Hazendon, The Caged Country (Ha:zen:don)

Hazendon is one of the Verges. The country is a prison-state divided into two regions: Ekabus and Hadez. Despite being 1/4 of the entire country, Ekabus is considered the mainland and where all non-prisoners live. The rest of Hazendon is called the Prison of Hadez, an expansive and dangerous region repurposed to be a prison and dumping ground. Crime is punished highly in Hazendon, all criminals (regardless of crime) are exiled to Hadez for life and left to fend for themselves. There are little laws in Hadez except for those self-imposed by the prisoners, but all prisoners are required to wear a mask with bells chained onto them. If a prisoner is seen without a mask by a guard, the guards are ordered to kill them on sight.

Prisoners

Prisoners of Hadez are usually escorted to one of three entrances and left to their own devices. Before entering Hadez, all prisoners are forced to wear a mask with bells chained onto them. Depending on the severity of the crime, prisoners may be forced to wear more or less bells. The masks are then magically locked. Some prisoners of Hadez have come to loathe the ringing of bells, but other prisoners incorporate the bells into Hadez’s culture by using elaborate dances to make certain melodies and songs through bell chimes. It is possible for prisoners to break out of the magical locks through raw strength, wealth, or magical ability. These maskless prisoners often become famous or infamous leaders of Hadez’s cities.

History

In 3739, Hazendon was a small country that consisted of scattered villages surrounding the capital of Ekabus. The city-state was riddled with crime and corruption. The prime minister, parliament, and judges were constantly paid off by gangs and other organized criminal syndicates littering the streets. The general public grew tired of fearing the crime rings of the city. However, they had no means of effectively stopping them and most people were forced to turn to crime or gangs in order to survive. In 3942 on the outskirts of Ekabus, a young wood elf magician named Zashan collapsed in front of the Bekil village bordering the western desert. A oldman named Shuruk found him while collecting pails of water from the well. Shuruk took the young wood elf in and helped him recover. Once Zashan got better, he started helping Shuruk around his small house. Shuruk warned Zashan to be careful on the street because Ekabus was infested with criminals. Zashan took his warnings lightly and often went out to explore the nooks and crannies of Bekil. One day when Zashan was out, robbers broke into Shuruk’s house and killed him in the process. Zashan became angered and revealed his full gift of magic. He began to rid villages of crime which garnered him a reputation and following.
Using his followers and powers, he made his way to the capital of Ekabus and dismantled the previous government. With the gift of creation, Zashan created walls for thousands of miles which encased the Hadez desert. He exiled the corrupt politicians, civil servants, and criminals within the walls of the Hadez desert. Zashan transferred the government's power into the people by creating a direct democracy where any non-prisoner citizen who resided within the country for 20 years or more could participate in all of Hazendon’s political decisions. In exchange, Zashan’s followers granted him the right to oversee the direct democracy and ensure that it is running smoothly. In addition, Zashan was entrusted with the title of Hazendon’s ambassador and control of Hazendon's new military and police force. Zashan strived to make Hazendon a better place; each criminal he would catch, he would exile into the Hadez desert. However, he began to realize that he could never truly rid this country of crime. This slowly drove him mad as he became more and more obsessed with making Hazendon a perfect country. Using his gift of creation, Zashan began to cast Clone in order to ensure his constant oversight over the government and so no one could spoil the country he so desperately forged and eternally improved
By the 5000s, Zashan had made crime an almost annual occurrence in Ekabus. He began to expand his prison country into an international entity which accepted prisoners from other countries in exchange for a reasonably cheap sum of gold. The outsourcing of prison services to Hazendon is economically cheaper than the costs of building a prison and paying for prisoner necessities. Within the various regions of Hadez, prisoners had created small civilizations in conditions that many would find unbearable. Cultures and communities that celebrate the human spirit have risen out of these secluded civilizations. These civilizations developed well into 6011 as well as Zashan’s international prisoner trades in the Skyward Citadel.

