The port city of Manaket on Rahadoum's northern coast was once famous for its lush gardens, but in less than a hundred years' time these have all dried up as the desert encroaches ever further onto the settlement. To combat this ecological disaster, wizards from the city's arcane academy, the Occularium, have begun planning an intricate series of shifting trenches and barrier walls to drive the sands back, even hiring mechanical engineers from the technologically advanced Grand Duchy of Alkenstar, and calling on the advice of local brass dragons.