Northwest Bay

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Northwest Bay (西北海湾)
Alias(es)	Northwest Territories
Affiliation	Auldo Kingdom 234
Occupation / Role	Northwestern coastal region of the Kingdom; a major center of industry, maritime trade, and armaments production
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 10 10

Geography and Settlements

• The Northwest Territories are named for the large Horn Bay within the region. Its coast includes numerous large and small islands. 109 388
• Lakeheart Town and Franklin Harbor became the principal administrative, industrial, and maritime centers of Greiman-controlled Arda within the region. 408 749
• The region was historically sparsely populated compared with the south, but settlements in Emden and along the coast expanded significantly under Greiman administration. 328
• Northwest Bay’s northern location gives it severe winters; before its economic growth, winter cold and hunger caused heavy losses among vulnerable residents. 717

Political Structure

Northwest Bay historically contained two broad groups of lords:

Lordly group	Origin and position
Native lords	Families descended from ancient tribal military leaders, religious nobles, or pre-Rodney regimes. Most were vassals, directly or indirectly, of the Ferdinand Family. 234
Foreign lords	Families enfeoffed after the Rodney Dynasty’s unification of Auldo. They were intended both to guard the frontier and to check the influence of the native lords. 234

• The Ferdinand Family was traditionally the strongest native house and the nominal head of the Northwest lords. 234
• The Usurper War damaged Ferdinand prestige: Henry Ferdinand became Duke with outside support after his family lost control to its vassals during the conflict. 402
• Paul Greiman’s influence rose rapidly through military success, industrial development, and profit-sharing with other lords. 402
• After becoming Marquis, Paul secured powers in multiple Northwest territories, including the right to conscript troops. 787

History

Pirate-Dominated Coast

For many years, pirates were embedded in the Northwest Bay’s coastal economy. Merchants paid annual protection fees, while coastal lords lost tax revenue they otherwise could have collected. 82

The pirate leader Edward once kept lesser pirate bands under control, treating merchant shipping as a continuing source of income rather than something to destroy outright. After Edward and his main fleet disappeared, scattered pirate groups began raiding without restraint, severely damaging shipping. 82

Northwest nobles had also paid protection fees and allowed pirate groups to resupply at designated coastal locations for roughly two decades. 18

Anti-Piracy Campaigns

Arda’s navy and coastal militia changed the balance along the coast:

• Coastal towns built defensive works and used beacon fires to summon naval assistance. 110 117
• The navy intercepted retreating pirate groups and fought several annihilation battles. 110
• Improved militia training allowed local forces to judge enemy strength and handle smaller pirate bands themselves. 110
• Arda became a forbidden landing zone for pirates, forcing many groups to seek easier targets in other territories. 110
• The pirates that had plagued the region for years were ultimately wiped out after Paul Greiman’s succession. 409

Usurper War

The struggle over the position of Northwest Duke divided the region’s lords into factions supporting or opposing the new Duke, throwing the Northwest into chaos. 299

Arda, once regarded as an especially remote and poor territory even by Northwest standards, emerged as a decisive force in the conflict. 299 By the end of the war, Emden—formerly controlled by the Kent Family—had come under Paul Greiman’s management. 328

Economy and Industry

Sector	Development
Armaments	Northwest Industry became a major supplier of low-cost weapons and armor to the Kingdom Army, helping maintain its advantage in armor penetration over rebel forces. 304
Iron production	Blast-furnace iron factories in Arda, Bairdin, and Emden supplied iron ingots to weapons workshops operating day and night. 387
Consumer goods	Porcelain, new paper, and printed books produced in the region became popular even in Crystal Radiance. 328
Manufacturing	Production shifted from family workshops toward organized, large-scale workshops. Workshop owners were prohibited from purchasing slaves and instead hired laborers. 385
Shipbuilding	Maritime trade caused shipyards to proliferate along the coast, creating heavy demand for properly prepared shipbuilding timber. 401
Maritime trade	Expanding sailing ships increased cargo capacity and supported trade routes reaching the north, the west coast of Auldo, Horn Bay, the Holy See-controlled Assar subcontinent, and lands farther east. 709

Customs Union

Paul Greiman promoted a Customs Union among Northwest lords. The member territories abolished internal tariffs to encourage the circulation of goods. 467

Although tariff abolition initially appeared unprofitable, trade expanded, goods became cheaper, and the resulting market prosperity eventually compensated for the lost tariff revenue many times over. 544

Reputation

Northwest Bay was long dismissed by outsiders as a desolate, barbaric borderland. Visitors from the Royal Capital and Horn Bay repeatedly found those assumptions inaccurate after witnessing its towns, factories, ports, and goods firsthand. 66 328 399

By the time Catherine Rodney visited Franklin Harbor, the city was a clean, organized metropolis whose overall urban conditions compared favorably with Crystal Radiance. 749

Military Significance

• The Northwest Fleet’s cannons and broadside tactics devastated pirate warships during the battle off West Port, preventing boarding actions by crippling enemy rowers and formations. 355
• Northwest Industry supplied the Kingdom Army with canned goods, weapons, and armor; its military deliveries became stable and increasingly important to the royal government. 304 335
• The Horn Bay Alliance became heavily dependent on Northwest Bay weapons because they were both inexpensive and high quality. 486
• The Kingdom’s royal court increasingly viewed its dependence on Northwest Bay rifles, cannons, mortars, and other industrial products as a threat to royal military independence. 957 958
• Northwest Bay’s industrial and commercial interests pushed Paul to intervene in Horn Bay, where Northwest forces helped turn the war against the Holy See by deploying firearms, cannons, and linear tactics. 993
• The region’s merchants, lords, workers, and farmers regarded the Grassland Orcish as a threat to both border security and overland trade routes into the continental interior. 897

Overseas Presence

• Northwest Bay merchants obtained Lion Cape from the Horn Bay Alliance for thirty years and developed it into Lion Harbor, a trade hub and military outpost. 636
• Merchant ships, warehouses, barracks, administrative buildings, and security forces transformed Lion Harbor from an undeveloped coastal site into a growing Northwest Bay settlement. 636
• On Anawak, more than twenty beast-person tribes sought protection agreements with Northwest Bay after the Northwest Fleet destroyed a Serdan slave-catching fleet and rescued captured Cat People. 914
• These agreements allowed Northwest defensive positions, trade posts, and mineral development in exchange for firearms, medicine, ironware, patrols, and protection from Serdan raids. 914
• Guano-mining islands along transoceanic routes were developed into relay stations with docks, granaries, lighthouses, freshwater systems, and medical facilities. 914

Relationships

• Auldo Kingdom — Northwest Bay is a northwestern region of the Kingdom and increasingly supplies its government and army with food, weapons, armor, and industrial goods. 234 335
• Ferdinand Family — Historically the leading native house of Northwest Bay; its authority declined after the Usurper War. 234 402
• Greiman Family — The dominant rising power in the region, centered on Arda, Lakeheart Town, and Franklin Harbor. 402 749
• Horn Bay Alliance — A major trade partner and purchaser of Northwest Bay armaments; it leased Lion Cape for the establishment of Lion Harbor. 486 636
• Kingdom Royal Family — Relies on Northwest Bay military equipment while remaining wary of Greiman’s growing influence. 957 958
• Grassland Orcish — A strategic and economic threat whose raids endangered Northwest Bay’s trade routes and border security. 897
• Anawak beast-person tribes — Potential cooperating tribes protected by Northwest Bay under trade, mining, and defense agreements. 914