The Barrenness

The basic necessities of life are scarce on Athas. This means that every society must devote itself to attaining food and safeguarding its water supply. Hunting tribes spend three-quarters of their time looking for quarry, to say nothing of killing it and preparing it to eat. At the same time, they cannot stray too far from water, for they need plenty of liquid to digest their diet of meat. When the game roams away into unknown deserts, they must often choose between starving to death or dying of thirst. The lives of the herders are no easier. They spend their days driving their flocks of erdlus across the vast wastes in search of good grazing and ample water. When they are lucky enough to find good pasture, they wage a constant battle to protect their flightless birds, for few predators can resist the temptation of downing a two-hundred pound erdlu or stealing an egg from its clutch. City dwellers have the most certain means of existence, but also the hardest lives. In the fields around the cities, whole legions of slaves toil to raise a few meager crops. Thousands of soldiers patrol these farms day and night, killing scavengers and raiders without pause. Even then, most cities suffer frequent famines and must resort to food wars in order to keep their populations from withering away. Given the importance of food and water on Athas, it shouldn't surprise any of us that whoever controls the food and water forms an elite class. The best stalkers, the wisest herders, or the people who own the farms and wells are always influential and politically powerful members of the community.