The Skarch Desert seems to be a place full of mystery, and unexpected
developments. In the early hours of the 5th of Urlachmar, 651 years
after the Coming of Estarra, a cry for help was heard around the Basin
of Life, then quickly muffled, as someone tumbled underneath the
Skarch's vast sands. Quick adventurers would learn it was none other
than Sandy Storm, who had ventured away from her home at the Scorpion
Caverns. She had been the subject of a strange dream - which numerous
others had dreamt as well - and was seeking assistance when she tumbled
into one of the desert's many sandworm pits.

Fair Galaphyrae would find her first, and ensure her safety. In her
travels, Sandy had lost her tool and had cracked open one of her
mysterious vials used to create the gemstone ankhs which would
facilitate the supplication of Grandmother Scorpion. To her relief, the
missing and broken items were remedied quickly. Individuals from all
over the First World, who were separated by centuries of conflict,
strife, and ideological differences came together to help her: Xenthos
An'Ryshe of Glomdoring, Xiran Stormcrow, Tyrus and Huskii Myeras, Fair
Galaphyrae of Serenwilde, Khnemu Dahyu of Gaudiguch, Ayisdra Ysav'rai of
Hallifax and Uzriel d'Vanecu of Magnagora. If Sandy were to shirk her
duty to her Spirit, she would surely suffer the same fate as Exclii
Ehc'zi, a lucidian for whom the dracnari woman discovered a new pity.

With her person and her things saved, she beseeched her rescuers to
awaken the Old Ones and hear what Grandmother Scorpion had to say, if,
indeed, it was Her that sent the strange dream. Again, her rescuers
worked together despite their differences, and in no time at all,
everyone gathered in front of Wise Lady to hear what Her Voice would
say. It was Shyust'i the Onyx Witch, the Wrath of Grandmother Scorpion,
who would speak the ominous words:

"A haze shall herald the coming of the storm over the horizon, and she
will know: The Key lies in the largest of foes, and only through it will
the wayward be finally brought home."

Everyone puzzled over the meaning of the words. What is the Key? Who is
wayward? And what sort of foe would this be? While speculation
surrounded the prophecy, Sandy Storm would mention she has heard tale of
a large creature who dwelt beneath the sands of the desert. No sooner
did she begin to tell those gathered about this rumour, than just such a
creature made itself known in the desert about the Scorpion Caves. It
would take Tyrus, Xiran, Galaphyrae, Xenthos, Khnemu and Ayisdra's
focused efforts to lay low a gargantuan sandojin, half buried in the
Skarch's shifting sands. The crew would drag the massive reptile all the
way back to Sandy's altar. There, she worked with her tools and produced
a large, clear crystal from within the creature's organs. As to what the
crystal was for, Sandy could not, or would not, opine, expect to say
that she had better keep it safe and that she would do everything she
could to learn about what Grandmother Scorpion's enigmatic designs were.

She suggested that perhaps Exclii Ehc'zi would know more, and that even
though he was exiled, he knew a great deal more than he let on. Indeed,
even Exclii himself denied knowing anything about a Key, or the crystal.
Although the prophecy seemed to fit everything they had just
experienced, everyone left with far more questions than answers and a
nagging feeling that there was much more to it than first appeared.

Time would tell the greater story.

Penned by My hand on the 2nd of Kiani, in the year 651 CE.