Ruatan Tao (pronounced roo-ah-TAHN TAO) is the areqal of the small city of Tauraq in the Western Palisades. Though she has lived most of her adult life in Tauraq, she was born and raised in the city of Tarsminas in Hinthial 180 miles to the northeast. Tao continues to have a great fondness for the elven culture she grew up around in her earlier years, dressing in the austere fashions of coastal Hinthial rather than the typical flamboyant garb of Meklovian seafarers and eating food prepared by elven chefs, sometimes using ingredients imported at great personal expense. During her rule as areqal of Tauraq she has prioritized growing diplomatic and economic ties with the nearby cities of the mainland, Tarsminas and Alumnathe in particular.