Geography

Al-Alham Gulf: This gulf lies right outside Ekabus and is equipped with many docks and shipyards.
Kouzu Desolation: The desert that consists of the majority of the Hadez region. It is very barren and unspeakably hot. Lots of prisoner bandits band together in these deserts in order to survive the environmental constraints of this hellish landscape.
Jungle of Saed: Home to the city of Saed, the jungle of Saed is full of biodiversity in its rainforest and swamps. The jungle is infested with beasts and monstrosities. It is even rumored that the reason such nightmarish monsters inhabit this region is because it’s secretly a shadow crossing into the Shadowfell.
River of Milak: Its opening running through Ekabus is maintained and cleaned thoroughly, but in the Prison of Hadez it is heavily polluted with the trash and waste from both Ghale and the entirety of Ekabus. Waste is visibly being drained into the river from the walls bordering Hadez.
Lake of Milak: Polluted lake that is cleaned by the natural filters of Saed’s swamps.
Mountains of Al-Shok: Separates the city of Ansoosher and Arhoom. On the Eastern side, wind currents bring clouds that get stuck in between the coast and the mountains. This causes a rain shadow effect and gives eternal rain for Ansoosher while Arhoom is very dry and arid.

Cities

Ekabus: The Land of Prosperity

The coastal city of Ekabus is the capital of Hazendon. The bustling city experiences a lot of trade and tourism from its docks. Zashan has spared no expense in the city’s beautiful marble architecture and greenery. All the inhabitants of the city value life very highly and allow animals such as stray dogs, cats, and even monkeys to freely live in the streets at their own leisure. Food, water, and bedding is often put out for the animals by the inhabitants of Hazendon. The city is closely guarded by Hazendon’s military and police force.

Ghale: The City of Waste

All of Ekabus’ trash is dumped into the Hadez prison at a point named Ghale. Despite the pollution, a city has sprouted on the outskirts of the Ghale dump. The city repurposes trash for infrastructure, technology, and common use items. It is surprisingly a big hub for artifice and fine arts. Despite its status as a city, there is also a big disease problem due to the contaminated waters that run through the city. Ghale is still infested with crime, fraud, quack doctors, and scammers. There is also a rumor that there’s a smuggling ring involving guards of Hazendon and the richer prisoners of Ghale.

Saed: The City of Prey

Although branded as a city, Saed is more a loose collection of villages and towns.The strongest and bravest prisoners travel here for its plentiful food. Fruit line the tall trees and many animals live in the underbrush. The prisoners of Saed are not alone, however. Many beasts and monstrosities, such as Displacer beasts, live in Saed and hunt humanoids as prey. The residents of Saed live in a very hierarchical society where only the strongest survive.

Arhoom: The City of Nights

The City of Arhoom is on Western side of the Al-Shok mountains. It is a very dry and arid region that gets rain maybe once a year. However, the city is safe from most aggressive beasts and monstrosities. Within Arhoom the unbearable heat has made the people nocturnal. Most jobs and affairs are done at night and people seclude themselves inside their home during the day in order to avoid the beating sun. Water is just as valuable as gold in Arhoom. Mages have created a monopoly in Arhoom by using Create/Destroy Water to secure a constant water supply they can peddle out and control. There is a small well outside of Arhoom but it is almost dried up by 6011.

Ansoosher: The City of Tears

The City of Ansoosher is on the Eastern side of the Al-Shok mountains so it is coated in eternal rain. Built on flood plains and wetlands, there is a big flooding problem within Ansoosher. To combat this, the entire city is built vertically instead of horizontally. Homes are stacked onto eachother and the lower levels are used as storage houses for the rice fields below. Many people in Ansoosher pray and celebrate Tizoc for blessing them with rain. They pray that maybe one day the rain will rust their chains and bells and finally break them free of Hadez.

Military

Although it’s status as a very diplomatic and peaceful country, Hazendon has an extensive military that also acts as its police force. The military is divided into three divisions.
Paidgan: Foot Soldiers and Prison guards
Aswaran: Elite Cavalry Unit that patrols deeper into the prison
Topkhana: An Elite Magician Artillery Unit that also serves as Zashan’s personal guard and champions.

Demography and Population

Hazendon is a very diverse country, but there is a large concentration of Thri-kreen, shifters, and hobgoblins. Overcommon is the most common language here, but the court language for official documents is Elvish in order to honor Magi Zashan.

Religion

In Ekabus, the people are very attached to gods and observe various prayers to different deities. Many consider Zashan a messiah of the gods and pray to him as a figure of freedom and strict moral code. In contrast, Hadez’s inhabitants are mostly godless (except for a few select regions like Ansoosher). The prisoners of Hadez feel as if the gods have given up on them and cast them aside as undesirables of the world. Some prisoners have turned to the primordials hoping that maybe they will help free them or do justice upon the system that imprisoned them.

Founding Date

3740

Demonym

Hazeni

Government System

Democracy, Direct

Major Exports

Exotic Fruits, Processed Goods, Cattle, Gold, Marble