Life in the Desert
Black Sands Desert

"In Gul's Embrace, no one can hear you scream!"
An unknown male HeatGlyder Pilot.

A more violent, desolate, merciless, terrain does not exist anywhere else on the planet. Daytime heat reaches a baking 150 degrees, while at night it's a cool 100!
Ash, soot, dirt, and rock fill the sky to a dangerous degree. Even at it's thinnest, Gul's ash fill wind current blots out the sun completely. The alien starkness of the Black Sands never reaches more than a dim lighting at best, and travelers speak of the "Land of No Shadows".
Gul' itself is the volcano home of the Drow who dominate these lands. Gul' is incredibly large for a volcano, equaling some mountains in it's height. It's wicked, hellish light can be seen from anywhere in Black Sands, and it is the most used landmark in this region. It's the intense volcanic winds Gul' emits that give this area it's name and it's decided color.
The intense winds given off by Gul' radiate out equally, traveling in a slight arc toward the Barrier Mounts. Having lost most of it's burden (ash, soot, and rock), the wind current tucks down along the Barrier Mounts and again returns towards Gul'. This constant set of currents gives Black Sands the domelike appearance it has from a distance. The lower breeze actually causes all the sand dunes in Black Sands to face toward Gul'!
But it is not Gul's Embrace (twin wind currents) that gives Black Sands it's name. Rather it is the microfine black ash that continually falls from these winds. This ash covers most areas of Black Sands in about a foot per month. The ash is so fine as to bleach items and animals black in less than a years time.
This deep ash is only about 75' deep even over this amount of time, mostly because of the beings under the sand. Those few dangerous creatures who dig amongst the sands for the dead, and hunt above the sands for the living. Black Manta's, Silt Worms, and worse swim amongst the sands. As they move through the crust of ash and silt, the beasts compact it, often causing cave-ins above their tunnels as they move on.
Beneath this "crust" is the ancient city of the Elves. Most buildings were perfectly preserved when Gul' erupted. Buried to be certain, but still standing even under the intense pressure of all the ash above them. It is rumored that certain Liches have moved into some of these buildings. Using other non-intelligent undead, the Liches excavate many of the homes, linking them together with underground tunnels (some miles long!).
In spite of all this, many races flourish and grow here. The Drow (pronounced drOe, as in tOe.) often come to the surface to view the morning sunrise. Because of the Barrier Mounts incredible height, sunrise occurs at about 10:30 am in Black Sands.
From deep amber red, to a royal purple, then fading to black, the light lasts all of a minute as it passes across the thinnest section of Gul's Embrace. Right by the Barrier Mounts where the wind tucks down, the rise and fall are a semi-popular event.
The Mantis men known as Thri- Krill live amongst the sands. The Preying Mantises of the sands! these silent insect men attack and kill almost every living thing they come across. The Krill believe in large scale tactics, overpowering an enemy by sheer numbers! Slashing claws and weapons from so many warriors make them a formidable enemy indeed. The Krill are a locust like race who scour the sands for sustenance.
While the Drow are the true masters of Black Sands, the Minotaur are the policing, brute force behind their Dark Elven masters! Gul's (as they are known to the Drow) provide the main resource to the Drow's Navy. They man the ships, repair the ships, and defend the ships, under their Elven masters cruel dictates. It is their valiant courage that keeps the worm sightings down, and fight Krill sightings as they appear.
The Gul are also used to provide entertainment to Drow more interested in the fighting arts. Gul provide arena battles and gladiatorial events, as well as providing top breeding stock to those interested in Minotaur husbandry.