Hehde

You've never heard of Hehde? Well, I guess I should not be surprised by now. No one cares about a small town up in the mountains. It's a difficult road up there and you're mad if you travel that road without a good reason. But the fact is that without Hehde, and towns like it, you wouldn't have that necklace around your neck, or those coins in your purse. Because it is there all this metal is coming from. In the mines and smithies people are working day and night to keep Kaeeche the rich country that it is.

Demographics

The population in Hehde consists of people from all over Kaeeche coming here for work. The mean age is fairly low as most people are of working age, with not many children or older people around. The big exception to this however, is the families of higher status. Many of these families have lived here for generations and stem from the people who first came here and opened the mines. These people practically run the town by now, with all important roles going to members of these families.

Government

While Hehde still belongs to a county it is very much left to run itself as long as what it produces goes to the capital. The day to day issues that arises in a town are taken care of by the ruling families, they have even managed to get a family member selected as the local judge, something that is very centralised in the rest of the country.

Industry & Trade

Without the mining industry the town of Hehde wouldn't even exist. Its location up in the mountains makes it so that people don't really go there if they don't have a reason. But the reason for Hehde is metal and gems. The metals and metal products that comes out of the town is one of the things that made Kaeeche a country that could actually compete on the international market. Here in the southern edges of the mountains you can find not only the metals that are used for so much, but also several precious gems that are very rare in the rest of the continent. The most important one is the Hara Stone.

Infrastructure

The main center of town is very well organized, as they managed to get funding from the government as people really started to move here, with functioning sewer system, garbage burning, roads, wells etc. However the town has expanded very quickly the last few years and makeshift buildings have sprung up all around town, increasing the area and population to sizes that it can't really accommodate.

Guilds and Factions

The town is ruled by the members of four big families. By now it's hard to really tell how they are related to each other but they very much still hold all the power in Hehde, and they do not easily let anyone else in. They run the different work teams that go into the mines, and owns almost every smithy and other important workshop. Lately there's been a lot of resentment from the workers in town that have to abide to their rules to make a living and there's been talks of starting a miners union, something that the families are trying hard to shut down.

History

About 100 years ago people started to really look into the mining of the mountains and started heading further up in hopes of riches. Turns out this was a very good idea as they started to find rich veins very soon. Six families of miners and smiths headed up in the mountains and settled down where Hehde now stands. The profits were great, and even though the climate, and especially winters, were rough so far up, it didn't take long until more people arrived to try and share the wealth. Of the six families that first arrived there were now four left, how this happened has never been revealed, there was a lot of rumours but the official story was bad winters and landslides. The remaining families saw how much people were getting to the place and together they sent a message to the capital asking for help with making the place into a proper town, with the motivation that some funding could really increase the tax revenue from there. The funding was granted and for the coming decades the town of Hehde got bigger and better, while the people worked in the mines.

Type

Town

Population

8499

Inhabitant Demonym

Hehdeians

Location under

Kaeeche

Related Materials

• Hara Stone