Lore:Hew's Bane

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Hew's Bane
Type Region
Continent Tamriel
Province Hammerfell
Appears in ESO
Hew's Bane wilderness
Hammerfell

Hew's Bane, originally known as Khefrem's Boot, is a peninsula in southern Khefrem on the south coast of Hammerfell. The largest settlement on the Peninsula is the city of Abah's Landing. It is bounded by Hew's Bay to the north and east, across the Abecean Sea from Taneth. The peninsula starts at the isthmus found south of Gilane and north of Prince's Gate. There are a number of small islands found south of Shark's Teeth Grotto.[1]

The region is named after Prince Hubalajad, or "Prince Hew", who was the first to attempt to settle the Peninsula, in the early days of the Ra Gada. He discovered a barren peninsula hostile to most life; scorching heat and seasonal flooding led to brackish water and ground which was unsuitable for crops. His struggles during the founding of Abah's Landing gave Hew's Bane its name.[2]

The peninsula is home to exotic species such as the kotu gava and haj mota, as well as more mundane creatures like lions, lamia, and assassin beetles.[3] The sight of a Senche-Serval in Khefrem is a sign of good luck, so people tend to capture several of them to get a streak of fortune, and even train them to become mounts.[4]

History[edit]

Prior to the arrival of the Ra Gada in the First Era, Hew's Bane was completely uninhabited. No structures older than those constructed by Hubalajad exist on the Peninsula.[2]

First Era[edit]

Map of West Tamriel, showing the location of Hew's Bane

When Yokuda sank in 1E 792, a mass exodus of refugees fled its shores, seeking a new home in what would become known as the second wave of Ra Gada. These refugees arrived in mainland Tamriel on 1E 808.[5][6] From there, a splinter faction of Ra Gada known as the Tavans broke off and continued sailing Southeast. They first arrived on Stros M'Kai, settling there before discovering the peninsula of Khefrem's Boot shortly afterward.[7]

During the early days of this Tavan Wave, Prince Hubalajad became the first to attempt to settle Khefrem's Boot, seeing strategic value in its naturally protected harbor. [2] There, he established a small settlement. Originally little more than a soldier's camp, it would eventually grow into the walled city of Abah's Landing.[8]

Hubalajad's attempts to colonize the peninsula were infamous for suffering a series of failures. Most famously, during the construction of No Shira Citadel on the southern bank of the harbor, the peninsula's seasonal flooding soon compromised the structure. Hubalajad had a shrine built on-site, to appeal to the god Zeht, but it too was washed away by the floodwater. Though many believed this was a sign of Zeht's displeasure, the prince simply ordered an even more elaborate shrine be built further upstream.[2]

Even after construction ended, his reign was not free from scandal. In the early days of the city, Hubalajad's half-uncle, Magnifico Bahraha, was discovered to be a necromancer. As necromancy was considered repugnant to devout Yokudans, it was decided the Magnifico would be magically sealed into his tomb. This crypt became known as Bahraha's Gloom, although the exact nature of its inhabitant was kept secret from the locals.[3]

Despite these setbacks, Prince Hubalajad would prove a prolific builder. He is known to have built not only the Palace in Abah's Landing, but nearly all recognizable landmarks on the peninsula. As the First Era wore on, however, public perception of Prince Hubalajad began to worsen. [2][3]

Possibly encouraged by his political enemies, popular myth had gradually transformed "Prince Hew" into a comic figure. Hubalajad's tenacity was now perceived as thick-headedness. Folktales about his foolishness, such as Prince Hew and the Haj Mota Chariot and Prince Hew and the Three-Legged Race, are considered culturally ubiquitous in Hammerfell. Outright falsehoods, such as the common belief that he had had his second shrine build downstream rather than up, also began to circulate widely after his death.[2][9][10] The derisive nickname "Prince Hew" stuck, and by the end of the First Era, Khefrem's Boot came to be known as Hew's Bane.[11]

When the Sload of Thras unleashed the Thrassian Plague upon the world in 1E 2200,[12] the areas closest to Thras were stricken by the disease first, Hew's Bane among them.[13]

Second Era[edit]

Abah's Landing, circa 2E 582

By the mid-Second Era, royal power in Abah's Landing had been entirely supplanted by a group of criminal cartels known collectively as the "Merchant Lords". The hinterlands of Hew's Bane were populated primarily by smuggler crews and Maormer pirates, with whom the Lords actively did business.[14][15] The City-State of Abah's Landing thus developed a deep rivalry with the kingdom of Taneth to the north, whose traders usually bore the brunt of this thievery they harbored.[16]

Ironically, the organizations each Lord led likely began life as legitimate businesses. Their predecessor companies sprang up out of a desire to elevate Hew's Bane into a center for commerce between High Rock and Valenwood. However, these attempts were largely unsuccessful and each eventually turned to illicit activity.[15] The label "Merchant Lord" has historically been reserved for the leaders of the four major gangs: the at-Addin Syndicate (War Profiteering),[17] House Vien (Sex & Drug Trafficking),[18] the Thazahrr Cartel (Slave Trafficking),[19][20] and Gurges and Associates (Hijacking & Money Laundering).[21]

