Karkeni (கற்கேணி), also known as Blackwell by foreigners on account of its black sand beaches, is a city on the eastern coastline of Vanadweep Island and is a holy city of Ashtadharma recognized as the birthplace of the faith. Raktabhatta, the first ashtadharmic yogi, spent most of his youth in Karkeni and wrote the Varveda here. Karkeni also houses the largest population of vedavin on the planet, and is the seat of the noble Neelakandam Dynasty within the Swarna Authority. The city has become a major trading port especially for the sea routes that travel through the western coast of Eqos, though its rather rocky coastline looking out towards the Kalapatthar Strait makes it difficult for ships to come into the harbor if they are not being careful. This hasn’t stopped the city’s growth though, since it has a lot of religious tourism as one of the holy cities of the continent. Karkeni contains what is probably the second largest temple dedicated to Varkayan in the world, the Varkaswami Koyil, known for its tall gopurams and intricate carvings that retell the story of the vedavin’s creation myth.