Si Wong Desert

The Si Wong Desert is the largest desert in the World of Avatar. It is known as the driest and hottest place in the world and is almost impossible to successfully navigate. It is sparsely inhabited by Sandbender Tribes.

Description
Otherwise known as the "Desert of the Dead," the Si Wong Desert holds the driest, hottest environment in the world and is nothing more than miles of barren sand; it also boasts the largest library in the world. The desert is located in the middle of the Earth Kingdom.

Only a select few are mentally and physically capable of surviving in this desert, let alone navigating through it, for an extended period of time. However, certain desert-dwelling peoples such as the Sandbenders and the beetle-headed merchants have come to adapt to the habitat. Nevertheless, even they can find themselves victims to common habitual afflictions such as starvation, dehydration, and skin cancer. The desert's ecosystem is primarily consisted of hallucinogenic cacti, a few scavenger species such as the gilacorn, and the large predatory buzzard wasps.

Si Wong Rock


A gigantic mesa that rises from the center of the rolling dunes of the Si Wong Desert, looming imposingly over the landscape. Considering its flat, barren surroundings, the mesa would appear supernaturally out of place. Ancient Sandbender lore tells that the rock was dropped from the heavens by the gods as a demonstration of their great power and anger when human inhabitants had stopped abiding by the rules of their priests.

Regardless of its true origin, the rock is the only notable landscape feature of the barren desert, aside from the now completely buried library, and is thus used as a guidepost by the Sandbenders or any others who traverse through the Si Wong. In addition to being a visual landmark, the rock is also composed of a metallic ore that gives it magnetic qualities, allowing the Sandbenders to create compasses that work throughout the desert, giving them their location in relation to the rock. Atop of the rock stands a large hive home to a colony of carnivorous buzzard wasps, who are known to immediately defend their home against anyone who disturbs.

Misty Palms Oasis


The Misty Palms Oasis is a rundown cantina on the edge of the desert. When Aang went to the Misty Palms Oasis one-hundred years ago, he enjoyed it very much, going so far as to call it pristine. However, at the time, a giant mass of ice laid in the center of the cantina. It was once one of nature's wonders up until one-hundred years later when the wonder ended up being a small, melting chunk of ice. Apparently the entire place around the ice was falling apart. When the friends entered the Misty Palms Oasis, the sign in front fell off. The cantina is known for its Mango beverages which are expertly prepared by a broadswordsman.

Wan Shi Tong's Library


Deep within the desert is an ancient library containing vast amounts of books, scrolls, and other documents with information pertaining to the Avatar world. It was built and is overseen by the knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong. With the help of his knowledge seekers, Wan Shi Tong displayed a vast collection of knowledge for others to read so that civilization may better itself. Although the entire library is immense in size, it is only the top spire of the library that is visible from the desert. The rest is buried beneath the sand dunes due to many years of sand buildup. However, a recent trip to the ancient library by Team Avatar prompted Wan Shi Tong to completely bury it beneath the sand dunes, leaving only a crater where the building once stood.

Sandbender Tribes


The Sandbenders live in different tribes in the Si Wong Tribes, one being the Hami Tribe. Sandbenders have adapted well to the arid environment of the desert and utilize a unique art known as Sandbending. They use boat-like vehicles known as sand-sailors to travel across the land which they power by bending a sand tornado to blow wind into the sails. The people of the Sandbender Tribes are distrustful of any strangers and make a habit of stealing from them, most notably Ghashiun and his allies. However, if a Sandbender has wronged a foreigner, then he or she must show the victim hospitality.

Beetle-headed merchants


The Beetle-headed merchants were the first tribes existent in the Si Wong Desert. According to legend, the beetle-like headpieces they don predate back to a tradition of their ancestors, who disguised themselves to look like Sour Beetles in order to avoid being hunted by giant gilacorns which found the beetles unpalatable. They are skillful traders with easygoing personalities and are able to see potential worth in almost anything. Their camps are spread throughout the desert and the Misty Palms Oasis serves as their base for trade affairs. Their means of transportation are Giant Beetles.

Fauna

 * Buzzard wasp
 * Giant rhinoceros beetle
 * Gilacorn
 * Dog
 * Jackalope

Notable figures

 * Sha-Mo
 * Ghashiun
 * Sandbender Tribes, including the Hammi Tribe
 * Fung
 * Beetle-headed merchants
 * Wan Shi Tong
 * Knowledge Seekers

Trivia

 * "Si Wong" (死亡, sǐ wáng) means "to die" or "death" in Chinese.
 * The Si Wong Desert bears a resemblance to the Sahara, the largest desert in the real world.
 * The Si Wong Desert's name also resembles Taklamakan Desert, whose name means "go in and you will never come out" in Uyghur language.
 * The idea of the magnetic Si Wong Rock which guides the Sandbenders' compass is similar to the Middle Age idea that it was a magnetic mountain at the North Pole which attracted the compass needle.