The lords began their rise to power around 2E 420 and, within a century, had virtually total control over Abah's Landing. The Thieves Guild got its start here, serving as an independent organization which profited from playing the merchant lords against each other, thus keeping them in check.[22][23]

Around 2E 567, the Thieves Guild robbed Taneth's royal al-Danobia Tomb where Magnifica Falorah's dowry was kept. The guild's then leader, Nicolas, then faked his death so as to keep the dowry for himself. Magnifica Falorah's reputation in Taneth's court was deeply damaged by this heist, having allowed the desecration of her ancestor, Magnifica Danobia's, corpse.[14] As a result, despite her immense political influence in Taneth, she was no longer seen by the nobility as suitable for marriage. Enraged by the slight, and seeing the dowry recovery as an opportunity to cripple Abah's Landing, Falorah contracted the Iron Wheel to hunt down and destroy the Thieves Guild in its entirety. Though their leader, Chief Inspector Rhanbiq, refused to serve as a de-facto occupying force in Abah's Landing, their purges nonetheless sent the Merchant Lords and Thieves Guild alike into a state of decline.[16]

The Merchant Lords' decline was accelerated again circa 2E 582. Using the dowry for funding, Nicolas was able to set himself up as a mysterious fifth Merchant Lord, as part of his grand plan to make himself nobility in Taneth.[16] Using the pseudonym "Cosh", he cemented his organization, the Shadow Conglomerate,[24] in Abah's Landing by crippling Gurges and Associates, and successfully taking market share over each of their remaining spheres of influence.[15][21]

Soon after establishing the Conglomerate, Cosh proposed to Magnifica Falorah, leveraging his new status as a Merchant Lord and exploiting her lack of suitors. Falorah accepted, hoping that the marriage would turn Abah's Landing into a puppet city and cripple the Merchant Lords. However, the remaining elements of the Thieves Guild, including the Soulless One, discovered Nicolas' treachery. Breaking into Falorah's wedding, they exposed the true identity of "Cosh" to Falorah. Following the cancellation of her wedding, the Magnifica established direct contact with the Thieves Guild and tasked them with suppressing the merchant lords on behalf of Taneth.[16]

This relationship marked the start of a period of rapid growth for the Thieves Guild. The Thieves Guild began making contact with other groups of outlaws throughout the cities of Tamriel, and quickly established a reputation.[22][25] By the Third Era, the Thieves Guild of Abah's Landing had spread to become the modern Tamriel-wide Thieves Guild.[26]

Gallery[edit]

  • The peninsula, seen from a distance (Oblivion)

  • The peninsula, seen from a distance (Skyrim)

  • Hubalajad Palace

  • No Shira Citadel

  • Banner of Abah's Landing

  • Bahraha's Gloom

  • Shark's Teeth Grotto, a smugglers den in Southern Hew's Bane

  • Wavy Triple-Braided hairstyle inspired by the mesas and buttes

  • A Khefrem Senche-Serval

Notes[edit]

  • The then-unnamed landmass of Hew's Bane first appeared in Arena as part of Hammerfell, where it had two randomized side quest-related dungeons and had a heightmap nearly identical to that of Summerset Isle. The landmass was also present in Oblivion, viewable only from a far distance.
  • The name "Hew's Bane" first appeared in Redguard, as seen on its map of West Tamriel.

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Elder Scrolls Anthology map
  2. ^ a b c d e f In Defense of Prince Hubalajad — Lady Cinnabar of Taneth
  3. ^ a b c Hew's Bane in ESO
  4. ^ Khefrem Senche-Serval mount description in ESO
  5. ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: Hammerfell — Imperial Geographical Society, 2E 864
  6. ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: Other Lands — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
  7. ^ Stros M'Kai loading screen in ESO
  8. ^ Hew's Bane loading screen in ESO
  9. ^ Prince Hew and the Haj Mota Chariot — Petty-Vizier Hafzifeh al-Yath
  10. ^ Prince Hew and the Three-Legged Race — Petty-Vizier Hafzifeh al-Yath
  11. ^ Members of the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild Answer Your Questions — Walks-Softly, Kari Coin-Counter, Velsa, Zeira, Thrag, Andarri
  12. ^ Systres History — Trilam Heladren, Associate Dean of Eltheric History, University of Gwylim
  13. ^ The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle - History of the Systres
  14. ^ a b MagnificaFalorah's dialogue in ESO
  15. ^ a b c Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 1 — Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth
  16. ^ a b c d Thieves Guild storyline in ESO
  17. ^ Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 2 — Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth
  18. ^ Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 3 — Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth
  19. ^ Dar-Zish's dialogue in ESO
  20. ^ Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 4 — Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth
  21. ^ a b Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 5 — Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth
  22. ^ a b Zeira's dialogue in ESO
  23. ^ From a Copy for the Archive — Nicolas
  24. ^ Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 6 — Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth
  25. ^ The Vault of Moawita quest in ESO
  26. ^ Appearance in Arena
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