In the vast deserts of Pangaea, where the scorched bones of the unwary bleach on cracked sandstone, the extremely adaptive desert barbarians carve out an exis­ tence harsh even by the standards of the other tribes. The lengths they go to for survival are recounted with awe by the other humans of Pangaea. Their fearsome, black-glass axes are prized by their warrior caste and feared by their foes. The shining, scaled hides of their huntsmen give the nameless nomads a distinct, saurian silhouette against the endless desert wastes. They owe their survival to the xixa cactus: a rich source of hydration, edible pulp and, when fermented, a foul but effective intoxicant. The desert tribes’ most aggressive predator is dehydration, regardless of the succulent’s abundance.