Pedenhaunin

Type	city
Elevation	52 m
Population	10200
Dominant Race	human
Dominant Culture	Shwazen
Dominant Religion	Seogism
Realm	Schap
Province	Efen
Ruled by	Kylares

The capital of the Efen province, Pedenhaunin has a rich history and is today a melting pot of war-hungry mercenaries, war-sick commoners, hopeful northern Schapians and old families going back to Fontician times.

The city, like all of Efen used to be part of Fonticia until 187 BV. Despite more than 200 years of Schap rule, some Fontician traditions and history remain, bundled with Seogism still being openly practiced. Multiple edicts from the leadership of Schap are being interpreted more generous by the Lord Protector Edwardus Kylares, whose family has ruled over Efen and its capital for 300 years, surviving the conquest with brilliant political moves and a timely conversion to Ebronism.

Pedenhaunin has been a border city for over a hundred years, and its solid stone walls and towers still speak of such times. Its gates especially are marvels of dwarven engineering, with two gates in each gatehouse, spaced more than 20 m apart, covered by a wooden roof that is full of murder holes, a third portcullis in the centre to further split up and hinder invaders, and an equally ingenious and nasty mechanism for raining hot oil on anyone trapped inside.

Inside, the city shows the signs of troubles that plague Efen. The war takes most of the taxes and wealth of citizens, and many houses are in need of repair. It becomes visible to the visitor soon that

As a large city, Pedenhaunin does not have the usual waystation of smaller Shwazen settlements. Visitors are free to enter the city. However, The eastern quarter is walled off with another wall (a thin wall with only a small walkway on top and no towers) and only citizens of Pedenhaunin may enter here. In fact, the city guard will not let beggars or other poor folks into this area, citizen or not. Unsurprisingly, most of the wealthy, clergy and former nobles live in the eastern quarter.

Opposite this, the western quarter of the city is also the river port of Pedenhaunin. True to cliche, it is not somewhere you want to be at night. In fact, a curfew is in place throughout Pedenhaunin that begins one hour after sunset and lasts until the first rays of the sun appear above the horizon. Bells announce beginning and end of the curfew. Only clergy and military officers are exempt and the city guard patrols at night and will pick up any stragglers and throw them into the dungeon for a day for loitering. The city guard does not, however, patrol the port district except at its very edges and along the main road that leads towards the river bridge.

While Pedenhaunin is a vital military rally point and often home to strategic military command, the Kylares turn a blind eye to the Seogism still followed by the majority of the inhabitants in the city. In fact, the two religions co-exist peacefully within the city, though tensions exist. However, over the decades, an unspoken agreement has been reached that temples and shrines of the other religion are off-limits, and anyone crossing that line is punished very harshly, though in the case of defilement of a Seogism shrine the official sentence will be for "damage to private property". Nevertheless, offenders can expect to have their entire property confiscated and themselves thrown into the dungeon for years.

There is a constant military presence within Pedenhaunin, almost always some parts of the Schap army are camped outside the city walls and mercenaries can be found in the taverns. There is also a large Fighters' Guild within the city and a major part of the economy is war industry - craftsmen manufacturing weapons, armor, arrows, siege engines, hard rations for the troops and such.