Jeremy Thomas Fuller
The Metalwood Saga / Reference Guide

Full-series spoilers

Thesserin Desert

Thesserin Desert

The Thesserin Desert is a vast, sweltering, and desolate landscape located to the west of the great city of Ilyrion on the planet Valaralda. A region characterized by blinding sun and massive shifting sand dunes, it is home to ancient mysteries, hidden technological marvels, and the historic metropolis of Nekhrumet.

Geography and Environment

The desert is a harsh and unforgiving environment, where temperatures soar and sandstorms can blow up with deadly force. The dunes themselves shift like slow waves over the years, occasionally burying ancient monuments beneath the sand.

Despite the brutal conditions, life flourishes where water can be found. The Iteranu River bisects the desert, providing a lifeline of water that allows eucalyptus and cork oak trees to grow, fostering the sprawling desert city of Nekhrumet. To the far north of the desert, the sands bleach white and give way to the treacherous Salt Spires (known as Singwa Lingwe), a lethal region devoid of all water or life.

Notable Landmarks

  • Nekhrumet: Known as the jewel of the desert, this thriving metropolis was built on the banks of the Iteranu River by Aten over a hundred thousand years ago.
  • The Pyramids: A line of massive sandstone pyramids (including the Tomb of Akhenaten) dot the desert sands. Originally purported to be burial monuments, they were actually built as soul-gathering receptacles for Aten's Pyramid Offensive System.
  • Mirra's House: Located at the halfway point between Ilyrion and Nekhrumet, this ramshackle, light-brown hut with a steeply peaked roof served as a home for the old woman Mirra (a disguise used by Cariel).
  • Memory (The Palace of Memory): Originally a highly advanced, underground metal facility utilized by Talon and the shadowmages, it is later violently ripped from the sand by Cariel and raised hundreds of feet into the sky. Hovering above the desert, it transforms into an incredibly ornate palace with domed roofs, sweeping bridges, and a cascading waterfall.

Key Events

The Expeditions for the Key

Twenty thousand years ago, the archaeologist Tarathiel led an expedition into the Tomb of Akhenaten to find the Key (Edrafen), but the group was forced to flee when Cresius triggered a deadly trap. Millennia later, Trey returns with Arra, Lashel, and the guide Shorn. After surviving the tomb's deadly tests, Trey successfully retrieves the Key. Immediately after, the tomb triggers its ultimate trap, plunging the entire pyramid into a massive sinkhole of sand that swallows Shorn and their supplies.

The Rogue Sandstorm

While seeking refuge at Mirra's house, Trey and his companions are ambushed by gun-toting members of the Devout. In a desperate bid to fight them off, Arra taps into her newfound stormwarden magic, but her emotions cause the power to spiral out of control. She inadvertently creates a massive, devastating sandstorm that flings the combatants into the air before fleeing. Trey ultimately manages to neutralize the storm by utilizing his Prime Mage abilities to generate a counteracting forcefield and weather system.

The Battle of Memory

Cariel, drunk on immense power, uses magic to rip her desert shack and the underground facility of Memory straight out of the sand, elevating it into a massive, floating palace. A chaotic battle erupts in the desert below, featuring clashing armies of rylak, shadowmages, and resurrected ancient souls. The battle culminates when Arra, pushed to her absolute limit, unleashes a devastating shockwave of magic that shatters the Palace of Memory, sending the ruined stone towers crashing down to the desert floor.

The Sinkhole of Souls

During the escalating conflict, burning Prime Trees mysteriously manifest in the desert, disgorging millions of ghostly souls from the dimension of Ambarhal. As the souls begin to swarm and overwhelm the remaining combatants, the mindmaster Quynn uses fallfoiling magic to push the sand downward. This creates a colossal sinkhole that swallows tens of thousands of screaming souls into the dark abyss, allowing Quynn and Talon's rylak army a narrow path to escape.

The Activation of the Pyramids

To combat the rampaging Twins, Orym orchestrates the activation of the Pyramid Offensive System. He directs Quynn through a dizzying maze of floating, sandstone platforms high above the desert. On the final platform, Quynn presses a red button on a pedestal, causing dozens of pyramids across the Thesserin Desert to glow brilliant white and shoot massive pillars of light into the sky.

See Also