This huge desert was once a great human nation. At the end of the God’s War, one of the gods, the god that created the dryads, was killed here, which caused a cataclysmic explosion of magic that extinguished nearly all plant life. The winds that pass over the desert are stripped of all moisture and are heated and accelerated into the Shielded Sea. This is one of the major factors in why the sea is so treacherous to travel.
In the wake of the destruction, any wildlife present and anything else that has moved into the desert has been slowly corrupted. Some of this corruption is also passed into the sea, giving rise to terrible sea monsters. A contingent of Dwarves and Elves continue to bind the residual essence of the dead god, but it is a losing effort that has spanned centuries. The evil rising in this accursed land will have to be dealt with sooner, rather than later.
I should probably add something here.