Zackem Red Desert

Place

Place Name:

Zackem Red Desert

Biome:

Red Desert

Size:

2462 km2

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Zackem Red Desert is mostly made up of oscillating ground and clay with a characteristic reddish-orange color, thus giving it its name. The ground has cracks in it that constantly show its dryness, but those cracks are also places where organisms can take refuge from the ruthless Sun and grow. Contrary to the expectations of those that didn’t study the desert closely, the average temperature of the Zackem Red Desert is actually quite low. Although it can go to 40 degrees Celsius in the day, it can drop to 50 degrees below zero in midnight winters.

However, this isn’t entirely as terrible as it sounds, since the dryness of the desert means it is not very thermally conductive. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in crossing and surviving the desert is the wind. The wind of the Zackem Red Desert can reach upwards of 200 km/h in some regions, using the plainness of the land and the temperature differences as a factor of acceleration. Though most of the desert is uniform in its macro characteristics, there are some places to note in it. The mentioned Orange Mountain is in the northwestern quadrant of the desert.

A semi abandoned copper mine lies there, along with a subterranean oasis inside the caves. To the northeast are the Sabo-Tabo dunes. These dunes are considered the home of the most Recluse arachnids. The dunes migrate with the winds so the geography is impossible to remember, shifting and dangerous to travelers. This part is uninhabitable even to the Iasul kin'toni Clan. In the southwest is the Grey Expanse of Ryrus, which has some salt flats and the rocky extension where bismuth is mined. The rocks here are coarse and treacherous, and the ground may heat up to unbearable levels.

Some caverns are habitable and even can keep a cold temperature during the day. These are valued as homes to the Iasul kin'toni Clan. Having a cave home is considered a family luxury and a sign of status. Caverns with water sources are prized tenfold and if someone has them, you can safely assume they are the equivalent of a duke. Still, to maintain this status it is also necessary to be a great hunter of zu'aan, since they rarely venture that far into the Grey Expanse. The only other option is to mine or pump and to trade the bismuth or water for “prisoners” in dealings with other kin'toni.

In the southeast there is the Red Ruin proper. Here you can see the Triceratops Rhinocero and most of the cacti. Some of the Iasul kin'toni Clan have built makeshift homes from the rocks of the environment. This location is closest to the Koyenu Lively Savannah and to the zu'aan settlements that border with it, and is the staging ground for most raids. Here the Iasul kin'toni Clan fought against the zu'aan invaders and struggled for survival, staining forever the ground with their blood. Even though the ground was already reddish before the battles.

To put the battles as the reason the desert is “red” is a common mythopoeic resource of the Iasul kin'toni Clan. Elders tell the newly turned that this is the motive “the ground is red with the blood of our enemies”. The north of the Zackem Red Desert borders with even more barren and inhospitable frozen polar regions.

Plants

The Zackem Red Desert is only home to very sparse vegetation, but the vegetation that does grow there is pretty unusual. Plants of the Zackem Red Desert have developed numerous psychotropic poisons to discourage any kind of predation. There are no trees save for some petrified trunks. A catalogue of the plants of the Zackem Red Desert is in the Boradón mansion, property of Count Boradón of Layher. The library is sealed and for his private eyes only, but partial copies are present in the municipal libraries of Girarf and Dremeulimas.

Of course, the town of Dremeulimas is abandoned –some say haunted-, so little people have the courage or privilege to go there looking for this obscure information. Nonetheless, a part of it is here reproduced: The family of Syrapur Cacti are an order of carnous green plants filled with water. But this water has been “enriched” with extremely powerful toxins. The toxins will generate intense pain in whoever tries to eat them. They are about 20 centimeters tall and hide themselves in the crack of the orange-reddish rocks. The more famous Tarenmani Cacti are rather different in their effects.

It is believed the psychotropic response to eating this cacti by zu'aan gives visions of past things. Of course, since the Zackem Red Desert is controlled by the kin'toni, to get one of these plants for a zu'aan is extremely rare – and valuable. There is a whole underground trade of dissected Tarenmani Cacti in the zu'aan towns of Southern Glossia. Merchants travel far and wide in order to obtain these “samples”, which are specially coveted by for the ladies. Another wanted cacti is the Brelydia Tumbaris, a sort of round squat plant with very sharp spines.

