This week we’re looking at the desert called the Sands of Jarayu because, you know, he owned them. 🙂

Jarayu

(pronounced Ja RI yoo)

Jarayu was named for the first of the great desert dragons. After claiming a region no one else wanted, he took the desert elves under his wings, taught them basic magics, and treated them as valuable resources to be developed. When humans moved into the area from the plains to the north, he offered them sanctuary but only under the condition they maintain a peaceful relationship with his elves. Bhanu, the current lord of Jarayu, is his direct descendent.

The desert of Jarayu lies in the rain shadow of the southern mountain range. It is bordered on the north by the Vasu plains, by the mountains in the west, by the ocean to the east, and by forest to the south. The southern part of Jarayu gradually transforms from desert hills to scrub land. Bhanu is attempting to claim the forest to the south as his own.

The elves call themselves the Lanikamali’i – which means Sky Children. They are nomadic, living in small family groups of 20-30 adults plus children. Every few years the families will gather, exchange news, and part ways again, often in new groupings. They will raid the Vasu plains and the mountains to supplement the goods they can trade for. A few individuals have settled in the small fishing villages that humans founded along the coast. The Lanikamali’i have adapted completely to their desert life. They are tall, for elves, and very thin. They have pale skin and hair that matches the desert sands, and sky blue eyes. This has led some humans to believe, erroneously, that the desert elves are part desert dragon. The Lanikamali’i have developed strong, specialized magic. They craft magical boots and clothes that augment their natural abilities, making them nearly impossible to detect, track, or capture. They use non-magical versions of their cloaks and boots as trade goods. On rare occasion, one may find magical versions for sale in the bazaars of Kerani and Nishad.

The greatest threat to the Lanikamali’i are the giant sand snakes. These snakes are also adapted perfectly to their environment. They are large enough to consume elves and humans, and will do so if given the opportunity. However, they usually prey on other snakes. All of Jarayu’s snakes – which are legless, wingless dragon-kin – have shovel-shaped snouts that let them burrow into sand and loose soil. The smallest of them prey on insects, scorpions, lizards, and other small desert creatures. Some are active hunters while others are ambush predators. Many of them, including the giants, use a sticky secretion to build and maintain tunnels and dens under the sand. The skins of these snakes are waterproof and very durable, and are used by the Lanikamali’i in lieu of leather.

In D&D terms, the elvish boots and cloaks give bonuses to sneak and hide. These bonuses are higher in the desert than elsewhere, but it’s magic so they work in any environment.

Check back next week, when we take a look at the Jewel of the Desert – the city of Kerani

This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This is my first blog post, so be kind.  🙂

I’m going to start by giving an overview of one of my favorite role-playing worlds.  I created this world, full of dragons and dragon-kin, for a Dungeons and Dragons game with my daughter.

The name Devanand means, literally, God’s Joy. Physically, the world is much like earth, with an equivalent size and axial tilt, and one moon. This gives the world seasonal changes, weather patterns, and tides that would be recognizable to anyone from Earth. It has a solar year of 368 days.  I’ll detail the world’s physical properties in later posts.

Devanand is also a world of magic and mythical creatures. Dragons were the first species to develop intelligence and, consequently, civilization. Their physical and magical powers haven given them such advantage over the other races that dragons have absolute rule. Close cousins also fill many ecological niches, from tiny pollinators in the southern jungles to the largest predators in the oceans.

The other sentient races of Devanand, as Terrans would recognize them, include humans, dwarves, elves, and gnomes.  All of them are subject to their dragon masters.  In some places, these “lesser” races are slaves.  Other dragons think of them as children who need guidance and care.  This, and other ideological differences, keep the dragons at odds with each other.  Most people, of any race, consider the dragons as divine, the earthly manifestations of gods.  None of the dragons, no matter how benign toward the other races, has ever corrected or discouraged this belief.

Though dragons rule, most of the day-to-day dealings of state, including trade and diplomacy (and all the other boring administrative duties), are conducted by appointed ministers.  Even though the various nation-states are often at war with each other, there is still a great deal of commerce and trade between them.

Devanand is a rich and complex world, physically, socially, and politically.  If you’ve enjoyed this little overview, and this sounds like an interesting place, please check back.  I’ll be posting more information, detailing places, dragons, VIPs, and general fun stuff about the world.

Thank you for stopping by,

~Jean