Green Desert
The Green Desert earned its name from the cruel trick it plays on travelers. Green shrubs and brush extend as far as the eye can see, giving the impression of a lush and habitable landscape. It is neither. There is no natural source of clean water anywhere in the region, and the winding paths between the low trees are pockmarked with dead ends where pilgrim journeys have come to abrupt and permanent conclusions.
Packs of Yotes cling to the lowland scrub and pick off travelers with methodical patience, leaving only bones in the bushes. The paths twist and fork in ways designed by nature to confuse; a wrong turn leads to a dead end, and a dead end in the Green Desert means becoming one of the bones the next traveler finds. Pilgrims and merchants pass through on their way to the City of Saints, and many of them do not arrive.
The few who have survived the crossing owe their lives to a network of hidden caches buried in the sand beneath the sparse trees. Many pilgrims are required by their faith to leave behind caches containing essentials for survival: water, food, small resting supplies. These caches are often the only reason some travelers live to see the other side. Finding them requires knowing where to look, and knowing where to look requires either a guide or extraordinary luck. The Green Desert does not reward the faithless, but it does not guarantee the faithful will survive either.
Packs of Yotes cling to the lowland scrub and pick off travelers with methodical patience, leaving only bones in the bushes. The paths twist and fork in ways designed by nature to confuse; a wrong turn leads to a dead end, and a dead end in the Green Desert means becoming one of the bones the next traveler finds. Pilgrims and merchants pass through on their way to the City of Saints, and many of them do not arrive.
The few who have survived the crossing owe their lives to a network of hidden caches buried in the sand beneath the sparse trees. Many pilgrims are required by their faith to leave behind caches containing essentials for survival: water, food, small resting supplies. These caches are often the only reason some travelers live to see the other side. Finding them requires knowing where to look, and knowing where to look requires either a guide or extraordinary luck. The Green Desert does not reward the faithless, but it does not guarantee the faithful will survive either.
Geography
The Green Desert occupies a stretch of Progress in Deserter where green shrubs and brush extend to the edge of the Saltlick, where all life ends. Low trees and winding dead-end paths fill the terrain, which appears lush but contains no natural source of clean water. The region transitions into the Flats further west. Merchants travel through the Green Desert to reach the City of Saints, following paths that fork and twist between the scrub. Hidden caches buried beneath the sparse trees provide the only reliable survival resources for travelers making the crossing.
