Oschich, home of The Inquisition, known as the City of Sentinels, is one of the safest places to be in the Kingdom of Ravenna, but comes with it's own set of dangers. Oschich is the polar opposite of the rest of Ravenna in many ways. It is strict, very strict, and very insistent that you follow the laws. The Inquisition runs the entire city without any oversight, and they take their job very seriously. Anyone caught breaking Oschich's draconian laws are often punished severely. More severe crimes often wind up with you on the chopping block.
Nearly everything in Oschich is documented in endless piles of bureaucracy, with the largest number of pure useless records and reports for every day that goes by, beating out every other competitor by a mile. Getting new jobs, purchases, and personal relationships are all written down and recorded. Even moving out of the city requires a form that goes through dozens of scribes, and if one so happens to misplace your request, or deny it, you're simply stuck in the city. People do get restless, but Inquisition secret police, agents, guards, and Iudex make staging a rebellion or attempting to accomplish any sort of resistance a stupid idea.
Things in Oschich, however, are probably comparatively better than the rest of Ravenna, which is a smoldering husk of banditry, warlordism, economic depression, and government weakness. Many seeking an escape from the crime that infects the nation, but not wanting to leave the country often go to Oschich. To get into Oschich is a whole other matter of paperwork and requests. On average, only about 60-ish new people get admitted into Oschich a year, the rest either being denied or stuck in a bureaucratic hell for an indefinite amount of time.
Because of all these awaiting immigrants and also the need to trade and interact with the outside world, there's an outer district of the city outside its walls, with barracks for those waiting admission, and markets for prospecting traders. This part of Oschich is much less defended, with community militias banned, and practically no Inquisition guards patrolling the district. As a result, there's much more crime, and the location is subject to bandit raids.
All and all, the city is more like its own sovereign state inside Ravenna rather than an actual city that so happens to be under the rulership of the Inquisition. The city administration is free to do whatever they want, under the rulership of the Inquisition.
History
Oschich was a minor town founded in the days after The Splintering, immediately engulfed in the conflict that mired the rest of Ravenna, between the different warring factions. It was located near the middle of Ravenna, far enough away to avoid the worst of the battles, but still suffered in the aftermath of said battles. During this time, a young Vysokiyian noble by the name of Dochen moved into the town. He convinced the suffering townsfolk that he should be in charge of the town, and with his charisma, along with the townspeople's desperation for an end to the conflict, he quickly rose to prominence and power. The town grew into a minor city, but the war still raged on, and Oschich only became more and more of a valuable target for the different factions.
When Chudakova delivered his ultimatum, Dochen gladly accepted, seeing as how he too wished for an end to the conflict, and saw the Kingdom of Vysokiy as the perfect way to both gain power and prestige as well as stop the conflict. In the end, Vysokiy swept throughout the land, united Ravenna, and won the war. Dochen, quickly rose to power because of his support for Chudakova, his ethnicity being Vysokiyian, and the strategic location of Oschich. He was made a duke, but died soon after the war ended.
His son, Dochen the Second rose to power, and inherited the duchy. Dochen the Second was a major believer in Gaial, who truly and utterly believed in order, to a very extreme extent. He was sent to an Order church when he was younger, and while the Order was very fanatical in the early days, Dochen ll was considered much too of a zealot for the Order, and was sent back.
When he assumed position as duke, he immediately went about enacting his beliefs about absolute order, growing his ducal forces in order to enforce the strict laws all around the duchy. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the seat of his power, Oschich. Those who didn't follow the laws, either by accident or on purpose were punished twice as much. The gallows were constantly at max capacity, there were hangings and beheadings every day, often with the heads of the offending criminals put on spikes outside and inside the city. Children were not exempt. Despite this, the King and other nobles turned a blind eye to these acts, since the Duke was simply too valuable of an ally to alienate.