At night, the temperature in the desert can drop so low, as if the scorching heat of the day was just an illusion blown away by the wind. And, because of the dim light, hidden quicksand can become more deadly. However, all this seems to be no problem for the elf nomads. Their physiques have been specialized due to long-term living in the desert environment, and they have extremely high adaptability to heat and cold. The elves' unique night vision also allows them to almost never have to worry about quicksand or weeds and bushes getting caught in the horse's legs. In contrast, Mohadi was much more embarrassed, and almost fell off his horse several times because he didn't notice the obstacles in time.
During the day, the team rests on the back of the shady sand dunes or on the shady side of the boulders, and at night, moves with the help of stars and moon passes. Although this method is slower than traveling in the daytime, it consumes much less water because it does not have to travel under the sun.
What's more, operating at night can avoid encountering Attas' terrifying sandstorm. The next day, they encountered a sandstorm that, according to Fatuma, was of the "great-grandmother" level. From the very beginning, I saw the yellow dragon churning in the distance, roaring like a bull, ooh, rolling like a muffled thunder, and at the beginning, there was a trembling yellow line on the horizon, rolling forward, getting wider and wider, very spectacular. In an instant, before he could react, the yellow sand swept away. Muhadi and the other riders could only hide behind the lying horses, covering their mouths and noses with headscarves, quietly waiting for the sandstorm to subside.
For three days in a row, the team went out day and night like this. These elf riders showed amazing perseverance on the long trek, leaving no one behind and no complaints. When trimming, they collect all the useful food, tubers of desert plants, wild gerbils, and even various insects such as sand scorpions are collected and eaten by them. Muhadi followed suit, learning to catch various animals and how to use a string to collect dew in the desert. Fahd also took the time to teach him how to use the hollow stems of a desert weed to make straws that can filter, which can be used to drink groundwater found in the ground.
However, Muhadi's biggest gain was that he became familiar with the world a lot in these three days. From Fatuma and others, he heard the world, especially the epics and songs of the elves.
From these fragmented legends and stories, Muhadi finally pieced together the whole picture of the world, and finally understood why the elves here are as different from the elves in the traditional literary images of the earth.
In this world called Arthas, the earliest era that can be traced back is the Age of Azure. The symbol of that era was the blue sea that covered almost the entire world. The azure flame burns in the depths of that blue sun. The only bits of land are wetlands, swamps, or peaks towering over the surging waves. During these years, a great civilization of halflings flourished under the blue sun, and they were the original masters of this world.
Halfling cities spread across the endless sea, and their buildings are built of coral, with graceful curves and elegant vaults, that don't look like they're built, but more like they've grown from the ground. No straight edges, no sharp spires, no hard corners. There are no streets and alleys in the city, instead, there are rivers, and halflings drive slender boats to and fro in the rivers.
At the end of the Age of Blues, the halfling civilization, in order to further improve the world, attempted to increase the capacity of the oceans so that they could support twice as many plants and animals as before. But this great experiment failed and had the opposite effect, and the ocean began to die. A foul-smelling brown tide spreads across the ocean. No matter what the halflings tried to save the world, they failed. Eventually, the brown tide spread slowly but unstoppably, and the boundless ocean, which symbolized the Age of Blue, slowly came to an end, and the sea of Arthas died.
Since then, Arthas has entered an age of rebirth, and the surviving halflings have used their power to manipulate nature to carefully construct a structure that can be used to stop the loss of life force. By altering the sun and harnessing its energy by concentrating its energy in the building, the halflings finally eradicated the brown tide.
But changing the sun also changes the earth.
The sun, which once shone with blue brilliance, turned into a yellow ball of light after the end of the brown tide. It illuminates the planet with a golden radiance, driving away the brown tide. But when the brown tide disappears, so does the boundless ocean. In its place is dry land -- beneath the receding waters, without swamps and wetlands.
In this day and age, new species emerge with incredible speed, surviving on lands in the shadows cast by the halflings' towers that glitter with the sun. Some survived, some disappeared forever, but the nascent land was generous and fertile, and in the same way animals and monsters spread across the land after the brown tide ended, multiplying. Vast forests cover the land that once belonged to the ocean, and new life is increasingly emerging on the land.
