#Lore24 – Entry #175 – Wild West Month #24 – The Vast Dry Sea of Salt

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

North of the Great Scorpion Flats lies another place our people rarely travel, the Vast Dry Sea of Salt.  There are no giant scorpions and it is not quite as hot, but still deadly for those who do not know how to survive in this unforgiving part of the Bitter Frontier.  The land is mostly flat here, stretching for as far as the eye can see, but not as far as the Plains Which Stretch Forever.  Once, in the times before the Great Uproar, this place was a sea filled with salt water, like that of the great oceans.  Many are the remains of the fish that once were within it and the boats that were once upon it, encrusted with the Salt that Blows Like Sand that can rend flesh from bone in the strong winds that are found there.

Sometimes great storms come to the Vast Dry Sea of Salt, filling it with rainwater for a time, perhaps only hours, before the water vanishes once again, leaving behind the salt.  Water can be found in caves that lie beneath the surface, through cracks in surface, but it is as salty as everything else, not fit for drinking.  The sea can be crossed in a day, but only if one is prepared and has no other choice; it is safer to circle wide to the north or south, where the land is better. 

This place is not without its bad spirits.  There are spirits of the earth that are ill at ease, sometimes leaving openings to vast chasms below hidden by thin layers of salt that one cannot discern from regular ground.  The wind and earth spirits move huge stones while no one is looking, leaving behind miles long trails in the salt, but for what purpose, not even we know.  We think it is a sign of distress, perhaps even of prophecy, but so far, we have not been able to come to terms with these spirits.

Worse, at the center of this sea lies a place of the Devil-Wardens, the White Obelisk, jutting out from a great chasm in the center of the Vast Dry Sea of Salt, the salt glinting in the sunlight like the precious stones those from Beyond the Great Walls value so much.  The White Obelisk can be seen from far away, appearing much closer than it actually is, and is almost like a spine of some great creature jutting from the earth, not unlike the bones of ancient fish that once lived in the sea, with broken ribs jutting from its length.  Some of the brave and foolish have dared to venture close to the White Obelisk, close enough to peer into the darkness of the chasm that surrounds it.  Some did not return, nor were any traces found; others have told of strange sounds from below, lights moving in the darkness that suddenly swarm toward those who cannot escape quickly enough.  Sometimes you can even hear a keening upon the wind even to the edges of the sea, a sound that can make your teeth hurt, though in the times I have heard it in the presence of those not of the Kerra-Kerra, they cannot hear it.  Perhaps the White Obelisk is calling to us?  It is something we contemplate from time to time, but thus far, we have found no reason to brave the dangers there.