Founded as a humble fortress perched upon the towering stones that lend their name to the sprawling city which now stands around them, Fort Ryokara, like so many others during the epoch of the Second Kingdom, was a humble defensive outpost built to protect the empire.

Yet, as the ages treaded onward and the kingdoms opened themselves to trade with Maran groups, it came to outgrow that modest title. With humanity’s reach creeping farther into the desert, so followed Ryokara’s active territory, becoming the foremost junction facilitating Human-Mara trade relations in the days preceding the rise of adventure.

When the spirit of Rien sparked a grand fervor to traverse the desert’s sands, Ryokara became the common launching-off point for those wayward wanderers. For many, it represented merely the first step of their arduous journeys. However, for many others it was also their last, swallowed up by void of the desert before ever getting to see what lay beyond it, a final memory of civilization.

From this harsh reality, the poignant ritual known as “The Remarking of the Faded” arose out of necessity, honoring those who were never heard from again since passing through Ryokara into the vast, arid sea. In a place called the “Vault of Whispers”, the names of these unforgotten many are forever etched along the expansive halls of this hallowed sanctuary that carve into and weave throughout the stones of Ryokara.

As it grew past this sombre moment in its history, however, it expanded once more, this time towards the Mugawi Ocean. Its unique position and preexisting culture of trade made it a favorable harbor for those who succeeded to eventually sail back towards and return from, turning it into the geographically multifarious hub of commerce and adventure that it is today.