Wrecks of the Southern Desert - A Report

[_Indy 135]

*before you at your table lies a recently written report, penned in dark ink, accompanied by hand drawn images of charcoal and pastels. The drawing style seems familiar to you. Accompanying the stench of stale alcohol wafting off the parchment is the seal of the Northern Geographic Society...*

 

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10th Amber Cold, 1st Year 2nd Era,

 

"A commentary on the wrecked vessels of the Southern Desert"

 

 

I, Ferek Frostbeard, am writing this report to categorize and document the theories and few conclusions drawn from the Northern Geographic Society's foray into the ancient lake basin that exists within the southern deserts of Almaris. We met some few days prior to this writing and endeavored to examine the numerous shipwrecks lining the bottom of the dried lake. A rough sketch of the outline of the lake is shown above, the mountain marks in the center representing the mounds of dried coral that still persist today.

 

 

We visited eight shipwrecks in total, ranging in size from small fishing craft to, what we would consider today, agile trading ships with ample cargo space. Several of the wrecks were torn in two, their respective halves laying some distance between another. Many, however, had their hulls mostly intact, some even had the canvas of their sails still hanging from the yard, frayed and fluttering in the dry wind. The most intact vessel was the one we visited last. This vessel, shown below, still had it's many cargo barrels below decks, though they were stripped clean however of any personal artifacts, more than likely having been made off with by either bandits or the local hunter-gatherer society known as the "Qivari". The NGS has an interest in making contact with any member of this indigenous society, and would be interested in an audience with anyone having personal relations with the aforementioned group.

 

 

Several theories by members of the Exploratory Corp have been put forward, of which I will relay:

 

Firstly, a theory was put forward that the desertification of the lake occurred over an extended period of time, and that the desert sands would have easily preserved the coral and wrecks alike. While the source of the climate shift is unknown, I personally disagree with this theory. The number of wrecks who's hulls are still intact suggests to me that they did not come to rest upon the bottom of the lake by means of some violent action, as in a storm or some military action. Moreover, coral is a fantastic ecological identifier, or so I've been told, such that coral might die off in a matter of years if the surrounding waters would prove foul to their preferred living arrangement. The fact that it still sits amid this desert, not worn away to dust, does not suggest to me that these events occurred naturally over an extended period of time.

 

Secondly, a theory was put forward that perhaps the desertification occurred near instantly. This theory abdicated any explanation for the persistence of the petrified coral amid the desert sands, but, as expected, I do not quite sit right with this theory either. The last wreck we visited had an intact hull, the bow and keel were completely intact, something that would not have remained if a ship had instantly fallen fifty meters through thin air if the lake had been instantly dried.

 

Thirdly, a theory was put forward that the desertification was magical in origin, occurred rapidly enough to catch lake-bound vessels unawares yet undamaged, and still preserved (magically to some extent) the contents of the lake well into the future, until our timely arrival. My evidence of this is multi-faceted. The sails of some of these vessels are still hanging to their masts, something that doesn't happen in such a rugged environment as an active desert. The vessels are too well preserved to have all been results of sinking. And finally, any hunter-gatherer society would have stripped the wrecks clean of usable materials, such as wood, which is difficult to come by in a desert; the fact that usable, and extremely well preserved wood, speaks of another truth entirely. 

 

As a scholar, I find all these theories, even my own, lacking sufficient evidence to be concrete. Something is amiss, a piece we have yet to uncover to this particular puzzle. With due diligence and a persistent mind, I believe one of us, or perhaps you, dear reader, will find what we have missed and perhaps provide a solution to this problem. Until such a time, myself and my colleagues will continue to report our findings and discuss our theories.

 

If you find this type of work intriguing, or perhaps seek to expand your academic understanding of our new world, please come and visit the Northern Geographical Society in Haense. I welcome all discussion on any topic regarding the southern deserts, and would invite anyone willing to talk to write to me. Until my next report,

 

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Edited December 7, 2020 by _Indy

[greygre 199]

"Aha!" Says Dilvyn Deveral, upon reading the survey.  "Another great report!  I'm leaning most toward the third theory, myself, but it is indeed difficult to say anything for certain without evidence.  Hopefully an excavation can shed more light."