Desert survival by Starikova, a refugee's manual

[Woofersnoofer]

[These papers are primarily spread on public notice boards in Ephia's Well and in Hasheema's Hope.]

Abstract
In order to survive in the harsh and unfamiliar desert conditions, the refugee must known the essentials of having water and food, staying in shelter, planning one's journeys, having proper equipment  and the possibilities and difficulties with navigation. This paper provides a refugee with a simple outline, which is then elaborated further.

Desert survival
This is a manual regarding common principles that ensure a refugee's survival in the desert. Many of us hail from circumstances where the unique challenges presented by the local environment are not familiar or widely understood. Firstly, a brief guide consisting of advice any refugee is able to follow is provided. Secondly, the manual examines some suggestions in depth for more advanced survivalists and patient readers alike. Lastly, a summary and suggestions for further research are given.

I. Do not challenge the Sun. You will lose. Find shade during the day. Ensure that you have water.
II. Adopt the loose, lightweight clothes favored by the locals.
III. Cover your head, face and neck as best you can. Sunburns are serious.
IV. If your feet chafe, dry them out and stop to remove sand from your shoes or leg wraps. Infected sores mixed with sand are painful.
V. If forced to navigate during the day, charcoal under your eyes may help preserve your sight. Glare from the Sun can cause blindness.
VI. Avoid exertion and sweating. Breathe through your nose to conserve moisture.
VII. Prepare adequately. Bring suitable clothing, plan your route and have enough water and food to survive detours and unique challenges on the road. A knife and lamp oil are valuable survival supplies. The desert can be cold at night. Take a warm bedroll with you.
VIII. Many creatures wandering the dunes are hostile. Avoid confrontation. See tip VI.
IX. If you travel with a caravan and your journey is interrupted, stay put unless you know with absolute and tried certainty how to navigate. Take time to consider how oft-traveled the route is. Another caravan might come along soon to rescue you.
X. Have patience and stay resilient.

[A hastily scrawled addendum reads:]
XI. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ASH STORMS!

Surviving in a desert environment may be a challenging task. The primary concerns are finding water, seeking shelter, staying cool, finding food, remaining oriented, and maintaining a resilient and calm state of mind.

The first and most critical concern in this situation is finding a reliable source of water. This can be accomplished by looking for signs of vegetation or digging in a dry riverbed. Once a water source has been found, it should be purified by filtering or more advanced methods and stored in a container to ensure its safety for consumption. In case no reliable source of water is located or the survivor lacks the skill to extract drinkable water from the environment, it becomes important to ration one's supplies. The consumption of food increases one's sensation of thirst and should be first moderated and ultimately avoided when the threat of running out of water becomes an increasing concern. When planning a journey, one should always plan for less than ideal circumstances and ensure that the water supply can be transported both securely and with ease.

The second concern is seeking shelter from the harsh elements. In fact, if you are not a seasoned traveler, staying in shelter during the day and avoiding exertion should be your primary concerns. Adequate shade can be achieved by constructing a simple shelter from natural materials such as sticks, branches, and leaves, or by seeking out natural formations such as caves or large rocks.

The life-sustaining importance of staying cool during the day in order to avoid thirst and exhaustion cannot be overstated. Covering the body with loose, lightweight clothing will help, in addition to which one should avoid exerting oneself during the hottest hours of the day. Combined with adequate shelter, a calm survivor may wait out the fury of the Sun and brave the sands when the temperature is more amiable to travel.

A simple man-made shelter and a hood over your head are not enough to protect you from an ash storm, however. An ideal shelter in those circumstances is a sturdy cave or a tall building that you can escape even if the entrance is buried in ash. It bears repeating, an ash storm can raise enormous amounts of matter that is able to bury small buildings over time. Contact with ash and the resulting overabundance of positive energy will cause serious and life-threatening burns that may, in extreme cases, turn the victim into one of the ash wraiths. In the absence of better tools to determine the likelihood of an ash storm occurring, one is advised to keep a sending chip so that they may receive communications from The Astronomer's of Q'tolip.

In addition to the above challenges, finding food can be a difficult task. Edible plants, fruits, and insects can be found in some desert environments, but an uneducated traveler should not risk eating unfamiliar plants. Small animals such as rodents and lizards can also be caught by setting up simple traps or snares. While some plants may contain nourishing moisture, it is also possible that their make includes liquids that are harmful to you and may, according to a refugee physician called Victor, cause 'nausea, stomachache, fever, vomiting, profuse sweating, muscle aches, and even death'. Victor suggests many of these harmful plants can be identified by their foul smell or taste - or otherwise unappealing form.

Maintaining orientation in the desert can be challenging in the absence of proper charting equipment. Natural landmarks such as mountains or other formations can be used to guide direction. The position of the sun and perhaps the stars may also be used, though one should not rely on them intuitively without expert knowledge. Considering how sparse these landmarks are in the vast plains that surround Ephia's Well, an uninitiated traveler is advised to avoid haphazard attempts at navigation. It is best to rely on established caravan routes.  The likelihood of survival is much greater if one has the presence of mind to wait for rescue. Even experienced survivalists should know their route well and be eminently certain of their ability to navigate before attempting to cross unfamiliar sands.

Finally, it is critical to maintain a resilient outlook. This can be achieved by avoiding defeatist thinking by focusing on the immediate needs and priorities. Perseverance and resourcefulness are key traits in a desert survival situation.

In summary, surviving in a desert environment requires a focus on the essentials of  water,  shelter, food, orientation and equipment. One should seek to maintain a calm and hopeful state of mind while remaining cognizant of the challenges ahead. A focus on the essentials will help to guide the survivor's actions while keeping despair at bay. Lastly, to caution budding survivalists, you should start your experiments in a relatively safe and well-known environment. Note that the conditions in which the squatters outside the gates live are already tremendously challenging and you might be in a life-threatening situation as soon as you depart the Gate of Roses. Have patience, thus, and try to get a mentor if possible.

Further study
A review of the advice given, contrasting the paper's suggestions with advice from seasoned survivalists. A new ranking of importance could arise. Complementing suggestions, alternative and detailed strategies, and challenges are all desired.

A review of an illiterate refugee's ability to commit the advice to memory. A more efficient mnemonic might surface. Research into easily memorized rhymes and songs might yield desired results.

A thorough codex of local flora and fauna, and study on the identification thereof.

Efficient and sufficiently available methods of gathering and purifying water.

Practical experiments in survival with lacking equipment. Preliminary studies suggest that it is possible to survive a night in the desert using one!s cloak to capture warmth and a natural rock formation to provide shelter even in the absence of fire and other comforts.

References
Personal survival expertise and manuals lost to time
Medical insight from refugee physician Victor, Iyar 20th, IY 7787