Rakuen, Sky Trade City
A commercial hub flourishing as the trade center of The Canopy Isles. Official trade with the Root Realm Federation also passes through here.
The Canopy's Official Trade Window
A trade city built on one of the largest floating islands of The Canopy Isles. It functions as the Canopy Council's official trade window, and official commerce with the Root Realm Federation also passes through here.
The Structure of the Three-Tier Market
Dozens of airships pass through at all times, trading diverse goods including Aether Crystals, Obsidian Aether Ore, and Mycelium Silver. The market has a three-tier structure: the uppermost tier for Canopy Council-certified licensed dealers, the middle tier for general merchants, and the lowest tier where unofficial transactions are tacitly permitted. In the lowest tier, Root Realm foodstuffs and Mistfish fluids are secretly bought and sold.
The Divergence in Interpretations of the City's Name
The etymology of "Rakuen" is interpreted differently by the Canopy side and the Root Realm side. In The Canopy Isles it is said to mean "paradise," but in The Root Realm a theory claims it derives from the ancient term "Rakuen" (meaning "fallen bond"), and this interpretive difference has caused diplomatic friction in the past.
The Great Fall Research Institute's headquarters is also located here, and scholars from both sides mingle daily — making it the most diverse city in Aetheria.
People Living Between Systems
Nearly 30% of Rakuen's population consists of a floating population "without citizenship." Shimobe, Mist Crosser guides, Root Realm traveling merchants, former Canopy Council officials — people who have fallen between the cracks of formal systems flow into this city. The Canopy Council periodically attempts to "purge" this floating population as a public order issue, but Rakuen's economy is sustained precisely by this gray population, and complete elimination is impossible.
Beneath Rakuen lies a network of unofficial markets called the "shadow market." Formed in complex tunnels connecting building basements, it operates in places that perfectly track the Canopy Council's patrol routes. Here, banned goods from both sides gather — from Obsidian Aether Ore to Mycelium Symbiont Tribe mycelium fiber products, things unavailable in official markets are traded. The Mist Trading Company's local office controls this shadow market, but the Canopy Council has given up on complete enforcement.
The evening view from Rakuen — The Mist Sea dyed golden and The Canopy Isles' island silhouettes floating beyond — has been celebrated in poetry as Aetheria's finest scenery. Travelers who visit specifically for this sight are not few.
Related elements
- Nenoka, Holy City of the Root— A subterranean holy city in the deepest reaches of The Root Realm, where the mycelium network's core is concentrated.
- The Canopy Isles— A cluster of floating cities kept aloft by Aether Crystals. Composed of 12 major islands and countless smaller ones. The largest island, Chuten Island, houses the parliament hall and the great library.
- The Floating Ruins (Fwarei Archives)— A collection of ruins — fragments of ancient Canopy cities destroyed by The Great Fall — drifting in the upper layers of The Mist Sea.
- The Mist Sea— A boundary layer of thick mist drifting perpetually at the midpoint between The Canopy Isles and The Root Realm.
- The Root Realm— A subterranean civilization spreading across sunless lands. Information and life force are shared through the vast mycelium network "Memory of the Earth."