is the predatory plants that line the sand dunes.

ashuckama

Ashuckama are a species of insect that are native and unique to Iruck Cold Desert. These insects cannot fly but simply walk around with their ridiculously long legs. Their bodies are actually very small and grow no larger than a kin’toni hand. However, their legs can reach lengths of up to a metre, and they have six of them. Built onto their front legs are two large flaps of exoskeleton, these are used to brush the sand aside in front of the Sand Shifter. Their front legs can move side to side with incredible speeds, and plough through the sand searching for good.

Ashuckama can sense when an Iruck Razorgrass or murderer plant is in front of it. They ignore the voor as their legs are too wide for them to be able to fall into the mouth of the plant. The razorgrass is what these insects feed on, they sense the thorns nearby and then use bend down to use their jaws to pull out the tiny thorns one by one and eat them. The local Perser kin’toni breed these insects so they can be used to discover the location of nearby dangerous plants.

Gaminos

Gaminos are a species of Aquatic insect that are native and unique to Iruck Cold Desert. They live specifically in Lake Iruck. During the day they skim the surface of the lake looking for lily flowers. They have six thin legs that have small pads on the end of them. They can float on these and paddle through the water with incredible speed. Their bodies are bright yellow, and they have bright blue eyes mounted on the top of the heads. They feed on the nectar contained within the lily flowers and are the main pollinators of the lake. Their assistance helps the Hackeet lily population to flourish.

Tynos

Tynos are a species of flightless bird that are native and unique to Iruck Cold Desert. They have long legs and small feet that allow them to run extremely fast across the flat surfaces of Iruck. They have brown feathers with flecks of grey in-between. These birds have long beaks which they use to forage in the sand for good. They also used their hard beaks to sense nearby plants that could attack it. Walking over a razorgrass plant would basically be the death of any Tynos as they without their feet they are unable to move at all. Tynos lay their eggs on the shores of Lake Iruck.

When the eggs hatch the baby, birds live by the lakeside with their parents for months. The local Perser kin’toni clan often harvest some of these eggs so they can eat them.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Perser Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Iruck Cold Desert

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This article is written by tytarys. Copyright 2026 tytarys. All rights reserved.