Mirages Legends of desert mirages permeate Khitan romantic tales, but the reality is harsher than most imagine Not only the desperate stagger after imaginary water on the white-hot horizon, these illusions pull terrors into this world from strange fringe realities beyond On Khitus, mirages are “magic’s undisciplined stepchildren.” A subject mind becomes vulnerable to mirages when exhausted and dehydrated, an all-too-frequent state in the sunburnt wilderness They are a feature of unrelenting sun-play upon the dunes, from which travelers receive respite at night Once mirages appear on the horizon, the wise turn away and bring all their reason into play to doubt the seen images A wanderer who can convince himself that the beckoning water is unreal still has a chance Those who cannot suffer the full force of their illusory—but still deadly—power The victim must confront a series of ever-increasing temptations emerging out of the simple mirage The initial alluring appearance of water gives way to visions of fair fruit and nourishment of growing sustenance and rarity Following these are images of comforting folk, caregivers, and even lovers of increasing attractiveness Next come believable images of shelter, bounty and finally riches beyond belief Each successive illusion tempts more than the last, drawing the victim deeper into the deadly wastes cloaked by its own imagery The mirage’s intent, often like that of sorcery’s wrath against those who dabble in magic, is to inflict the harshest mental cruelty upon the victim Ultimately, a viewer realizes the images are false, but the deeper they are among the mirages makes the realization all the more crushing to the psyche If victims realize the reality of a mirage while not too deep, they can emerge shaken but yet sane For those lost deeper in a mirage and the false hope it offers, more pain and catastrophic denial happen when that hope dissolves away Withdrawal from mirages often drives a victim to despair, insanity, or suicide as the ever-tempting imagery tears at the mind with an insidious pleasure Mirage insanity can crush part of one’s spirit completely, leaving the victim forever changed • Trakeen Watchers: Trakeen seek such visionary experiences for themselves and their followers to help establish the truth of their Daragkarik-worshiping doctrines • Shadazim Watchers: Not surprisingly, wily Shadazim the same in support of their obeisance to the ancient gods 108 Ever-Changing Dangers The only thing constant about danger on Khitus is its omnipresence, regardless of its forms Out in the wastelands are many dangers beyond the ephemeral mirages and just as unpredictable The ever-changing risks include the unstable climes and what changes they spawn, from deadly terrain to weather of catastrophic potential Wind Storms Strong winds carry sand, soil, and dust into the air, unhindered by grass or crops that might hold them in place Windblown sand can be blinding and even deadly Flat wastelands offer no windbreaks, so the constant wind varies from a nuisance to a problem to a threat One can expect gusts throughout the day, some enough to halt progress and decrease visibility to zero Those caught unprepared may choke from the airborne dust, perhaps giving away their positions; too much dust can incapacitate, even suffocate Damage to exposed eyes or skin can also be a danger Flash Floods Rains yet occur in the wastelands, but the hard-baked land no longer absorbs water easily, and rains that come are never less than a drenching Every gulley becomes a raging torrent in minutes during a storm, washing anything away with tremendous force Surprising numbers of men and beasts drown in the desert, unprepared for the onslaught of rushing water Where the water runs, it carries the earth away in muddy waves, exposing whatever was once buried underneath A prepared wasteland traveler captures the rain, like gold falling from the skies To the initiate, a sudden rain can be a death sentence Land Storms Deadly land storms occur when savage winds stir up enough dust, grit, and gravel to create mammoth moving mountains of earth that remake the very landscape without any regard for whatever or whoever lies beneath their path Anyone can see a land storm approaching for many miles, but precautions against its wide-scale death and devastation are few and often futile, given their size Land storms are the primary impetus for the rapidly changing terrain of the wastelands A region of sand dunes might