The Enlightend Haven

65% Dwarf (mostly from House Brassblower and affiliated guild clans)   20% Human (traders, diplomats, tourists)   10% Elves (House Thassyran envoys and artists)   5% Other (halflings, gnomes, tieflings, exotic envoys)   Due to its port status, The Enlightened Haven is the most cosmopolitan city on the Ridge, home to embassies, translation circles, and a sprawling pleasure district that caters to foreign tastes while promoting dwarven luxury.

The city is ruled by House Brassblower, a proud but politically savvy dwarven house known for its oratory, innovation, and financial prowess. Though House Brassblower technically reports to House Greymutter, in practice it runs The Haven with relative autonomy — as long as the gold keeps flowing and the Soul Trade remains undisturbed. Brassblower governance is built on public performance: open debates, show trials, and festival rulings are common. The High Patrician, currently Ivunna Brassblower, is as much a performer as she is a leader — known for her jeweled beard rings and poetic speeches.

Though glittering on the surface, The Enlightened Haven is not without its teeth. City guards, known as the Brass Sentinels, are well-trained and discreet, often blending into the crowd. The harbor can be sealed by a retractable soulsteel grate, and the Singing Tower doubles as a signal node, capable of alerting Highmount in seconds via sound and light. Elite mages from the Luminous Circle (House Brassblower’s arcane arm) protect the city’s more sensitive installations and manage soul-tech security systems that detect and suppress forbidden magic.

The Enlightened Haven trades in luxury, diplomacy, and exotic imports. Its warehouses are filled with silks from Typhoon Island traders, spices from the Southern Strait, and rare ores from the mid-Ridge. It is the only city in the Ridge, other than Highmount, licensed to hold soul-trade auctions, making it a spiritual hub as much as a mercantile one. It also thrives on tourism, hosting cultural festivals, concerts, and exclusive spiritual retreats meant to "cleanse the worldly weariness from merchant souls."

The Haven is a marvel of coastal engineering. Grand harbors support deep-draft trade ships, while elegant walkways bridge canals that weave through the lower city. The Soulrail, a magically powered tramline, runs from the central port plaza up to the embassy district and the High Gardens. A lighthouse called The Singing Tower plays harmonic tones during fog to guide incoming vessels — the notes changing daily, said to correspond to the city’s mood. Public squares feature fountains powered by elemental-bound aquifers, and the roads are lined with enchanted glass globes that glow in patterns during festivals.

Gildhall Row – home to merchant palaces, auction houses, and banking circles.   The Lustrous Docks – split into North (luxury and passenger) and South (freight and trade).   Brass Market – a vast roofed marketplace filled with spice traders, jewelers, and luxury artisans.   The High Gardens – administrative and noble quarter with lush terraces and hanging galleries.   The Gleaming Steps – the cultural and pleasure district: theaters, bathhouses, lounges.   Soulreach Court – houses the Soul Trade’s embassy and its local resurrection cathedral.   The Threshold Grounds – portside refugee and customs quarter, more chaotic but essential.

The largest and most advanced port on the Ridge. Naval docks outfitted with elemental security wards.   A diplomatic forum used by foreign Houses for official negotiations.   A temple known as the Echo Gate, where prayers are sung rather than spoken.   The Vault of Echoing Deeds, a repository for public oaths and contracts, magically binding once declared aloud.

The Brass Concord, a guild-union of merchant families, overseeing nearly all port trade.   The Luminous Circle, House Brassblower’s elite arcane protectors and artificers.   The Gilded Breath, a performance guild who blends storytelling with propaganda.   The Soularium, an offshoot of the Soul Trade devoted to philosophical and luxury resurrection.   The Fireveil, a secretive faction rumored to smuggle relics and scandal-proof information in and out of the city.

Founded just two centuries ago by House Brassblower as a humble trade pier, The Enlightened Haven was envisioned as the cultural facelift of dwarven society. Where Highmount guards the heart of the Ridge, The Haven shapes its face to the world. Built over the ruins of a forgotten sea-clan outpost, the city’s original name has been deliberately erased, replaced by carefully curated grandeur. Still, old sea caves beneath the city whisper of other truths — and not all the statues lining the dock promenade are dwarven in origin.

1. The Singing Tower A musical lighthouse whose tones guide ships and stir the city's mood. Rumors say if the tower sings off-key, something is about to go very wrong.   2. The Vault of Echoing Deeds A magically bound contract hall where oaths spoken aloud become binding by law and spirit. Open to all — but impossible to lie within.   3. The Gleaming Steps Amphitheater Where plays, political announcements, and ritual trials are held. The acoustics are perfect — even a whisper from the center carries to the top row.   4. The Echo Gate A singing temple whose choir weaves soul-binding harmonies. Foreigners often visit for spiritual "alignment ceremonies" or luxury soul-cleanses.   5. The Gilded Bridge A ceremonial overpass of gold-veined stone that links the Brass Market to the High Gardens. Beneath it flows the Veinstream, a canal lit by floating lights during Bloomfest.   6. Soulreach Court A small fortress of the Soul Trade, enforcing laws of soul ownership and resurrection rites. Watching quietly. Always open — but only to the right kind of dead.   7. The Brass Fountain A marvel of soul-tech and artistry: it shapes water into dancing dwarven figures enacting scenes of historical pride. Some say one of the dances depicts a forgotten rebellion, hidden in plain sight.

This is the premier destination for wealthy travelers to the Ridge. High-end resorts, ceremonial baths, soul attunement clinics, and elite guided tours into the lower peaks all flourish here. During Bloom, the city hosts the Festival of Harmony, where foreign and local performers showcase arts, magic, and diplomacy in equal measure.

Think elegant dwarven stonework meets coastal luxury. Cream-colored stone, sea-polished marble, gilded trim, and wide balconies. Port areas are more utilitarian, but the upper districts are stunningly symmetrical, designed around sound and light as much as sight.

The city is built on a terraced bay, with winding cliff paths and elevated gardens overlooking the sea. Sea breezes and scent-heavy gardens drift together. Nearby grottos and under-islets are off-limits — unless one knows the back channels.

Temperate, with warm summers and lush coastal breezes. Winters are wet but rarely snowy. Frequent fogs make the morning docks feel dreamlike. During Midsunnar, the sky here turns sea-glass green just before dawn.

Coastal gemstone seams used for mirrors, soulglass, and waterlight jewelry   Seasilk — an alchemically enhanced flax grown on salt dunes   Exotic imports for elite refinement — spice, perfume resin, stained soulwood   Salt and lime for preservation, building, and spiritual purification