Location from Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Major port city and imperial capital of Seven Cities — where the Chain of Dogs ended in massacre and the Malazan garrison watched Coltaine's army die without lifting a finger.
Aren is the seat of Malazan power in Seven Cities, and it is stained by the greatest shame in imperial history. When Coltaine's Chain of Dogs — a fighting retreat protecting thirty thousand refugees across the breadth of the continent — finally reached Aren's gates, the garrison commander Pormqual refused to open them. The army died within sight of salvation, and Coltaine was crucified on the Aren Way. The city itself is wealthy and well-fortified, a major trade hub connecting Seven Cities to the rest of the empire. But after the Chain of Dogs, it became a symbol of cowardice and institutional failure that haunted the Malazan military for years.
A sprawling port city of sandstone walls and crowded harbors. The Aren Way — the road leading to the city gates — is lined with the crucified remnants of the Chain of Dogs survivors. The harbor is choked with imperial warships. Heat shimmers off every surface.
Also known as: Aren