Emberstorm

Adventurers flee an emberstorm.

Emberstorms (also known as black blizzards) are powerful duststorms made of ash and embers left behind by large brushfires, such as those used in burn runs. Because wildfires are more common in the summer months, this is when emberstorms are most commonly seen. The Shoanti believe that the emberstorms are the Cinderlands' way of taking the inhabitants of the plains that the gods have chosen to bring to the Boneyard. This causes any winter emberstorm to be considered an extremely bad omen. An average emberstorm will take hours to pass overhead. The winds on the outside edge of the storm can buffet those caught in it with strong 30 miles per hour winds. Smarter Shoanti tribes find areas that will naturally funnel the storm's path, using the geography of the Cinderlands to their advantage.

Historical emberstorms

Battle of the Shadefields

In 4519 AR, Sklar-Quah and Lyrune-Quah warriors launched a counterattack against the orcs of the Broken Spine tribe as they attempted to conquer Shoanti lands for the second year in a row. Being heavily outnumbered, the Shoanti fighters recognized the futility of direct confrontation, so, they employed a strategic ambush in the treacherous Urglin Gap, where the Shoanti trapped the invaders between a seasonal riverbed and a formidable cliff. In a desperate bid to safeguard their ancestral territories from future orc incursion, the shamans of the Lyrune-Quah made a courageous sacrifice. Through a solemn ceremony, they willingly relinquished their lives, joined by twenty of their bravest warriors, forging an everlasting spiritual bond between their essence and the land itself. As the orcs surged forward, they were met with an awe-inspiring emberstorm, resounding with the furious voices of the Shoanti. This ferocious tempest ravaged the invaders, reduced them to charred remnants, and compelled any survivors to hastily retreat back towards the Hold of Belkzen to the east. This confrontation is known as the Battle of the Shadefields.