Horn Bay

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Horn Bay (号角湾)
Type	Coastal commercial region composed of numerous city-states and independent territories
Major political power	[[Horn Bay Alliance]]
Notable city	[[Niceburg]], capital of the Horn Bay Alliance
Economic role	Major transit hub for east–west maritime trade and the most developed shipping region in the known world 169
First Appearance	37

Geography

Horn Bay is a coastal region whose fragmented, hilly terrain contains no large plains. Its land is poorly suited to large-scale agriculture, preventing the formation of a unified major state and contributing to the rise of numerous coastal city-states. 169

• The region’s cities rely primarily on maritime commerce rather than farming. 169
• Its waters include windless zones that favor rowing vessels over purely sail-powered ships. 169
• The sea route from Northwest Bay to Horn Bay exceeds 2,000 nautical miles. 40
• Coastal cities commonly connect their ports directly to central urban districts, leaving few obstacles between a harbor and the city center. 744

Economy and Society

Horn Bay is described as a place of opportunity and wealth, with busy trade routes carrying hundreds of large freighters. 169 Its merchants trade northern furs southward, southern grain northward, and eastern spices westward, handling any cargo capable of producing a profit. 169

Aspect	Details
Shipping	Horn Bay’s freighters are predominantly rowing sailboats, powered by large crews of oarsmen and supplemented by square sails when wind permits. 169
Port traffic	A visitor counted fifty-five large merchant ships entering and leaving a Horn Bay port in one day. 210
Commerce	Every city-state adopts pro-business policies; merchants hold political influence, and powerful nobles are often major merchants themselves. 169
Living standards	Prosperity has given Horn Bay residents some of the highest living standards in the world; even its poor are portrayed as better off than those elsewhere. 169
Culture	Wealth and leisure have supported writers, artists, and thinkers, making the region a noted center of cultural activity. 169
Slave labor	Many shipowners use enslaved oarsmen, who are chained to their benches and often remain there for life. 169

Shipbuilding and Navigation

Horn Bay ship designs heavily influenced maritime travel beyond the region. Most ships elsewhere are Horn Bay galleys or variants of them, as other countries lack developed sea trade and incentives for shipbuilding innovation. 40

• Horn Bay galleys are generally flat-bottomed and shallow-drafted, making them useful in shallow water but poorly suited to deep-sea voyages. 40
• Their dependence on numerous oarsmen creates major crew and supply demands during long voyages. 40
• Horn Bay port officials and merchants initially regarded Northwest Bay’s oarless, wind-powered vessels as unusual in local conditions. 169
• Weapon merchants in the region prominently sell ballistae, treating even port inspections as opportunities for trade promotion. 170

Political Landscape

Horn Bay is politically divided among city-states, independent territories, coastal countries, and inland states. Several related city-states have formed alliances that abolish internal tariffs, impose common external taxes, and sometimes coordinate foreign policy. 169

Horn Bay Alliance

The Horn Bay Alliance is the region’s most influential political alliance. It began over a century earlier when roughly a dozen weaker city-states united to protect their security and wealth. Following repeated military successes, it adopted the name “Horn Bay Alliance,” despite representing only part of the broader region. 385

• The Alliance’s prominence led many outsiders to equate “Horn Bay” with the Alliance itself. 385
• Niceburg serves as its capital and a major international market, where visitors claim almost any storable good can be purchased. 210
• The Alliance is governed by a Council dominated by descendants of its founding families. 386
• Its ten principal cities and their satellite towns function as both administrative and military districts. 497

Military System

The Alliance traditionally uses a citizen-soldier system in which all freemen are assigned military roles according to property ownership. 497

Property class	Military obligation
First and second classes	Cavalry
Third class	Heavy infantry
Fourth class and propertyless citizens	Light infantry or oarsmen

497

Each of the Alliance’s ten districts is expected to provide an infantry company, a cavalry company, and five armed ships. Ten generals command these forces, with wartime supreme command rotating among them. 497

