Hornsreach is the northeastern Province of the Dale, sharing borders with the Vauldan Empire and Kingdom of Rivermark. The region’s terrain is hilly along the eastern and northern borders with the Kingdom and Empire, especially in the northeast where the westernmost mountains of the Spine transition into foothills, but the land swiftly gentles out into a broad flat plain as one travels west- and southward. The soil isn’t conducive to the vast swathes of grain that are the hallmark of Gildenhart’s landscape; instead there is a thriving industry in livestock in the region, which is thought to have given the Province the horns of its name.
Hornsreach has probably been the most-fought-over piece of territory in the Dale, and as a consequence it has built up a rather militant culture and infrastructure. The Reachfolk are a solid, no-nonsense kind of people, and while they don’t tend to start fights they will by all the Gods finish one once it’s started. The Great City of Pikesbreak was named for its doomed but valiant resistance to Imperial invasion, and it remains a center of military training for the entire Dale in the modern day. The Great City of Melody in the north of the Province is slightly less focused on martial pursuits, but its walls are no less well-manned and its schools of music specialize in training Spellsingers in the art of supporting a fighting force. The Steadings of Hornsreach build their walls strong and tall, and their Militias drill regularly — many of the most skilled Sommerlins and Altorii come from Hornsreach.
Hornsreach was the first Province to be conquered by the Empire in the Harvester’s War, and was the seat of the Imperial Governors for the Dale for much of the Empire’s rule. This has left a lot of traces of Vauldan culture in the people of the Reach, in particular surrounding administration, construction, and military doctrine. The Cities and Steadings of the Province tend to be orderly places, with well-defined and -administered governments. Reachfolk tend to share the love of stone that pervades Vauldan society, and the architecture of the two Cities of Melody and Pikesbreak is almost indistinguishable from that of cities across the border in the Empire. Finally, the Altorii and Militias of Hornsreach strongly resemble a Dalean imitation of the Vauldan Legions, preferring solid phalanxes of shield walls with mage support over the classic Dalean pike and bolt tercio formations.