Shield Wall/XD



The Shield Wall was a mountainous, rocky geographic feature in the northern reaches of Arrakis. It protected a small area from the full force of the planet's coriolis storms. Its height was said to be great.

Although the Shield Wall was not man-made, it kept out the force of coriolis storms and kept the sandworms away from human settlements.

History
Around the time of the Butlerian Jihad, VenKee settlements could be seen on its ridges, along with villages. On the southern fringe of the Shield Wall there where another of the former outlaw settlements by Poritrin refugees.

Thousands of years later, the Shield Wall caught the attention of Pardot Kynes who studied its geology meticulously. A generation after that, when Paul Atreides stopped all spice production on Arrakis, Emperor Shaddam IV traveled to Arrakis to restore spice production and stop Paul. He arrived in a Starship Lighter with a Hutment full of Sardaukar and landed within the Shield Wall.

When Paul's Fremen forces attacked the Sardaukar, Paul used the Family Atomics to blow an opening in the Shield Wall, breaching it. Through the breach, Fremen wormriders poured in to the theatre, attacking and defeating the Sardaukar on the Plains of Arrakeen.

In the thousands of years that passed after the Battle of Arrakeen, the Shield Wall slowly crumbled. With the massive terraforming that took place on Arrakis during that time, the Shield Wall eventually was reduced to little more than a small plateau. It was within this plateau that the Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade discovered Leto II's spice hoard.

Locations
The Shield Wall protected many important locations for the Fremen and graben peoples of Arrakis. They included:


 * Arrakeen: The capital city of Arrakis under House Atreides. It remained the capital when House Harkonnen recaptured Arrakis, and was well as when Paul Atreides wrested the planet back into Atreides hands, became Emperor and moved the royal seat from to Arrakis from Kaitain.
 * Carthag: The capital city of Arrakis when the House Harkonnen maintained the fief, a period of approximately 80 years, until 10191 AG.
 * Skull Tomb: The crypt where the remains of Leto the Just were laid to rest by Paul Atreides, his son.
 * Plains of Arrakeen: The battlefield where Muad'Dib's armies defeated Shaddam Corrino's Sardaukar.

Other Locations


 * Cave of Birds
 * Mount Idaho
 * Imperial Basin
 * The Minor Erg
 * Tsimpo