Heninstadt (Past)

Tall walls and wealthy homes. The roads ran gold with grain and coin, a real jewel of the south.

The capital of Brinhof. It rests at the mouth of the Henin river, where it grew from a large trading industry. It brings in goods from all over Brinhof and ships it out of its port to all sorts of places along The Ashen Coast. It is heavily fortified against invasion and it was the seat of power for the Arathellion family.

Demographics

Much of the city is in ruins after The Writhing Death swept through the region and either killed or drove off any who once lived in here. However, many of the old stone structures remain and most of the wooden ones have fallen in disrepair from decades of being abandoned.

The Royal Quarter

The Royal Quarter is the part of the city which houses the Arathellion Keep where the royal family of Brinhof lived. The only large entrance to this district is through the Chapel District. This part of the city was generally lived in by the rich and nobility of the kingdom. Several lords who ruled over the different parts of the country had estates here for when they visited the capital. Before the Writhing Death happened, this area had large and elegantly designs estates with lush and colorful gardens. The roads were well paved and maintained so the nobles didn't have to worry about the bumps from cobblestone as much. It even had a large park near the center of it where the numerous nobles could walk through the well-maintained trees and fountains. On the other side of the district is the gate to the Arathellion Keep.

Seawatch

Seawatch rested on the eastern edge, part of it rested on the cliffside overlooking the sea, which is where it gained its name. This also wrapped its way down a large hill to the sea where the docks rested. The top part of the city mostly housed merchants and middle-class citizens who mostly focused on creation and trade of goods with a couple little shops dotted about. As one gets closer to the docks, more warehouses are found where trading companies kept their goods before they got shipped off or sold at the markets. The roads were fairly well maintained, generally paid for by the local Merchant Guild. Due to the vast amounts of food that Brinhof was able to produce annually, Heninstadt's merchant guild was quite wealthy. At the end of the docks is the Beacon of Heninstadt which lights the way for ships trying to find safe harbor.

Market Square

Shortly after crossing The Dark River, a traveler would reach the gates leading to this part of the city. It acts sort of like the crossroads between the High District, Seawatch, and the Low District. It is a pretty small part of the city, with a wall between it and the High District and Outer Slums, and the river separating it from the Low District. It is pretty much inhabited by merchants in their shops, with a large square in the center made for festivals and market days. At the edge of the square is a large building which acts as a town hall and a place where guards tend to live in between patrols. It is here that one would go for when they need assistance from the law.
There are two main bridges and gates leading into the city from the Low District. The Gilded Gate and Stefan's Gate and both lead to the Market Square. Along the river, the buildings start to be built on terraces until their foundation act as a wall to keep invaders from simply crossing it into the Market Square.

The High District

On the other side of the wall from the Market Square is a large district which houses many of the wealthier non-nobility citizens who work in different parts of the city. It has a couple of major roads coming through to the Chapel District, namely The Gilded Road which acts as the impressive facade for nobility traveling through the city. Outside of that, the buildings are still quite nice and the streets are patrolled regularly.

The Chapel District

This part of the city rests directly in the center of the city and has a primary road which connects the Royal Quarter and the Market Plaza. This part is usually maintained by the different churches which help keep the area pretty for pilgrims and visitors. This part of the city has large open plazas for worship to the different gods of the Ashen Coast. Upon entering the district, one would be surrounded by the houses of those who work in the different small shops and chapels dotting the area. The primary attraction to the pilgrims visiting the city is the Cathedral of the Blazing Ruby which is the second largest building in the city. It acts as the headquarters of the The Ruby Knights and home of a sacred relic.
Surrounding the cathedral are parks with fountains adorning different depictions of the different gods and goddesses. A major focus is the fountain of a phoenix with its wings outstretched with water enchanted by divine magic to shine like fire. This represents the god Firen'dir, overlooking the city. Other major fountains rest in front of the chapels of the respective gods. And the roads which wind their way through this district are maintained by both the churches and the nobility.

The Low District

This region of the city rests across the river from the Market Square and it spreads along the river, many who live here are farmers from the neighboring region, along with the poorer people of Heninstadt. While it isn't protected by walls of its own, Barksight Keep watches over the area and provides a safe place to go during a siege for those who can't make it to the city itself. Many fishermen call this place their home and fish from the river and the ocean before shipping it into the city.

The Outer Slums

Outside the walls of the city was covered by small wooden shacks made by the poor who couldn't afford to live within the walled city. Some of these people were poor farmers, others servants to lords. Later on, when the plague starts to sweep through The Ashen Coast, many refugees made their way south, trying to escape it which grew the slums even further. However, this made the disease even more devastating, for there were lots of people in cramp housing and clustered together.
Even before the plague, the refugees or people looking for a new start from other kingdoms and places crammed themselves in this little area against a wall. After a while, Blackstone Keep was constructed as an intimidating show in an attempt to dissuade even more people from cramming themselves in that area but to also act as a lookout for any potential invaders from the north.

The Overgrowth

This is a large unnatural forest that was grown outside Heninstadt near the Low District. It is home to a refuge of elves who fled their old lands and were granted a bit of land near Heninstadt to live in and call their own. They live almost autonomously, but do also obey the laws of Brinhof and will give tribute to their lord. They have carved homes out of wood and stone, most living on the ground but some have woven their homes out of the branches.

The Royal Barracks

A small part of the city the rests on top of the cliffs bordering the Royal District and the Arathellion Keep. It holds all the housing for the soldiers and guards of the majority of the city. It also has watch towers overlooking the Seawatch. As you get further north towards the keep, there are fewer barracks and more military research academies. Places where they practice battle magic, training grounds, and other things that would help in a war.

