Unlike the Sanid Empire, which possesses borders both drawn on maps and marked by stone posts driven into the earth for all to see, the region of Shdustu lacks such hard boundary definitions. At its fullest extent it simply blends into different territory across a wide gradient. While in some places a traveler can point to mountains or rivers or some other landform to serve as an acknowledged boundary, in most of the region they can walk for days without easily confirming whether or not they have left its confines. Even conflicts between humans, so often used to arbitrate the position of boundaries, are of little use here. The nomadic peoples who wander the edges of this vast realm draw no lines on maps, and the edges of their claimed pasturage are necessarily diffuse. Religious authorities seem to confirm this: 'the body of the goddess is a whole, nothing human minds claim to divide it into separate domains possesses real truth.'

Nebulousness of this kind is greatest upon the western edge of the region. Here the Shdus Desert blends into the steppe of Shdustu across an almost imperceptible gradient wherein the grass simply grows longer and the cover thicker day by day. Rains come somewhat later in the year here, and stronger, which enables vegetation growth. Such mass, and the roots beneath, holds the earth together, preventing the accumulation of sand dunes. With the deposition of proper soils, birds and mammals grow in abundance, though they remain small for the most part. The primary exception is the two-humped camel, a curious and evasive beast in the wild, much changed compared to its livestock counterpart that prevails throughout much of Shdustu, and in turn differs from the single-humped form common in the Sanid Empire. The wild specimens have narrow, conical humps, are smaller, and flee from humans at the slightest scent. It is the first sighting of these curious relics by an eastward traveling caravan that is taken as the sign of having reached Shdustu. A marker as reasonable as any other choice might be, though hunting of these animals by the desperate has reduced their numbers and therefore the utility of this signal.

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Though the irregular boundaries are displeasing to the sensibilities of cartographers, there can be no doubt that Shdustu is a distinct space, a region larger than all the provinces of the Sanid Empire combined, perhaps even twice that size. It lies at the heart of the continent, both harsh and hospitable in turn. It took over three months for the Dragon expedition to reach this land, and many hardships were faced upon the route, but it can be said that the journey did not truly begin until the distinctive tuft grasses surrounded the path of the caravan and the rounded, white tents of the Kharal could be seen scattered across the wide and open landscape.