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Subconciously you take a step towards the city but then you stop yourself. You tell yourself it is your instinct that stops you and tells you to take caution. But, somewhere deep within you know that it is fear. Fear of what still might be inside this once so beautiful city. Fear of an unknown enemy that could do such a horrible thing to such a beautiful place. Oasis used to be a nice place where people where quite satisfied, despite the dangers of the desert and the stinging sun. Now its streets are deserted, its citywall breeched in many places and there are many holes in the walls of its buildings. It all began when a desert comber brought some sheen wreckage into the city. Some of these sheen weren't fully deactivated and called more of themselves for help. It didn't take long until a number of crawling, flying and burrowing monsters assaulted the city. Although outnumbered by the guards of Oasis, these creatures had terrifying weapons and strange but superior armor. As they attacked from above, in front and from below, they soon had the city guards shouting for more backup. It didn't take long until the first walls were breeched and the citizens fled the city, trying to run for safety... Without any morals or mercy, the fleeing citizens were cut down on the run... When night began to fall, all seemed hopeless. Most of Oasis's inhabitants were humans that needed light to see, but these creatures, with their emotionless red eyes, didn't. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, they left. Apparently they had found what they where looking for. At the dawn of the following day the vastness of the destruction became clear. Oasis's population had been decimated. Most of its warriors had died in the hopeless fight, only a few remained. The people of Oasis were broken and it would take a long time before they would be able to rebuild the city. This is what Oasis used to be: Build up around a small spring of sweet water, Oasis is the only place in AranoX that has easy access to this most precious liquid. Despite this fact, Oasis is but a small town. Although comparable in size to Shady Sands, it doesn't have a metropolis like Undersands lying underneath. The obvious reason for this is that the rocky underground of Oasis is too porous and unstable to house any cavern, let alone a system of caves. The community lives off agricultural gains and desert rothe(some kind of cattle). Furthermore, it has a steady trade going on with Shady Sands and Undersands. Water, food and cattle are traded for weapons, ore, stone, fabric and medicine. Recently, a rich vein of copper ore was found in the nearby Snakecoil Mountains. A few humans together with a couple of dwarves and brutes set out to work the soon-to-be-fully-operational mine to claim their part of the riches. The settlement has done well in the last couple of months and is now lobbying for independence from Oasis. The only thing that needs to be secured is the availability of food and other necessary supplies or they need to find merchants willing to trade with them. Only the future will tell. A couple of miles to the south, the Deep Desert begins. No creatures in their right mind would travel there. Oasis is the edge of civilization. |