You are currently based in torrid, a harsh desert land surrounded by tall vast mountains on all sides as eyes can see.  The large  spanning deserts within have no end in sight, with only small respites in the forms of springs and forest dotting the landscapes. The weather is sporadic and unpredictably volatile, and the nights bring horrid monstritys out to bask in the cool moonlight. These distant and treacherous reaches make sure that  few leave torrid, and less return.

The lands have a long history and have been around for millennium, but dated history doesn’t go father back then the books in Saltite's vast library. Ancient ruins and signs of things eons passed are sprinkled across the land, their orgins and history lost to the red sands.

Now some things I want to go over:

Weather: the desert is harsh, but in many different ways of harsh. Constant sandstorms, sand pits, shifting planes, freezing cold nights and blisteringly hot days are all rather common. Even in the most northern parts of torrid blizzard become a problem, and the hot days are traded for something more cool. Likewise, the farthest south reach's become hellish, the days being deathly hot.

 Something more rare in the desert is what the residents call "magic wells".  Pure magical essence seem to leak to the top of the desert at times, forming to a water like form - making puddles of magic. This pure magic essence is highly valued, but hard to handle - and it seems to create strange effects in the area around it. The worst thing that can happen is a sandstorm passing over a well - creating a hellish magic storm called "Purple Mist". The magic mixes into the sands that lifted it, causing a purply mist to form in the storm. These storms have arcane effects happen in them and are highly advised to be avoided.

Tech: most of torrid is In a perpetual high middle age, having basic technology and smithing, civilized society's, writing, and verious other things. Notably they have rather advance gun technology,

Examples of tech: windmills, mechanical clocks, distilled sprites, glasses, crop roatation, plough, structhered military, guns, etc.

Civilization:

 Various enclaves and clans have popped up all over Torrid, but the largest known are The Saltite Republic - a large, vast republic that consumes much of east Torrid. They are an ever expanding republic looking to make the red lands a populated, lawful place. They rule their nations with a strong grip, enacting their lawas and policies onto all territories. Dissent isnt tolerated, but they do have a council where the people can challenge the government and elect officals to make their interests heard.

there is also the Elan United, a collective of multiple clans of varying sizes in a trade pact, to protect each other and their lands for mutual profit and trust. They span across much of south torrid with a less structured rule, letting their many clans rule as they see, the trade pact more of acting as an alliance between them for some much needed peace.


Conflict:

Saltite is expanding westwards, taking lands and towns as their own through any means they deem necessary. But they've reached a blockade: they haven't been able to break through the mountain cutting through the middle of the desert. The moutain pass that lets them through without going around, known as The Needle Choke, is controlled by a city state, Alenta strong enough to deny their rulership. The Elan united on the west has a similar problem, they are opposing Saltite and want to control the moutain range dividing them, but Alenta denies eithers offer. The cities surrounding the central mountains now have to deal with the conflict between the two nations, and  decide whether or not to join either. War between them could break out at any moment and is almost guareenteed if one takes control of Alenta, and they could be razed in the cross fire, but is their ruling and tax really desirable? Who knows, youre a group of level 4 scurbs