Before the Horn Bay War, the Alliance expanded its armories with weapons and armor purchased primarily from Northwest Bay. 493 497

• Northwest Bay arms were favored for their low cost and quality; the price of one locally forged or imported sword could purchase five to ten Northwest Bay swords. 493
• The Alliance accumulated 30,000 sets of metal armor, more than 50,000 sets of leather armor, 100,000 spears, 30,000 one-handed swords, and large stocks of bows and siege equipment. 493
• These purchases enabled more heavy infantry and gave previously unarmored light infantry leather protection. 497

Religious Conflict

Tension between the Horn Bay Church and secular coastal powers escalated as the Church increased taxation, banned books, and intensified witch hunts. 489 Opposition to Church intervention in secular affairs spread throughout the coastal states, while the Church’s stance on Spellcasters became a major source of conflict. 414

• The Church burned Records of Injustices, a work critical of its conduct. 489
• Church repression provoked a riot in the Independent Territory of Messiah, where clergy were attacked and churches vandalized. 489
• The Horn Bay Alliance secretly prepared for war, stockpiling weapons and considering Northwest Bay as a source of armaments. 403
• The Holy See viewed the escalating conflict as a potential large-scale war between the Horn Bay Church and Niceburg-led opponents. 437

Horn Bay War

The Horn Bay War began between the coastal states led by the Horn Bay Alliance and inland states aligned with the Horn Bay Church. 505 The Alliance raised a 15,000-man army within a month of the initial assassination crisis, but the Guardian Army expanded the conflict by invading neutral northern states and attacking New Sect territories. 500

Guardian Army Offensive

With direct support from the Holy See, the Guardian Army reversed earlier setbacks, defeated the New Sect Army at Moorburg, and pushed toward Niceburg. 728

• The Alliance’s military situation became critical as the Guardian Army approached its capital. 728
• Niceburg was later placed under siege, leaving its inhabitants desperate for relief. 738
• The Alliance’s army suffered severe losses during later field fighting, losing two-fifths of its force and exposing its flank. 747

Lion Harbor Intervention

Northwest Bay established [[Lion Harbor]] on leased Alliance territory near Niceburg as a merchant base, supply point, and military outpost. 645 When Church forces threatened Lion Harbor, Paul Greiman dispatched a fleet and Marine Corps force in defense of the port. 729

Lion Harbor then organized the Horn Bay Volunteer Army, whose core consisted of more than 5,000 Northwest Bay soldiers, including three Marine Corps battalions and six army battalions. It was supported by 15,000 locally recruited and Arda-trained mercenaries. 744

• The Arda Navy broke the Church’s naval blockade, defeated its fleet, and reopened the sea route for the Alliance. 741
• Lion Harbor’s forces recovered coastal cities through naval operations, often facing defenders who dispersed before Marine Corps landings. 744
• At the Battle of Hestia, Arda-trained mercenaries rapidly rebuilt the right flank after the Horn Bay Alliance army collapsed, preventing a decisive Guardian Army breakthrough. 747 754
• The fall of Collins, seat of the Horn Bay Church and the Guardian Army’s strongest city-state, effectively ended organized resistance. 752

Aftermath

Lion Harbor’s intervention was widely recognized as the decisive factor in reversing the war. Its military strength and financial backing altered outside perceptions of Northwest Bay, which was no longer regarded as poor or insignificant. 753

Postwar negotiations produced major religious and political changes:

• The Horn Bay Church was relocated to Niceburg. 753
• The new archbishop would be chosen by a vote of senior clergy rather than directly appointed by the Horn Bay Alliance. 753
• Tithes were abolished, and Church finances were to become transparent. 753
• Eton’s demand for recognition of Spellcasters’ rights was included among the postwar settlement issues. 753
• Lion Harbor gained the authority to determine a friendly new ruler for Collins, selecting Bridges Earl. 753