Long before Anarkand defined eras or measured time, Nekata existed as a sprawling biome of colossal trees, layered canopies, and root systems so deep they reshaped the land itself. Located north of the Baraniendemor Mountains, the forest has always been protected by harsh terrain, jagged passes, and environmental conditions that discouraged all but the most determined travellers. From the earliest records, Nekata was never described as wilderness alone, but as a living presence.


Nekata was recognised as a convergence zone where atmospheric flows from the central core met northern systems. This balance produced an ecosystem unlike any other on the planet. Flora adapted defensively rather than expansively, fauna developed long lifespans and complex behaviours, and the forest itself appeared to regulate intrusion.


Early explorers spoke of paths that closed behind them, wildlife that watched without fear, and silence that carried weight. Over time, Nekata came to be regarded not as land to be claimed, but as something to be approached with restraint.


This belief was most fully embraced by the Pescaran people. The Pescarans settled the fringes of the forest rather than its heart, establishing villages that blended into the terrain rather than replacing it. Their structures were designed to decay naturally, returning materials to the soil. Pescaran culture taught that Nekata was not a resource, nor a home, but a guardian of memory, holding the echoes of Anarkand’s forgotten ages. They believed the forest listened, learned, and responded.


As civilisation expanded across Anarkand, Nekata remained largely untouched. The Temple of Anark eventually declared it a protected sacred zone, forbidding large-scale development, extraction, or experimentation. Nations bordering the forest, including Natnimya and later Lifa Nekata, accepted this designation with varying degrees of unease. Nekata’s biological wealth was undeniable, yet history had already begun to teach that interference came at great cost.


The most infamous chapter in Nekata’s history began with the Koballah.


The Koballah were practitioners of the dark, bio-arcane manipulation, and forbidden synthesis. While dark practices were once widespread across the purple world of Anark, the Koballah pushed these disciplines further than any other faction. When such practices were outlawed and erased from open society, the Koballah vanished before they could be brought to account.

Deep within the Nekata Forest, hidden beneath overlapping root systems and terrain that resisted mapping, they constructed a vast clandestine facility known as Vekktor Labs. Shielded by natural camouflage and arcane obfuscation, the facility remained undetected for centuries, dismissed as myth by those who heard whispers of its existence.

Within Vekktor Labs, the Koballah conducted experiments that stand among the darkest acts in Anarkand’s history. Sentient beings were abducted across multiple cycles, including Marakai and humans taken from distant regions during different Anarkand eras. Subjects were subjected to invasive magickal alteration and biological reconstruction.


Records recovered from damaged data cores describe three-headed Marakai fused along a shared spinal structure, humans grown with additional limbs that were fully functional, and hybrid entities that defied natural anatomy entirely.


These were not failed experiments. They were intentional creations.


What the Koballah sought to achieve remains unknown. Some scholars believe they attempted to engineer beings capable of surviving Red Hex failures or hostile cosmic environments. Others theorise they were constructing vessels for consciousness transfer, immortality, or godhood. Whatever their purpose, the consequences were catastrophic. Many of the creations were unstable, violent, or deeply traumatised. When Vekktor Labs was abandoned, containment systems failed, and some of these abominations escaped into the deeper forest.


From this point onward, Nekata’s reputation changed. Certain regions became hostile, warped by lingering dark magick. Flora reacted aggressively, wildlife exhibited unnatural traits, and areas of the forest became uninhabitable even to the Pescaran. These zones were sealed and marked as forbidden, their locations passed down only through oral tradition. Even today, creatures encountered deep within Nekata sometimes display anatomical features that cannot be explained through natural evolution.


The Koballah themselves disappeared entirely. No remains were found. No final confrontation recorded. Officially, they are declared extinct. Unofficially, many believe they retreated deeper underground or beyond Anarkand altogether. The sophistication of Vekktor Labs and the absence of definitive evidence has ensured that such theories persist.


The Nekata Forest remains one of the most breathtaking regions on the planet, with vast bioluminescent groves, living waterways, and ecosystems untouched by industrial pollution. At the same time, it is fiercely protected. Lifa Nekata, the nation that borders and surrounds much of the forest, has made its defence a central principle of governance. While Lifa Nekata balances modern metropolitan centres with ancient tribal lands, its people share a single belief: the forest must be protected at all costs.


Strict accords enforced by the Temple of Anark prohibit excavation, experimentation, or unauthorised exploration within Nekata’s inner regions. Vekktor Labs remains sealed, its entrances collapsed or deliberately obscured. Expeditions sent to study it have either failed to return or withdrawn after encountering environmental hostility that defies conventional explanation.