WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0110 0110
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Mirages
Legends of desert mirages permeate Khitan romantic
tales, but the reality is harsher than most imagine. Not
only do the desperate stagger after imaginary water on
the white-hot horizon, these illusions pull terrors into
this world from strange fringe realities beyond. On Khitus, mirages are “magic’s undisciplined stepchildren.”
A subject mind becomes vulnerable to mirages when
exhausted and dehydrated, an all-too-frequent state
in the sunburnt wilderness. They are a feature of unrelenting sun-play upon the dunes, from which travelers
receive respite at night. Once mirages appear on the
horizon, the wise turn away and bring all their reason
into play to doubt the seen images. A wanderer who
can convince himself that the beckoning water is unreal still has a chance. Those who cannot suffer the full
force of their illusory—but still deadly—power.
The victim must confront a series of ever-increasing
temptations emerging out of the simple mirage. The initial alluring appearance of water gives way to visions of
fair fruit and nourishment of growing sustenance and rarity. Following these are images of comforting folk, caregivers, and even lovers of increasing attractiveness. Next
come believable images of shelter, bounty and finally
riches beyond belief. Each successive illusion tempts
more than the last, drawing the victim deeper into the
deadly wastes cloaked by its own imagery.
The mirage’s intent, often like that of sorcery’s wrath
against those who dabble in magic, is to inflict the
harshest mental cruelty upon the victim. Ultimately,
a viewer realizes the images are false, but the deeper
they are among the mirages makes the realization all
the more crushing to the psyche. If victims realize the
reality of a mirage while not too deep, they can emerge
shaken but yet sane. For those lost deeper in a mirage
and the false hope it offers, more pain and catastrophic
denial happen when that hope dissolves away. Withdrawal from mirages often drives a victim to despair,
insanity, or suicide as the ever-tempting imagery tears
at the mind with an insidious pleasure. Mirage insanity can crush part of one’s spirit completely, leaving the
victim forever changed.
• Trakeen Watchers: Trakeen seek such visionary experiences for themselves and their followers to help
establish the truth of their Daragkarik-worshiping
doctrines.
• Shadazim Watchers: Not surprisingly, wily Shadazim do the same in support of their obeisance to the
ancient gods.
108
Ever-Changing
Dangers
The only thing constant about danger on Khitus is its
omnipresence, regardless of its forms. Out in the wastelands are many dangers beyond the ephemeral mirages
and just as unpredictable. The ever-changing risks include the unstable climes and what changes they spawn,
from deadly terrain to weather of catastrophic potential.
Wind Storms
Strong winds carry sand, soil, and dust into the air,
unhindered by grass or crops that might hold them in
place. Windblown sand can be blinding and even deadly. Flat wastelands offer no windbreaks, so the constant
wind varies from a nuisance to a problem to a threat.
One can expect gusts throughout the day, some enough
to halt progress and decrease visibility to zero. Those
caught unprepared may choke from the airborne dust,
perhaps giving away their positions; too much dust can
incapacitate, even suffocate. Damage to exposed eyes or
skin can also be a danger.
Flash Floods
Rains yet occur in the wastelands, but the hard-baked
land no longer absorbs water easily, and rains that do come
are never less than a drenching. Every gulley becomes a
raging torrent in minutes during a storm, washing anything away with tremendous force. Surprising numbers of
men and beasts drown in the desert, unprepared for the
onslaught of rushing water. Where the water runs, it carries the earth away in muddy waves, exposing whatever
was once buried underneath. A prepared wasteland traveler captures the rain, like gold falling from the skies. To
the initiate, a sudden rain can be a death sentence.
Land Storms
Deadly land storms occur when savage winds stir up
enough dust, grit, and gravel to create mammoth moving
mountains of earth that remake the very landscape without any regard for whatever or whoever lies beneath their
path. Anyone can see a land storm approaching for many
miles, but precautions against its wide-scale death and
devastation are few and often futile, given their size. Land
storms are the primary impetus for the rapidly changing
terrain of the wastelands. A region of sand dunes might
