Koreshi
In the heart of the harsh Badlands lies the most inhospitable region on Terra Nova, known only as the Great White Desert. Although it is geographically part of the Western Desert, the Great White Desert is so different that it is often counted as the Badlands’ fifth main desert region. The area is named after the deadly corrosive powdery sand that coats much of its surface.
White sand is spewed into the atmosphere by the volcanoes on the eastern side of the neighboring Westridge Range and brought over by hot air currents. Yet, in the midst of this hellish environment, life persists. Many animals and desert plants have adapted themselves to the hostile environment, and to general disbelief, so have some very strange human communities.
The people known as Sand Riders or Koreshi emerge from the depths of this uncharted wasteland to trade and exchange stories with the homesteads and towns that dot the fringes of the Great White Desert. They are one of the great mysteries of the Badlands, a people able to survive and even prosper in one of the worst environments on Terra Nova.
While most Terranovans think of them as a united and homogenous group of people, they are in fact composed of several sub-categories and cultures that interact with one another on many levels. This perception is due to the fact that Terranovans in general (and, more specifically, Badlanders) have come in contact with only one particular tribe of Sand Riders, the other tribes remaining hidden in the deep desert.
Knowledge of the Sand Riders and their way of life is scarce and hard to come by. Most of the anthropologists and social sciences students who have attempted to follow them into the Great White Desert have either died or turned back, unable to survive the harsh conditions.
The Sand Riders' way of life remains a mystery, even to this day.