Toshi, the Faded City

Toshi, the Faded City

When the world of Ananke was constructed by the Source (covered briefly in The Empty Ocean) the pieces that were brought together sometimes carried with them the signs of life from their original location. One such example is the city of Toshi, known as the Faded City on Ananke. This ruin was once a thriving habitat for a race on an unknown planet elsewhere, and had the misfortune to be upon the chunk of its former planet that was ripped off by the Source for its own purposes. To the inhabitants of Ananke, the ruins are largely a mystery, almost a myth. The Faded City is discussed like a campfire story, one which many know of but few know anything about, and even less know the truth of its existence.
When Toshi was slammed onto the planet-cocoon the Source was building for itself, it landed adjacent to a huge rainforest region. The initial impact set the forest line back for a while, but it quickly regrew, and as such a great deal of the Faded City is overgrown, the plants and wildlife claiming the place as their own. But the ruins of this stolen city still hold many clues to its origin, and may even contain the spirits of its former residents...

The Toshin People

Whoever lived in Toshi once has, rather understandably, not survived the process of being ripped from one planet and forced onto the shell of another. But such a sudden and violent end to so many lives has unexpected consequences. In the depths of the ruins, spirits linger, unable to make sense of their fate and departs to whatever awaits them in the afterlife. These spirits loiter in the ruins, lashing out at what they can in anger at their unjust end.
Despite the dangers these vengeful spirits pose, there are many treasures and stories to uncover in Toshi. Relics of the alien civilization contain powerful boons to a Vault Hunter lucky enough to find one, and any with an interest in doing so can uncover the stories of the lives that ended in this place. Determined explorers may one day uncover the identity of the Toshin people - a culture with rich beliefs in community, harmony and common cause, and an unwavering patience in the pursuit of perfection in any task.

The Dangers of Toshi

With humans rarely setting foot in the city, it has grown full of many things that might harm the few who venture here. The anger and grief emanating from the spirits twists the plants into hazardous forms - sharp thorns and poisonous substances are abundant in the overgrown areas, making travel difficult, and several species that trap or constrict people can easily end the journey of an unsuspecting adventurer. The spirits also warp the behaviour of the fauna that wander in - most stay and become territorial, if not outright hostile, and the strong ones that hold their place seem to live an unnaturally long time, growing larger than others and evolving in strange ways. Strangely, the influence of Erodite is minimal here, adding further to the separation the place seems to have from the rest of Ananke. On the plus side, that means the The Saints of the Source have no presence here.
However, the dangers of the Faded City are not limited to those that spill in from the rainforest and fall under the influence of spirits. The City itself brought some with it. Many buildings contain technology that is not understood by any on Ananke, and interacting with these can be harmful. While the Toshin had no need for traps in their communal life, some things that were part of everyday life for them would be beyond the awareness of explorers. The ruins themselves pose a threat too - structural damage is found everywhere, and sections of buildings collapse at times, or the ground gives out as the planets unique makeup shifts again.

"Can't say as to whether that place be real, but the message in the legend is real enough. Sometimes a thing don't get wrapped up in a bow, all nice and pretty. Life ain't that clean, see? Sometimes a thing just ends, and ain't nobody get closure as to why."