The largest and most treacherous dune formation in central Kura, Shad Usk rises nearly three hundred feet at its peak and stretches for miles in a crescent shape. The dune moves—slowly, but perceptibly over years—and has swallowed more than one unwary settlement that built too close to its base.
Shad Usk is considered sacred by some Kurans, who believe the dune is alive in some sense, or that something sleeps beneath it. The sand wurms that plague the Dunes of Kunagi avoid Shad Usk entirely, which some take as confirmation of this belief.
Local guides know the safe paths around Shad Usk, but crossing over it is considered both dangerous (the sand is unstable) and disrespectful.