But in its core, a white liquid oozes dormant. These liquid is very dense and can be applied on wounds to let them heal rapidly. The plant has been described as “Miraculous” and “Life-saving” and even works in many clans of kin'toni. However, to drink this plant may be lethal, generating near instant dehydration and then death. Cacti aren’t the only type of plant in the Zackem Red Desert. Another kind of plant one may find them are Succulents. Succulents are more abundant in the rare more rainy and rocky hills of the desert that, although very dry as a rule, have the occasional downpour.

The succulents known as Dativa Madurensis are sought by high class ladies seeking eternal youth via non-kin'toni means. Although dubious, they have a reputation for making your skin soft and terse. Aging bachelorettes will pay literal fortunes for a shipment of these plants, leading adventurers to set off in expeditions to gather them. Of course the kin'toni are always watching, so not all of these adventurers have the fortune to return. In addition to plants, the desert also has fungi. These grow in the underside of rocks, and in small caverns, sheltered from the Sun.

Tamodepos Fungi are carnous, and can be eaten, but only if cooked. To eat uncooked Tamodepos causes violent vomiting in a zu'aan, and convulsions in the kin'toni. Some of them still want to use it as a light entheogen.

Animals

The animals of the Zackem Red Desert are no different from tis plants in that they are as scarce as they are dangerous. Still, the Iasul kin'toni Clan has adapted to hunting and even has taken fondness to some of them. It woudn’t be the Zackem Red Desert if we didn’t mention here kechi. There are all sizes, shapes and colors of scorpions. Kechi with a detachable tail. Golden kechi that jump in people’s faces. Azure scorpions that hide in the sands and deliver a single killing sting. But some kechi are more famous than others. Or Infamous, shall we say.

The itamata, also known as kerthri, is used by the Iasul kin'toni Clan as a sort of biological weapon. They fill catapults with these kechi and hurl them towards enemy settlements. Contrary to what one may think, the sting of the Itamata isn’t lethal. That would be bad for the Iasul kin'toni Clan, since they rather eat their pray warm and alive. Its sting only causes extreme terror and panic. So when the enemy is attacked by the scorpion, they run out from the safety of their walls with an incontrollable sentiment of impending doom, opening the doors from the inside due to panic and fear.

That is when the prepared shock troops invade and feast upon the unfortunate. This tactic has proven once and again to be extremely efficient, and attempts to counter it on the part of the zu'aan have failed. Another interesting species of kechi is the ba’rai-na’cha. These skechi are never seen alone and they travel only in group. Their exoskeletons are pink. Though they are only seen rarely, they are considered a sign of luck by most kin'toni. The reason is simple, generally these kechi migrate towards nearby water sources, and blood alone won’t do enough to survive in the desert.

A variety of other arachnids inhabit the Zackem Red Desert. Amongst them is the akino, whose bite stops hunger for up to two days, and the bethrdi, that feeds on ants. Ants are the most numerous inhabitants of the Desert. umathrdath can grow up to 8 centimeters in length and devastate enemy insects such as okern. They construct vast underground structures known as shetha, which can house thousands of individuals. With the correct use of fire, the Iasul kin'toni Clan has been able to hunt these dath and convert them into a protein source, adapting them into their dishes.

This is with a seasoning of zu'aan blood, of course. Some of the animals are quite larger than insects. The yagu is one of the truly few kings of the desert. Not even kin'toni dare mess with them. They have developed bacterial microfauna in their interior that allows them to eat poisonous cacti and toxic fungi with no ill effect. However, they themselves absorb the poison into their skin, making them extremely bad tasting, and with acid blood. Nobody attempts to eat this creature, but in the case of finding a carcass, the horns are prized for their use in the confection of prestigious and powerful armor and weapons.

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	Iasul Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Zackem Red Desert

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This article is written by Anima U. Copyright 2026 Anima U. All rights reserved.