Lore:Hew's Bane

, originally known as '''Khefrem's Boot''', is a peninsula in southern   on the south coast of Hammerfell. The largest settlement on the Peninsula is the city of  .

The region is named after Prince  , or "Prince Hew", who was the first to attempt to settle the Peninsula, in the early days of the  . 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. 

The peninsula is home to exotic species such as the   and  , as well as more mundane creatures like  s,  , and  s.  

 

History
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. 

First Era
thumb|left|Map of West Tamriel, showing the location of Hew's BaneWhen   sank in  , 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  .   From there, a splinter faction of Ra Gada known as the Tavans broke off and continued sailing Southeast. They first arrived on  , settling there before discovering the peninsula of Khefrem's Boot shortly afterward. 

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.   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.  

Hubalajad's attempts to colonize the peninsula were infamous for suffering a series of failures. Most famously, during the construction of   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  , 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.  

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

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   wore on, however, public perception of Prince Hubalajad began to worsen.   

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   and  , 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.    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. 

Second Era
thumb|right|Abah's Landing, circa  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   pirates, with whom the Lords actively did business.   The City-State of Abah's Landing thus developed a deep rivalry with the kingdom of   to the north, whose traders usually bore the brunt of this thievery they harbored. 

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.  The label "Merchant Lord" has historically been reserved for the leaders of the four major gangs: the   (War Profiteering),    (Sex & Drug Trafficking),  the   (Slave Trafficking),   and   (Hijacking & Money Laundering).  

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

Around  , the Thieves Guild robbed Taneth's royal   where Magnifica  's dowry was kept. The guild's then leader,  , 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  's, corpse.  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   to hunt down and destroy the Thieves Guild in its entirety. Though their leader, Chief Inspector  , 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. 

The Merchant Lords' decline was accelerated again circa  . 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.  Using the pseudonym "Cosh", he cemented his organization, the  ,  in Abah's Landing by crippling Gurges and Associates, and successfully taking market share over each of their remaining spheres of influence.  

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. 

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  , and quickly established a reputation.   By the  , the Thieves Guild of Abah's Landing had spread to become the modern Tamriel-wide Thieves Guild. 

 

Gallery
 

Notes
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 name "Hew's Bane" first appeared in Redguard, as seen on its map of West Tamriel.

See Also
For more information, see the ESO article.

References