Hemera

Hemera presents herself as a descendant of the gods, here to bring light and good harvest to the lifeless dunes her acolytes are trapped in. . She claims she has the power to restore the Dust and free those trapped inside, and that claim held up, for a while. Eventually her first devout followers began to change and mutate, and Hemera's hold over the dunes grew stronger with every mutation. They soon saw through her spell, but only when it was too late - when they had changed into a unrecognizable beast.

The Dust is an illusion, as is the matriarch. Under her guise she is a beast herself, one of decay and rot, and the dunes are a desolate wasteland.

Her existence drains the life of those around her, leaving behind their tainted magic, and forcing them to adapt or fade away. The followers that survived were instructed to lure and trap new souls into the Dust so she could maintain her illusion. The devotion of her followers is what keeps her thriving, and the beasts of the land were keep them under her guide. Only a few of them remain working for Hemera, hoping their dedication will allow them to gain the same powers as Hemera.

Some of the beasts instead chose to keep as many as they could out of the dunes. The mutation allowed them to see her for what she was, and they didnt want others to suffer the same fate.