The Desert has a lot of names, but the most common one in the tongues of men and beasts is "The Shift" - in part because it is a differentrealm from the worlds it links, and in part because it, itself, is constantly shifting phase; its geography is mutable, fickle, and (if you listen to travellers who have spent too long attempting to cross it) has a wicked sense of humor. To cross successfully, one needs a good guide - and the trait that marks a good guide is absolute confidence in his (or her) own abilities to penetrate through the veils, and find the same paths through the Shift over and over again.