Long Peace

The "Long Peace" is a term used to describe the era of Horizon's End server politics between August 2024 and March 2025. This era was notable for a relative lack of conflict on the server, or the impending threat thereof. This term is borrowed from the real-world concept of the "Long Peace", which describes the era of relative global peace since the end of World War II.

History

The "Long Peace" is generally held to have started with the end of the Ilios Alliance-Vask Authority War on 29 July 2024. The conclusion of this war (and the shortly-following Vask Authority Leak) saw the end of Vask Authority as a competent pirating force; the players of Vask Authority had also been the ring-leaders of several previous conflict-starting groups, such as RentDueYesterday, and so their removal from server politics eliminated the chief source of chaos that rankled Horizon's End server politics in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, this moment in time saw a significant shift in the foreign policy of Vega, which reduced in player count and activity, and transitioned towards more inward-focusing gameplay under the leadership of MaidPierce and Solesey.

Dominant Political Regime

The result of these developments was that the Ilios Alliance became the most potent political bloc shaping server culture and politics. Unlike previous groups to occupy such a position, the Ilios Alliance was dominated by colonist players, and consequently maintained a non-interventionist and anti-war foreign policy (as Radiance leader star_litty described it, "we don't really fight, we just are gay and rich"). This resulted in a server political regime distinguished by a lack of either large-scale conflict or the imminent threat thereof.

In the Long Peace, server activity both within and without the Ilios Alliance was predominantly focused on city- & station-building and national development, as well as wide-reaching initiatives to promote Horizon's End and retain new players to increase the server's player count. These latter initiatives, such as yodabird19's r/mcservers Reddit advertisements and Consue's Horizon's End Bluesky account, were motivated by the belief held by many players on the server that the existing player-base of Horizon's End could no longer support large-scale conflict, and that the rise of new nations would be needed to ensure that the server's politics remained interesting in the long term.

Multiple Novan battlecruisers piloted at the same time on survival, an example of the battlecruiser stockpiling issue perpetuating the long peace.

Battlecruiser Stockpiling

During this era of the server, large nations such as Imperial Nova and Cortesia Del Mar stockpiled large fleets of warships and battlecruisers.

Minor Conflicts

Some minor conflicts still occurred during the Long Peace.

Continued Piracy

Players such as z4nityy, the sole remaining active member of Vask Authority, as well as Zealandia1 of SettlerGod, and briefly Sherbet_S of walkemdownand_kickintheydoors, continued to pursue piracy in this time. This regime of piracy was far less intense than that of Vask Authority during the Ilios Alliance-Vask Authority War.

Nova-Luxit War

The first substantial novel conflict to arise on the server after the end of the Ilios Alliance-Vask Authority War was the Nova-Luxit War, a minor conflict between Imperial Nova and the United Luxit States lasting from 17 November to 8 December, 2024.

Vega-Ekatera War

Main article: Vega-Ekatera War

The Vega-Ekatera War was the largest conflict of the Long Peace, and the first international conflict to directly involve Vega since the Horizon Federation-RentDueYesterday War. The war was initiated by the impoundment of a Vegan-owned ship by Ekatera at the Trade City Altar Sanctorium, and resulted in a substantial reduction in Ekatera's size and activity.

End of the Long Peace

The Long Peace is widely held to have ended in March 2025, due to a confluence of factors.

On 8 March 2025, Vega and Imperial Nova mutually declared war following the 7 March Vega-Nova Siege, and after several smaller sieges and battles over the prior weeks.

On 13 March 2025, the Ilios Alliance formally disbanded after Radiance left to pursue a more neutral and independent path, with its other members Cortesia Del Mar and Orovika choosing to retain their alliance.