Difference between revisions of "Mastrell's Path"

|[[Elorin]], to Kenton{{book ref|ws|2}}

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The site of the Path is in a secluded location in the desert near the base of KraeDa, with no water sources nearby and some pockets of [[deep sand]].{{book ref|ws|prologue}}{{book ref|ws|ars}} The area is revered among the members of the Diem due to the ceremony that surrounds each attempt. The specifics of the Path are a closely guarded secret among mastrells. The spheres are hidden shortly before each run by one of the mastrells who is monitoring the attempt. Marker flags are also placed to let the challenger know they are in the right area. Part of the challenge is simply finding the first four spheres; they are well-hidden, but a powerful sand master should not have much trouble retrieving them. The fifth sphere, however, is placed near a massive deep [[sandling]], specifically a Marken.{{ref|group=fn|text=In the original version of ''[[White Sand Volume 1]]'', Praxton specifies that the deep sandling is a Marken, but his dialogue was changed in the Omnibus edition. However, the term remains in the Ars Arcanum and is presumably the correct name for the sandling.}} This massive creature is [[terken]], or immune to the powers of sand mastery. Markens are very rare and normally found only in [[deep sand]], but this specimen somehow became isolated on the Kerla. The mastrells have fed the creature for centuries and use it as the final guardian for the fifth sphere.{{book ref|ws|1}}{{book ref|ws|2}}