Sand Realm

The Sand Realm is a place in Spirit Tracks. It is located between the Ocean and Fire Realms.

Features
The Sand Realm can only be accessed after Link defeats Byrne atop the Tower of Spirits. Anjean is very grateful for having restored the tower to its formal state, resulting in a Force Gem that restores the Spirit Tracks in the Sand Realm. It consists of three main regions filled with sand and various flora, including cacti and desert shrubs. The first region is where the Sand Sanctuary is found. It is full of Gyorg-like enemies, Malgyorgs, which will leap out of the sand when Link blows the train's whistle. It also contains a Warp Gate and several giant versions of the Head Statues seen elsewhere in the game, which form part of the Sand Sanctuary's puzzle. The second region consists of a Lost Woods-like maze of tunnels that forms one of the Three Trials Link must pass to reach the Sand Temple. The third one is where the Sand Temple is found and contains little beyond a loop of track around the Sand Temple and the other Warp Gate.

The Sand Realm is different from the other four Realms (not counting the Dark Realm) in many respects. It doesn't have a quadrant of the map to itself, nor does it even make up a majority of the map quadrant in which it resides. Instead, it is split between the map quadrants largely occupied by the Ocean and Fire Realms. It has fewer stations than any of the other Realms, consisting solely of a sanctuary and a temple. For this reason, Link only ever encounters one inhabitant of this Realm that is not a monster. It is also the only Realm that does not have its own Force Gem; its temple's sole purpose is to keep the powerful Bow of Light out of unworthy hands.

Stations

 * Sand Sanctuary
 * Sand Temple

Trivia

 * The Sand Realm is the only realm that does not have Warp Gates connecting it to any of the other Realms; while it does contain two Warp Gates at its eastern and western extremities, these connect to each other, making it also the only Realm to contain an intra-Realm warp connection. From a gameplay standpoint, this is probably there so the player does not have to redo the Twisted Tunnels trial to travel between the Sand Temple and other parts of the Sand Realm after the first trip to the Sand Temple.