Penance (Penn-ense)

Penance, so named for the Triumvirate god of the Soul, very much embodies the lawful nature of its namesake. Like its sister states, Penance was founded nearly 3,000 years ago; grown from a society of humans that fell to the Antecean expansion. The earliest known name of the city that would become Penance was Aditum; a name affixed to it by its conquerors. Ironically, even in Antecea's time, the city was a bastion for religious zeal. Aditum was one of the last major holdouts of the Great Enlightenment (Antecea's overthrow of their own pantheon) and was the home-base to the rebel sects that helped instigate the civil war.
After Antecea fell, Penance found itself occupied by bandits and brigands for over a century before being liberated by Eero Hengellen's descendants in 377 EP and redubbed Hengellum, in honor of its "savior." From there, the city regrew into its former glory, becoming the main conduit through which agriculture was brought into the rest of the region. Settlers from Hengellum soon set out into the northern Dallian lowlands, resulting in D'oro, which contributed even moreso to Hengellum's growing influence.
Hengellum grew to be quite aggressive, and was the instigator of many internal disputes among the burgeoning Haedian Empire. They were the ones not only providing the largest military might for their excursions across the Verdelen, but their granaries were the ones feeding them as well. And yet they felt that they were not given as much importance as Providence, the capital, or Earnian, renowned for their "soft" exports of art and culture. Ultimately, these schisms resulted in the War of Splinters, where the recently renamed cities found themselves at odds about the Church of Triumvirism's supposed preferential treatment of what was now Sigil. The newly dubbed Penance, along with Cognance, attacked Sigil in a bid to rest control of Troideaux Cathedral from them. Despite their combined attack, infighting over who would control what parts of Sigil ultimately led to the coalitions undoing, and bad blood has persisted ever since.
Ever since, Penance has slipped more and more into their role as a supremely pious (and often sanctimonious) society. Here more than anywhere else in Requiem, the people put their faith in spiritual leaders to guide them. This served them well for a time, as the clerics and priests guided the city on a just and righteous path. But there ever-increasing political power slowly corrupted their intentions. The divine magic they wielded that they once used for noble purpose slowly became tools to beguile and intimidate. Holy knights became crusaders. Priests turned from preaching salvation to pointing out scapegoats (conveniently, these were always those who threatened their power). This came to a head at the turn of the millennia when the Arcane Renaissance was thriving in Cognance and Sigil. Fearing that the people may realize what magic could do for them, the high clerics deemed the whole movement heretical and declared a holy war on both cities. It did not go well. Having to split their armies on two fronts, they were soundly crushed on both. What followed was nearly two centuries of economic disparity as the two victorious cities left Penance to lick its own wounds.
The Church in Penance was, however, able to spin this defeat into justification for their views on magic. Blame was laid at the others' feat, and this defeat was punishment from the gods for not being strong enough in their convictions. Despite the economic depression, a strong sense of nationalism built up among the citizens of Penance. This came to a head several decades ago, when a particularly active denomination within the city led by Enzo Hablador spearheaded a campaign that saw an unprecedented surge in populism among the people. Hablador became something of a living legend among the city, and the people jumped on the opportunity to put him in charge when he claimed to be the new Orator. While the church had always had a heavy hand in Penance politics, this was the first time a priest was actually given the crown.
Every other major Triumvirate city has disavowed Hablador and his regime, but that had little impact, as Hablador had built up Penance to be entirely self-sufficient along with its vassal state of D'oro. In response, Penance once again declared war on Cognance, again sighting its "heretical" use of magic and alchemy.
In 1218, Penance was captured by an army from Sigil when false information lured Penance's army to Borne, believing they were going to repel a Cognance army from taking the holy city. While Cognance was also invaded with this move, the people have Penance have been far more resistant to this so-called Second Haedian Empire based out of Sigil. Despite this, they have conceded to Sigil's rule and have leant their military aid to the Empire's excursions into Anhangia to the east in order to aid the White Tower Alliance in their defense against the Slaadi and the Extinction War.