The Desert is an important location in Shadow of Israphel, being located near the Carnivale Del Banjo and Verigan's Hold. The Desert was created by The Sands, an infection or disease, during a summer that never ended, an event referred to by Skylord Lysander as The Sand War. The Wall was constructed to halt the spread of the Desert. During the final battle with the entity that had created The Desert (most likely Israphel), Verigan Antioch was killed. Verigan's son, Karpath Antioch, survived the battle and limped to Verigan's Hold. After recovery, he founded The Crimson Cross, and established The Templars. Strangely, a month after he returned, he vanished, and has not been seen since. The Templars still await his return.
The Desert once again threatened the land when a hole was created in The Wall, possibly by the Cult of Israphel, but the hole was sealed in the Battle of the Breach, by our heroes and their ally, Knight Peculier. Some believe this to be the same desert that contains the exit to Grimjaw's Treasure Hold but upon inspection on the public museum server it is clear that the two are in no way connected and the exit to the treasure hold is actually on a small circle of sand near The Tomb of Lehparsi, The Stone Dragon, and BBQ Bay. There is also a small path that leads into a hole in a sand mountain with a torch. This may be related to Israphel.
In Isabel Peculier's Tale it shows some unknown buildings, as well as the remains of a ship, and the skeleton of some large animal. In the distance there is a town that is believed to be Icaria. If you look closely, there is also a pyramid. Another building in The Desert is the Desert Tower, located near Verigan's Hold. This may be some form of outpost or base for Israphel's forces, possibly his base for his attack on The Wall, and the place he retreated to afterward. Alternatively, it may be a structure from before The Sands, buried in them like the ship is. Swampy's Oasis is also located in The Desert.
Trivia[]
- In both "Shadow of Israphel" Part 40: Facility 4 and "Shadow of Israphel" Part 41: Far From Home, it is shown that it actually rains in The Desert. But in Minecraft, it is never supposed to rain in desert biomes. This has led people to believe that some parts of The Desert, if not all of it, are man-made.