In a world with only one Sea, coastal land is precious, and the one controlling it rules the world. The most powerful city on Aenya, the "Jewel of the Sea," Hedonia is distinguished by its temples and rotundas and stadiums of marble, and by the great pyramid at its center, housing the churches of the gods of Aenya, and a towering idol of the city's patron deity, Sargonus. Built on the Coast of Sarnath c. 5000 AGM by human settlers from Aea, the colonists formed an uneasy truce with the native merquid inhabiting the area. The peace lasted less than a century. As the human population exploded and resources became scarce, the merquid were forced from their coral homes. All traces of merquid habitation was destroyed but for a solitary idol of the merquid god, Gulgola. The idol remained at the center of the city to commemorate the ousting of the merquid and the conquest of the coast. In the centuries that followed, Hedonian colonies spread quickly along the One Sea. Traffic and trading increased its wealth, until, by 7000 AGM, barbarians from the north ransacked the Temple of Sargonus for its gold. To defend its borders, Hedonia established a naval army like none the world had seen. This unchecked show of force, and the ensuing disputes over control of the Sea, resulted in clashes with other powerful city-states. In time, Thetis and Thalassar would surrender to Hedonian rule and become subsumed by the Hedonian Empire.

Hedonia is said to be a theocracy, with the god of the Sea, Sargonus, sitting at the head of the political hierarchy. The High Priest, whose lifelong position is conferred during childhood, is said to interpret the wishes of Sargonus through an ancient book of prophecy known as the Ages of Aenya, written by the Prophet Eldin, which is believed to have been brought from Aea. In matters of dogma, the High Priest consults with the red mystics, a monastic order who seek higher states of consciousness through mind-altering agents. The true power in Hedonia, however, may rest in the hands of the regent commanders, the great military arm of the Empire, who govern directly over the conquered provinces.