Lost Cities of the Waejiran Desert

Apeigadun

“Apeigadun, the ‘City of Tears’, the eyes of its few wary denizens watching as you walk alongside the wagons. People with almost nothing stare as a lifetime of wealth rolls past in wagons drawn by hardy rabbox”. – Trisios, Waejiran Teamster

Apeigadun was once one of the seven great cities which later formed the Empire of Waejir. It graced a wide verdant river which wound through the southern portion of the Waejiran desert.

A terrible earthquake in the western mountains caused the headwaters of this river to be rerouted, and eventually the sand swallowed the drying riverbed, the orchards, and fields. The loss of regular water destroyed the local agriculture and the population sufferred a great famine. Those who survived emigrated to other cities and towns in more hospitable locales. The abandoned city was nicknamed the “City of Tears”.

The ruins are located at the midpoint of the great caravan route in the centre of the Waejiran desert, and are a sand scoured shadow of their former glory. Many of the original city structures still remain, providing meager shelter for those who travel the caravan route which still passes through the site.

There is a small population of outcasts, refugees, and free folk that claim the city as their home. Life is often harsh and short for those who call the city their home, as it is a lawless city. The city adds to its population from the lost and travel weary whom find themselves too tired, or lacking sufficient resources, to finish the desert crossing.

Siladun

Your boots crunch the scaled earth of the vast salt flats stretching beyond the horizon; somewhere within this wasteland lays the ruin of Siladun, fabled home of the Goddess Silat herself. The words of warning from the old woman in the village still echo through your memory: “Beyond the endless thirst dwells eternal hunger.”

Siladun is a timeless fortress surrounded by the vast salt flats in the Northwern Waejiran Desert. Few have braved to cross the endless salt in an attempt to discover the secrets of the ruins. Fewer still are those who have come back; always and forever changed.

The mythic home of the Goddess Silat has been described as a crumbling edifice of concentric rings above a vast network of subterranean tunnels. This structure is surrounded by vast sun-baked salt flats, and is purported to be haunted by her monstrous multi-formed spawn.

Some say the great faceted dome of indestructible glass which caps the central chamber of the Silat’s temple in Waejiradur was brought forth from her fabled home at the conclusion of the God Wars millenia ago.

Vocandun

“It was a beautiful verdant garden, but also haunted… by what, I do not know. Something still lingers in that place watching from the shadows and amongst the leaves. Once I had recovered enough of my strength, I felt compelled to leave… to be amongst the living again.” – Lepia Thielau, Temple Sister of Thiela

Vocadun is the fabled city where the gods first gifted the Treahni with the Vocanei to serve them as slaves. The exact location and truth of this place is lost to myth, covered by the sands of the desert, and eroded by time.

Every once in a while some traveler claims to have stumbled upon a ruined city after being lost in the desert for weeks. They all consistently describe an urban oasis, with lush vines, and date palms. So beautiful they did not wish to leave it. However the loneliness of the empty streets and buildings kindled such desire to be with friends and family, that it drove them to return to the lands where people dwell.

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