Pela Huban

Pela Huban
Capital	Pela Huban (city)
Ruler	Auditor Judge Lasan Shast Bachtiar
Government	Electoral judiciary
Demonym	Hubanese
Adjective	Pela Huban
Languages	Various; Common especially
Religions	Various deities and pantheons

Pela Huban
Nation	Pela Huban
Demonym	Hubanese
Adjective	Pela Huban
Population	~1,500,000
Demographics	Various ancestries

Pela Huban (pronounced PEH-lah HOO-bahn) is one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world, made rich by trade and its prime location. Limited to a narrow strip of land between two forks in the Blackwater River, Pela Huban is a city-state in the most literal sense.

Demographics

Individuals of every ancestry can be found in Pela Huban. Visitors and immigrants from around the world have made the city incredibly cosmopolitan, as people of all ancestries, backgrounds, and cultures live and work in close proximity to each other.

Pela Huban is arguably the largest city in the world, with an estimated one and a half million inhabitants. The exact population is not definitively known, as past efforts at conducting a census have been stymied by the city's dysfunctional government and the constant influx of new residents. Roughly a million more people live just outside Pela Huban, on the opposite banks of the Blackwater River. Though officially residents of Langkha, it is not uncommon for people living there to travel across the river regularly for work and to visit marketplaces.

Government

Judiciary

Pela Huban has a rather unusual form of government, one based entirely on the judiciary and courts. The laws of the city are based on an extensive corpus of cases and judicial decisions, which form a precedent for any new situations that may arise. Laws are not something decided by a council or mayor, but rather are evolved over time by the conclusions of the city's many judges.

Each precinct of the city elects three executive judges for ten year terms, who hear any cases that have no clear precedent. Below them is a vast array of lower judges, also elected, who resolve issues relating to common disputes and crimes.

Above the executive judges is the auditor judge, a figure elected by the entire city. The auditor judge has the authority to strike down any decisions by the executive judges, for example if a case is decided in a manner clearly at odds with existing laws.

Sentinels

Though frequently overwhelmed and drastically understaffed, Pela Huban employs a large number of officers to keep order. Known as the Sentinels, this organization is intended to enforce the laws of the city. To many Hubanese, however, the Sentinels are seen as little different from the various organized gangs that de facto run sections of the city. Despite attempts at reformation by many judges, the Sentinels largely protect those who will pay for their services - bribery is rampant and seen as a fact of life to many in the city.

Each precinct has its own branch of the Sentinels, who often lack the resources or lines of communication to effectively cooperate.

Sentinels use a standard set of armor, lamellar of either leather, bronze, or steel, depending on the rank of the officer. Most Sentinels decorate their armor with the name or symbol of their precinct, and some include other emblems or phrases indicating their experiences or status.

A special branch of the Sentinels, called the Bloodhounds, handles especially serious crimes in the city. All Bloodhounds are skilled investigators or trained in divination magic, able to extrapolate from even the most tangential of clues. Bloodhounds have free reign of the city and a special status that grants them exemptions to many laws, as long as it is in pursuit of their work. Most Bloodhounds wear no uniform or obvious markings, preferring to blend in whenever possible.

Economy

Immense amounts of material pass through the port of Pela Huban every day. Referred to by some as the "Gateway to Kea Racha", a majority of merchant ships that ply the trade routes of the Kilche Sea consider Pela Huban to be their most important port of call. The city's docks are an unending flurry of activity, as crews work to move cargo day and night.

Despite the city's lack of space, Pela Huban does have industry of its own. Workshops, smithies, refineries, and more have been built wherever possible, often mixed in with residential buildings.