Calim Desert

The Calim Desert, also known as the Skyfire Wastes, was a rocky desert on the coast in the country of Calimshan. It was not formed by natural means, instead being the result of an epic magical war between two genies, the djinni Calim and efreeti Memnon. The sands hid the ruins of ancient cities, which were said to hold many treasures.

Geography
The Calim Desert dominated the western half of Calimshan. The desert was contained to the east by the mighty Calim River. Counterclockwise from north to south, the desert was also bordered by the River Agis, the Trackless Sea, and the Shining Sea. The desert was roughly 100 feet below sea level, sloping at a gradual decline from the coast over 10 miles.

Geographical Features
The Calim Desert was primarily a level and rocky salt flat, yet the magical effects of Calim and Memnon could change that. These often dangerous manifestations of the two genies were called "Calim's Breath" and "Memnon's Crackle". The former was the cause of frequent sandstorms and whirlwinds; the latter the cause of earthquakes or the creation of patches of hot sand.

Flora and Fauna
Small rodents and reptiles were a few of the animals who had adapted to life in this desert. Most lived among the ruins of ancient cities. Also numerous were arachnids and insects, rabbits, weasels, toads, and vultures.

The largest creatures lived below the sands; desert purple worms frequented the area, and unlike typical purple worms, they lived in groups.

The Calim cactus was one of the few plants able to adapt to the changing and dry surface of the Calim desert. These strange plants were the primary food source for many of the animals listed above.

Trade and Travel
The Trade Way cut directly across the Calim Desert from Calimport to Memnon. The only reason it had continued to exist at all over centuries of Memnon's crackling was due to the magical minarets erected along the road by the Shoon Imperium.

One could also travel around the desert along the Coast Trail, but this was neither safe nor well-traveled.

By 1370 DR, the Twisted Rune had placed a magical gate in the desert to allow for instantaneous movement to other locations.

History
In long ages past, the lands that later became the Calim Desert were lush farmland, a portion of which were known as the Teshyllal Fields. The cities of Dashadjen and Teshyll were located here during the Calim Empire.

The desert's creation began in -6100 DR, when the elven high mage Pharos trapped the bodies of Calim and Memnon in the Calimemnon Crystal. Since that time, their consciousnesses had continued to war against each other, and their magical manifestations in the air and in the ground formed and maintained the desert.

It was estimated that if Calim and Memnon were ever released&mdash;which did in fact occur during the Spellplague &mdash;the desert would take 800 to 1,000 years to return to the terrain it once was.

Legends
Every year on Ches 4, locals claimed that the night winds howled with the sound of the hundreds of trapped genies within the Calimemnon Crystal, as that day was the anniversary of their entrapment.

Notable Locations

 * Calimban Knoll : 25 miles south of Memnon, this was the site where a group of escaped slaves held off a legion of Calishite soldiers.
 * Caverns of the Serpent Mother : This hidden lair of the Sacred Order of Akabar was located about twelve miles from Calimport.
 * Calimport : The capital of Calimshan was located on the southeastern border of the desert.
 * Ruins of Dashadjen : West of the Trade Way and the Friary of St. Amahl, this was the ruins of a garrison city of the Calim Empire. The Altar of the Air still stood here millennia later.
 * Endurance Rock : This was a site within the Teshyllal Wastes holy to the Janessar.
 * The Friary of St. Amahl : This Ilmatari monastery was dedicated to the saint of nomads. It was located between the ruins of Dashadjen and the Trade Way.
 * House of St. Liwan's Blessings : This Ilmatari monastery and cooking school was located off the Coast Trail between Teshburl and Memnon.
 * Memnon : This ancient port city was located on the northern border of the desert.
 * St. Noradnar's Hermitage : This Ilmatari monastery and fighting school was located off the Coast Trail between Calimport and Teshburl.
 * The Spinning Keep of Siri'wadjen : This was the magical floating fortress surrounding the Calimemnon Crystal that held the "Trapped Terrors".
 * Teshburl : This port town was located on the southwestern corner of the desert.
 * Ruins of Teshyll : East of the Trade Way, in the Teshyllal Wastes, this was the ruins of a city from the Calim Empire that was the site of the architectural marvel, the Harem Palace of Calim.
 * The Teshyllal Wastes : The central region of the Calim Desert, this area used to be fertile plains.
 * The Tomb of the Astronomer : This was the tomb of an air genasi woman known only as the "Astronomer" who refused to take sides in the war between the Calim Empire and Memnonnar and instead focused on studying what she called the "Elemental Tempest". Since she would not serve Calim, he buried her and her compound alive in a sandstorm that lasted ten years.
 * The Walking Oasis : This mysterious oasis had been appearing and disappearing on a seeming journey from the center of the desert to the southeast toward Teshburl.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Desert raiders : Dozens of nomadic raiding groups resided in the desert. One of these groups sheltered the one who would later become the Pretender Prince Yusuf Jhannivvar, who sought to claim the throne of Tethyr in 1368 DR. In 1370 DR, the syl-pasha gave orders to his military to seek out and annihilate these nomadic peoples.
 * The Firestorm Cabal : This secret order of genasi had one of its keeps hidden on the southwestern coast.
 * El Sadhara : This mummy priestess of Akadi resided in the Altar of the Air in Dashadjen, waiting for Calim's return.
 * Sapphiraktar : This ancient male blue dracolich had his immense lair below the Calim Desert and beyond.