The only blank space is in our minds. That, out there, is just an illusion.
–Okaki Hontoyo, moments before his death

Okaki Hontoyo was born to one of three men, all named Hontoyo, and a woman whose name has been lost to history. She named him Okaki, in the great tradition of naming ones bastard children after the worst military generals of all time. As a child, naturally, he had to overcome the constant threats of Unitarial Flanking that Okaki was best known for failing to successfully perform.

Okaki Hontoyo excelled in the fields of poetry, xenomathematics, tactics, and Unitarial Flanking, and obtained the rank of Captain as recognition of his Unitarial Flanking prowess. This was quickly shown to be a wise decision, as he used Unitarial Flanking to destroy a small vermailian taskforce in his first engagement.

Known for being fearless in battle and in the ways of love, Okaki Hontoyo took his ship, the Darkness Ascending, through Blank Space in order to reach who he called his one true love, Commodore Lucius Claymore. On his way back, Okaki Hontoyo uttered the most famous phrase ever uttered on the subject of Blank Space, entered the area, and his ship was lost. Most people hearing of the incident praised Okaki Hontoyo as a romantic hero, while Claymore was unwilling to comment.

—Sarlin Corvaxis Fon