To say that Sarchu Valley is dry would be an understatement. The alkaline scent of dust is everywhere and inescapable, clinging to anything and anyone that dares to pass through. At first glance, nothing grows here, nothing moves and nothing changes. There are a few trickles of water, but one would be well advised to not drink from them. Spend a bit of time within the Valley though, and one can see a few signs of life. Small lizards crawl around, feeding off the lichens that grow in patches on the rocks, while birds and desert foxes feed off the lizards. There seems to be no safe time for traveling, as day and night offer different dangers.
But there is more to put a traveller into jeopardy than just the poisoned waters and arid desolation. Toxic gasses emit from fissures in the ground in an unpredictable manner with little to no warning. There seems to be no end to fissures, and no limit to the gasses they spew. These gasses mix with the dust, shrouding the land against the sun. The dust also makes it very easy to lose one's way, and some travellers simply wander off, never to been seen alive again. It can be frigid during the night, a danger by itself, and that is when the larger, more dangerous predators come out. Big cats prowl the rocks, while bandits lurk behind ridges, waiting for anyone who might be foolish enough to travel alone. Even the few streams of water are polluted by the gasses, rendering them undrinkable.
The question remains as to why anyone would travel through Sarchu Valley in the first place. It serves as one of two trade routes through the mountains between Adeluna and Vilpamolan to the south, and Cittapashé and the Harena Wastelands to the north, which is what makes it so attractive to bandits. Treasure hunters come too, seeking out the wrecks of destroyed caravans, and rumors of a dragon’s graveyard somewhere within the valley. The few whispers speak that only souls who carry the blood of dragons are deemed worthy to enter the graveyard where a wealth of treasure and history is hidden. Those who believe such tales advise treasure hunters would be wise to employ a guide with dragon’s blood to lead them through, although this in no way guarantees the safety of those who dare to embark upon such a quest.
A nomadic people live within the edges of Sarchu Valley, tending their herds, and eking out an existence. The Garva are a very proud people, and stubborn in their refusal to leave the Valley they have made home. They live in small tribes and herd yaks and horses, which provide the Garva with milk, hair for weaving, and dung for fires. Both animals are specially bred to survive in the cold desert. When the grasses and shrubs in one area are depleted, they pull up their yak-hide tents, and the tribe moves on, crossing through the valley. It is here that often they come across travelers, and the Garva are welcoming to strangers.
There is a legend that speaks of a time when the World Tree rose into the heavens, its trailing roots opened up a sinkhole so vast that the mountains to the south fell into it, forming the valley. Whether or not this is true, no one knows. But the vast span of desolate land remains, and its location between the three mountain ranges seems to keep the rains from watering these lands.
