| abstract | - Rigane devoted her life to learning all she could about the Shifing Sands and the creatures that inhabited them, namely Sand Beasts. Most information known about Sand Beasts came from her notes, sketches and observations. Because she lived in a hut outside the Sands for over forty years, she was able to view the Sands and their denizens in their natural state. She also made five journeys into the Sands in order to research them more closely. On these journeys she wore special clothing of her own design: a cloak camouflaged to match the sand and large shoes made of woven cane to minimise the vibrations created by walking on the dunes. Rigane understood the true nature of the Sands and the Hive, and thus felt drawn to the Centre. Before her sixth and final journey, Rigane carved a warning and a rhyme on a large stone outside the Sands, warning travelers of the dangers of the Sands. Rigane never returned from her sixth journey into the Sands. In a note she left behind with all her life's work, she said that the call to the Centre had become too strong, and although this journey would be her death, she was content to let her bones serve the Hive.
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