Pharaoh’s Tomb
An ambience of decrepitude lingers within this low-ceilinged room. Upon the walls, unnatural flames flicker inside rune-etched sconces, but their crackling flames exude no heat. Gem-encrusted chests placed around the perimeter of the room sparkle in the dim light, and numerous burial urns have their throats sealed with blood-red wax, clay skins marred by soot. […]
Tomb of Sand
The ritual sand paintings on the floor continue out onto the stage, which is flanked by curved platforms. On them are low-bordered niches for the preparation of the dead. The stage looks over the long dromos—the walkway that crosses the sand-strewn floor—marked by the stages of the dead’s journey.
This exquisite map depicts the exterior of […]
Sheltered Oasis
Scattered cookfires sputter beneath the chill wind of the desert’s oppressive night. The oasis hosts many this eve, small groups huddled together in the shadow of towering dunes. The horseshoe-shaped freshwater lake reflects the stars above, glimmering like a pool of diamonds amid the surrounding sand that spans leagues in all directions. Light flickers from […]
Desert Valley
Like a skeletal sentry tending to an eternal watch, the shadowed ruins stand atop the hill. The moon casts its silver pallor across the valley, sending the ruins’ shadows sprawling—like a great hand grasping for something it desperately needs.
This night and day map of the desert features a valley pass, pyramid, ruins, sheltered pond, and […]
Temple of the Couatl
At the top of the temple stands an archway, shadow obscuring the entrance just enough that one must approach on foot to see whether the portal inside is open or shut. The shadow is cast by an enormous effigy of a king of the feathered serpents, fully twelve-feet tall at its uppermost point. A semicircular […]
Beneath the Temple of the Fallen
The cool night gives way to balmy air just inside the ruined walls. Across the floor, snakes slide in the grooves between the odd tiles. Large and small, they hunt and bask amid the rubble as if on a warm day. Some emerge from holes that open at every tile’s corners. The place radiates the […]
Antlion Canyon
The hard ground, slickrock and sandstone, glows beneath a relentless sun. The air is dry, though, and the shadows are cool. This is where rumors about caravans and bandits and a hive of monsters have brought you. You hear the croak of a vulture, and the falling screech of a hawk as if in response—or […]
