Umum Verdant Sands

Place

Place Name:

Umum Verdant Sands

Biome:

Verdant Sands

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

Umum Verdant Sands has always had relatively mundane geography, even back when it was a lake. As a desert, however, there is a little more variety to it. The Umum Verdant Sands is strictly flat land. Due to it being a lake for so long, the sand at the bottom of the lake became very flat. Its composition did not change even with the disappearance of said lake. The flat land was as large as the lake had once been. There were occasional dips in the land, but nothing so substantial that it could classify them as hills. There are little to no structures in the sands.

A few caves in the ground where sinkholes had happened could be found. For the most part, however, the Umum Verdant Sands were just rather plain. After the first rainstorm that befell the Umum Verdant Sands, some plant life returned. So, scattered across the vast desert sands, were trees and various plants. The plants had evolved from the vegetation that had once grown in the lake. Lake weeds had turned into the dry brush, for example. Trees also grew. Occasionally, seeds and acorns would blow into the Umum sands and take root there. As time drags on, more vegetation is starting to grow.

This is due to the rainfall, and the plants having to readapt to receiving water. As they do, though, the greenery starts to actually turn green. More color is growing in the sands every day. When the lake still existed, the lakebed grew grass. When it had dried up, the grass remained, but it had died. The rainfall brought life back to the former water grass. It started as small patches of green grass. The more consistent the rain became, the more the grass grew. It is not the greenest of grass, and certainly not the prettiest, but it does grow.

These patches of grass have their own little ecosystem. Desert flowers grow in the grass. The flowers provide little bits of color and hope to those that are lucky enough to witness their beauty. The most, and really only, notable geographical point in the Umum Verdant Sands is the small little island at the very center of the landscape. When the lake was there, it was an actual island. In the sands, however, the former island serves as an oasis. As an island, it was the only place within the area to home flora and fauna. Trees, bushes, and land flowers all used to grow there.

It offered shade from the heat and asylum from the blinding reflections of the water. Now as an oasis, it offers water and shade from the detrimental heat in the sands. It is the only place in the whole Umum Verdant Sands that has a body of water. Albeit small, it still can provide wandering creatures with water to help them live one more day in the harsh landscape. The trees continue to grow there, with the support of the rather consistent rainfall.

Plants

Umum Verdant Sands has the reputation of being barren land. While at one point in time this was certainly the truth, the current state of the sands rejects that notion. The sands are now home to different types of life, they just have to be searched for. Resources are few in the sands, so it makes sense that the life there would try to hide to avoid becoming one of those valued resources. The most noticeable plant life is the desert trees or cassalk. These trees have a long history, dating all the way back to the time of the lake. For a while, they were considered extinct, but the rainfall gave them new life.

Cassalk are not very large trees, but they do grow to be a little taller than the average zu’aan. They lack branches going up the tree, but at the top branches form a little umbrella. The green leaves are the main water intake source. So, that is why they grow at the top, and few to none grow on the trunk of the tree. Another, slightly less noticeable, plant that can be found in the Umum Verdant Sands is the coraq’q. The coraq’q is a desert bush that is found scattered across the sands. When rain falls upon the land, the coraq’q grows berries.

These berries are very low in nutrients, but to a starving traveler, they make do. Without rainfall, the coraq’q bush has a very dry and brown look to it. It doesn’t take in a lot of water, nor does it need a lot to survive. What was once water flowers had evolved into the li’ani or desert flower. These flowers used to be large flowers that grew from the lake bed and stretched all the way to the surface. In the current sands, however, they are much smaller and only grow to be a couple of inches tall. These flowers grow in beautiful reds and yellows, and camouflage rather well in the Umum sands.

They also grow only where grass patches can be found. This is because the grass takes in the most amount of water, and the flowers require quite a bit of water to grow; even though they are desert plants. Because of this, the flowers are rather rare to find. Probably the rarest of plants that can be found in the Umum Verdant Sands is the quan’ii. The quan’ii is a green plant that is covered with spikes. It grows to be a few feet tall and stands out amongst the dry and brown land. The spikes had formed to keep the plant safe from animals, zu’aan, and kin’toni.

Creatures go after the quan’ii because it is the only plant to actually store water. Quan’ii can store a lot of water, and only need a few rainstorms to supply them with enough water for their entire life. This makes them a very valuable plant in the dry sands. They grow very rarely, as they don't propagate very often.

Animals

Umum Verdant Sands is not the most habitable of places. Water is hard to come by due to the heat evaporating any rain that falls. Very little food grows in the sands. In fact, the only food that grows are berries that don’t provide a lot of sustenance, and the quan’ii. However, life always finds a way. The Umum Verdant Sands is home to a few animals. These creatures are rarely ever seen, but they leave traces of their presence. Remnants of food, excrements, and tracks are all signs that life does exist in the supposed barren land of Umum Verdant Sands.

Travelers passing through will never see these creatures, and if they do, they would be very unlucky. Resources are minimal in the sands, and some of these animals will eat whatever they can find. The animal most likely, and most unfortunately, to be seen by weary travelers is the ferox. This creature is a mid-sized, four-legged menace. The ferox stands about waist high to the average zu’aan. It is striped with brown and black fur, which allows it to blend in rather well with its surroundings. Due to its size, the ferox requires more food than some of the other creatures in the Umum sands.

This is what makes the creature a menace. The hearing of a ferox is amazing; it can hear the ground dwellers and the travelers that risk wandering through the sands. Ferox will listen for travelers, and proceed to hunt them down. Ferox have strong jaws and large sharp teeth. This allows them to tear into said travelers, and make them their meal. A ferox will devour zu’aan and kin’toni alike if given the chance. It is best to avoid the Umum Verdant Sands for that reason alone. Another animal that calls the Umum Verdant Sands its home is the ol’ems.

Ol’ems are very small ground dwellers. They build homes in the caves that were created by sinkholes and have created tunnel systems that connect different ol’ems colonies together. The ol’ems have the largest population of the different creatures in the sands. They have no fur, instead, they have a hard dark brown shell. They also have very large front teeth. Both of these features help the ol’ems tear into the quan’ii plant. Due to their small build, they require very little food, and one quan’ii plant can feed a whole colony for many years.

Finally, there is the urdemsa. The urdemsa is a rather peculiar creature, as they have no limbs and live strictly in the sand. They vary in length and are rather unpredictable. The smallest urdemsa recorded was no larger than the palm of a kin’toni. The largest, however, was the length of a city block. The smaller ones are rather harmless and feed on the patches of grass that are in the sands. Big urdemsa have been recorded to be skilled hunters that can consume a whole travel party in one go. The big urdemsa should be avoided.

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	Iroughough Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Umum Verdant Sands

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This article is written by Vanessa Margo. Copyright 2026 Vanessa Margo. All rights reserved.