The province of Tark was formerly a sovereign country conquered and assimilated into the Empire. It has always been a region of vast deserts and arid mountains. Its people are a hardy folk who were already adapted to a life in barren lands, which allowed them to easily adapt to the many new deserts on the continent after the Calamity. Thus, a lot of them are natural explorers and traders - but quite a lot of them are mercenaries.

The Assassin enemy in Vagrus is a version of the Handjari Assassins of Tark, sharing skills and a general appearance of a masked, sneaky killer. Yet their looks are less culturally specific than their Tarkian brethren and this was the goal with their character art so that they can fit easier into the many combat encounters where mercenaries or henchmen are found, complementing their combat effectiveness with their deadly toys.

As the new Trading system was shaping up for Milestone 5 alongside the emergence in our storylines of some of the less lawful factions (such as the Loader's Guild), we figured we would need a sub-system for smuggling goods as it makes sense that these organizations would be willing to hire a vagrus to do just that.

Another character who plays a very important role in the Prologue, Javek is a young sorcerer who uses telepathic abilities. He is of Tarkian origin and because the Imperial province of Tark is based on early Persian and Turkish cultures from real life, Szonja designed Javek's appearance to match those in clothing and equipment.

Calm and easy-going, Javek's ability to pick up surface thoughts and glean motives can be very useful. He is also skilled at handling animals and beasts of burden. That skill is enhanced by his telepathic ability which works even better on animals. Does that remind you of someone? Hmmm. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? :)