Eventually, the advanced civilization built by the halflings came to an end, disappeared into the mountains and underground, and soon forgot the techniques of manipulating nature to survive. But the last halflings still gave this new world something, a greatest gift: they mutated themselves into new races, elves, humans, half-humans, and other humanoids with their technological power. These creatures soon dominated the world and went on to develop their own civilization.
The elven civilization was the first to rise after the halfling civilization, followed by the civilizations of humans, dwarves and other new races. The remaining halflings, however, continued their path of savagery at this time. They forgot the splendor and wisdom of their ancestors, and gradually moved away from the towns and villages protected by high walls, fading out of people's sight.
With the decline of the world's original masters, the halfling civilization, and the rise of other nascent racial civilizations. The Verdant Age of Arthas has come.
During the Verdant Age, grand cities began to be built throughout Arthas, and soon countless winding, cobblestoned roads appeared, linking cities to cities through endless jungles.
In this age, however, the real dominant power is psionic power, and this new power comes from the repeated manipulation of biological genetics by halflings in the Age of Rebirth and the solar energy concentrated in the Tower of Purity. Therefore, almost all creatures in Athas are more or less psionic, and in the long years of the Verdant Age, the art of psionics has been developed to an astonishing height.
Attas looked alive and prosperous in this era, when elves were as slender, noble and sensitive as described in fantasy literature on Earth, obsessed with art and nature. They build elegant cities in the forest that are in harmony with nature, as beautiful as frozen music.
Until the discovery of magic shattered it all.
Who the original discoverer of magic was is now unknown. In the various ethnic languages of Athas, he is called the Demon Lord, the Great Terrorist, the Eater of Worlds and so on. Because in Attas, the cold barrier of the first constant rate of thermodynamics is still insurmountable. Energy cannot be generated out of thin air. To cast magic, energy must be gathered from the nearby life world. Under the influence of magic, plants wither to black ashes, animals and people become weak and weak, and the land is permanently poisoned and becomes barren.
From the very beginning, elves, humans, dwarves and other races have united to kill magic - this cursed power. But not to be outdone, the "Demon King" secretly gathered some of his subordinates and taught them the skills of magic. These people are called the fighters of the demon king, and these fighters, together with the demon king, have launched a war against the whole world. Historically known as the Battle of Purification.
It is said that the "Demon King" is a human being, and some people say that the purpose of his purification war is to completely wipe out races other than humans and let pure humans rule Attas. Some people say that he has fallen into complete madness, and simply wants to pull the world together to perish. But no matter what kind of statement is meaningless, people only know that the skills of magic are more and more widely spread in the war. The powerful spell not only leveled the enemy, but also drained the life force of piece after piece of land forever. The sea dried up, the forest disappeared, and some ancient races, such as gnomes, pixies, and lizardmen were also completely wiped out in the purification war. The old state also collapsed.
But the Demon King did not see the final victory. For reasons no one knows, he disappeared unexpectedly, and his army lost their minds. After his death, his fighters began killing each other and fighting for power. They became the first group of witch kings in the world, ruling their own city-state with magic and cruelty. until replaced by someone stronger.
The war is over, but the scars of war will always be there. After the battle of purification, Atas has become a complete desert planet. Only some oases or green plains have cities and villages. Some places don't see rain once in years, and even in fertile areas, it's not much more than wet fog. Bridges left over from ancient times span the dry river, and the empty stone pier faces only the boundless sea of sand. All the glory of Arthas has passed away, the ancient civilization has turned into history, and history has been transformed into legend. Legends have been deformed and distorted in thousands of years of singing.
The elves also lost their forests, and they were forced to live as nomads, or as thieves and beggars in the city, abandoning all the dignified traditions of their ancestors.
In Attas now, the crimson sun scorched crawling and flying life, and sandstorms swept the vegetation of the barren land. Lightning streaked across the cloudless sky, and an inexplicable rumble of thunder rolled across the vast Gobi wasteland. Even the wind is as dry and hot as a kiln, and it can kill people of thirst.
This is a painful continent, where savage nomadic tribes plunder lonely caravans in the sand and salt plains, the mysterious singing gale summons people to slowly suffocate in the mud sea, and many slaves fight for a few rotten grains of Pu'er. Witch-kings snatch all cities, and selfish monarchs squander their armies to build flashy palaces and tombs. People are fighting each other for the interests of the present, and looking to the future has become the most distant luxury.
This is a world of fire and sand, a continent of blood and dust. This is Arthas - my current home. Muhadi whispered to himself.