Arathellion Keep

The home and seat of power of the Arathellion family. This is the keep where the majority of them live and rule from, it is well defended and would be a difficult place to storm after breaking through the numerous walls. Its strategic location and

Government

The king was the ultimate head of law in the city with his council. This is his seat of power of the kingdom, and they rule from the castle. Below the royal family and their counsel lay the mayor who runs the day to day business of the city. The king manages the overall kingdom taxes, however, the mayor focuses on the taxes of the city and making sure the proper amount is given to the king.

Defences

The city rests alongside the Dark River which acts as a bit of a moat towards the northern and eastern edges of the city. The buildings along the river are built on a raised terrace and have a cut into them near the center to act as a walkway for guards and the entrance to other shops. These walls push right up against the river, blocking any attempt for ladders or other siege engines. The two entrances through this wall are two gatehouses set right behind a drawbridge with a palisade on each side of the bridge. The gatehouses both have two palisades and murder holes above the space between them.
If this line is broken, then an attacking force would need to assault another set of walls in the cramped city district of the Market Square. These are shorter walls so ladders would be quite effective against these, but this wall can also be assailed from the side entrance which houses its own smaller gatehouse. This would lead to the High District.
Once they reached the High District, they have the ability to try scaling the walls to the Royal Quarter, which would get them to the keep fastest, or they could push on to the gatehouses of the Chapel District. These walls can also be attacked from the northwest part of the city if the enemy force climbs the hill.
Once they breach these gatehouses or break through the walls they only have one gatehouse leading into the Royal Quarter. This is perhaps the second most fortified gatehouse since this is meant as the last refuge for the citizens to retreat to. It has three sets of palisades and gates with murder holes above each. It also has boiling oil pots placed above the gate to burn any attempts at sieging the gates.
Once past these, there's a clear shot to the keep's outer gatehouse. The open spaces that the nobles enjoy removes most of the cover potentially given to any invading forces, but if they can get their siege weapons to this part of the city, they have a clear shot to the next and final gatehouse to the keep. They also have the ability to go through a smaller, less fortified gatehouse to the Royal Barracks and then go up to a second less known gatehouse. Both come with at least two sets of palisades and gates and the standard murder holes and anti-siege weapons. These walls are the tallest and most fortified out of all the others, so scaling or breaking through would be a challenge to any siege forces.

Industry & Trade

The city primarily lives on lumber and stone production, so they export plenty of raw lumber and stone, along with many crafted items made out of the same materials. It's primary import, on the other hand, is food and other supplies, things that are difficult in the rocky area.

Infrastructure

Paved roads, large shipyards and docks.

Guilds and Factions

Royal Family

This faction was the absolute strongest in the kingdom before the Writhing Death swept through. They held the most political power and their word was law. They rarely focused on the day to day business of the city, and instead focused on the kingdom as a whole.

Nobility

One of the strongest factions of the city back before the Writhing Death. They spent most of their time in the Royal Quarter and rarely dealt with the people beneath their position. However, they held the most power in the city and in the kingdom in general. They don't hold a bunch of financial power outside of taxes from parts of the city and their own cities.

The Merchant's Guild

The Merchant's Guild is a powerful group of merchants who have almost sole control over the financial success of the city. They make sure that several parts of the city are well maintained and they keep the ships coming to the city's docks. They also help manage the different stores and making sure no real problems crop up and try to solve it before needing to give the nobility involved.

History

Heninstadt was originally a tribe from the Broken Claw tribe of Wereblooded. However, they were driven out by the first human settlers of the region. From the foundations of the tribal village, rose a city which was named 'Heninstadt' and it grew quickly from the rich soil which surrounded the region. The surrounding region was united by the Frenholdt dynasty which brought several other cities under their banner, becoming one of the strongest powers in the southern part of The Ashen Coast until the rise of The Ashen King. In hopes of having more loyal subjects in the south, the king appointed the Arathellion family to keep order over their new kingdom and named Heninstadt as it's capital. While several parts of the southern kingdom broke apart from Brinhof, Heninstadt still grew more powerful and wealthier as it became a more powerful trading power of the region. However, that all changed once The Writhing Death swept through and forced all the citizens out of the city.

Architecture

The buildings are primarily stone on the first floor with the second comprised mostly of wood. Some people whitewash the stone walls of their homes but the majority leave them like it is.

Geography

Heninstadt is along the coast, on a peninsula within The Ashen Coast, where it looks over the Endless Sea. It rests upon a rocky hill, which it is surrounded by as well, making farming quite difficult in the region. However, the entire coast is coated in a sea of green as the forests stretch from the southern bay up to the northern tundra. To the east, lies the Pale Peaks mountain range which protects the region from any potential invaders.

Natural Resources

Wood can be easily discovered in the vast forests which surround Heninstadt, along with the plentiful schools of fish which can be found not too far from the coast. Farming is fairly difficult, for the rocky soil is hard to till so Heninstadt has to rely on importing much of its food. Iron is quite plentiful however in the hills to the east, along with a singular old gold mine to the west.

Maps

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  Heninstadt (Old)

  An old map of Heninstadt before the region was abandoned due to the The Writhing Death. Much of what was is now gone, but much of the stonework and foundations remain.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
3298

Alternative Name(s)

The Golden City, The City of Grain

Type

Capital

Population

0

Inhabitant Demonym

Henian

Included Locations

• The Overgrowth
• Tower of the Arathellion Dynasty