Marin Bay Redoubt
History
The Marin Bay Redoubt is a regional base of Lookshy’s Seventh Legion, serving as a base for rapid-reaction forces patrolling the northern borders and northwestern coast of the River Province. Constructed shortly after the Usurpation, it was once a major shipyard and port city of the Shogunate Era, with the Marin Lighthouse guiding shipping throughout Marin Bay. After the Great Contagion, it became the primary trade port and palace for the rulers of Marin Bay. It was occupied by House Iselsi during the Calibration War, and then granted to the Seventh Legion by the Calin Shogunate. The surrounding city was razed and its population relocated southward at that time, so it might be properly dedicated to its military purpose.
Layout
Approaching from the Bay, the entrances to the Redoubt’s two harbours can be seen. The North Harbour was once a Shogunate Era shipyard, but its two surviving enclosed slips remain sealed, while those cracked during the Balorian Crusade have been converted into drydocks for construction and repair of ships from the present Age, while its waters are now home to piers at which Lookshy’s naval vessels can find berth. The South Harbour was a major commercial port in Shogunate times, but the Seventh Legion does not permit such a significant civilian presence in its military facilities, the harbor now serving to mainly to resupply allied vessels (such as those of the Colossal Fleet and The Guild) making journeys up the Inner Sea. What merchant shipping is permitted is restricted to the district directly adjacent to the harbor, which is home to the ‘’Red Whore’s Roost’’ tavern (whose patrons are mostly off-duty Lookshyan soldiers) as well as warehouses where ships might purchase supplies, provided the Redoubt’s commander is not reserving goods in case of impending conflict. Ships and cargos are inspected upon arrival at the docks, and papers issued allowing them to remain only until the next dawn. A wall has been raised, with a single guarded gate, to enclose this civilian quarter and separate it from the rest of the Redoubt.
A thick wall runs from the outside edge of both harbours, encircling the Redoubt on the landward side. Its walls are of thick stone, built up by the finest Calinti and Lookshyan siege engineers. Past this wall is an open expanse of rubble & gravel gathered from the shores of Marin Bay and poured into a deep moat… while one could travel across it, anything heavy such as infantry formations or battering rams risk sinking and being slowed, allowing the weapons on the walls to bombard them heavily. This expanse was once the location of the city of Marin Bay, before its depopulation when the Redoubt was constructed. The wall has only a single gate, opening to the southeast where a road heads westward towards Tinaxin and Tien-Wo. Some in Calin have suggested the Redoubt as a terminus for a coastal road stretching from Port Calin in the South, but Lookshy has shot down such proposals… while useful for patrol and commerce, such infrastructure would risk granting invading Imperial armies easy maneuver should they successfully establish a beachhead on Calinti shores.
Aside from the walled civilian ward, the area behind the wall is home to a significant landing facility for the landing and maintenance of skyships, as well as barracks and warehouses for supplies. Many of the former are maintained but not put to use, with the Redoubt easily able to support more troops than its current garrison should a major war require Lookshy to supplement its forces with local troops and mercenaries from the Confederation of Rivers. The arrangement of structures and landing areas, along with open drill and sparring yards, means an army that breaches the walls must either cross open ground under sight of the manse, or fight down through a line of successive buildings that would be packed with defenders, while under siege the garrison can move between manse and outer walls while leaving enemy artillery to waste shots in the empty open spaces.
Between the two harbours is a long spit of stone, large rocks jutting from the surf to make any docking or ascent difficult. At the end of this is the body of the Redoubt manse itself, the Marin Lighthouse.
Garrison
The Seventh Legion maintains a large force in the Redoubt and the Marin Lighthouse for patrol operations along the northwestern border, while the Redoubt’s role as major naval base means vessels and crews stationed here to run operations across the Inner Sea.
While the number of troops and ships varies widely at any given time due to deployments and patrols, there are invariably several Dragons serving in the Redoubt or nearby, and a force of ten wings of marines providing a permanent backbone out of the Marin Lighthouse.
Taimyo Hane Namiko, an Earth-aspected veteran naval officer of the Seventh Legion, serves as commander of the Redoubt. She oversees the facility with a no-nonsense attitude and a distrust of non-Lookshyans which veers often into intolerance, making matters even more difficult for merchant traders seeking to dock in the Southern Harbour.
Source: Adapted and expanded from content in Outcastes and expansion by JesseLowe (see unofficial Exalted wiki).
