A desert world scoured by electrical storms. Every storm clears sand off ruins. Every ruin is one layer above the next one.
Shimaya is an arid planet ravaged by massive electrical storms that periodically clear colored sand off mineral deposits — or vitrify it into glass, revealing the ruins beneath. It is also home to Khalud Academy, the sector's preeminent educational institution, which operates in a city built inside a crater network that provides shelter from the worst storms.
The rule: During storms, sensor technology and communication are unreliable. Everything slows down. A storm on Shimaya is cover.
Scene: Professors walking marble paths between domed buildings. Sandworm kebab vendors on market streets. Excavators scrambling onto sand-skiffs as the storm alert sounds citywide. Glass plains catching the sun after a major blow.
Campaign relevance: The Ur ruins beneath Shimaya are deeper and more extensive than any public record suggests. This is where the Gate Key — the fifth and final lattice node — is buried. The Cult of the Seekers has a dig site in the desert. Sahar, an ancient mystic, lives somewhere in the deep desert and knows more than she says.
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