Named for the geological formation that lets out a peal of thunder every time the tide passes a certain point on the cliffside, Bellharbor is the second-largest of the Twelve Cities, and indisputably the richest and most cosmopolitan. Its walls stretch all along the mouth of the Blackwater River where it meets Blackwater Bay, and its eponymous harbor is a sprawling collection of docks, wharves, and cranes all along the water’s edge. The great twin fortresses, Hetenall and Gramantine (said to mean “Spite” and “Wrath” in a lost dialect of the Woldtongue), stand guard over ships passing in and out of the harbor; they have only ever fallen to treachery or starvation, and never to direct assault.

The City is home to the Canvis, the leading school of magic, arts, and music in the Federation. (It’s original, Vauldan name is the “Canvida Scholaste,” though most residents and students refuse to call it that.) Though it is not the greatest school of magic on the Continent, it is respected enough in academic circles that it is at least in the top five. The school is one of the great sources of pride for residents of the City, though many have grown concerned about the school’s growing political and financial ties to Stratos Isle.

Due to the City’s political and economic prominence, the folk of Bellharbor tend to be the most urbanite and cosmopolitan of all Daleans, dressing in the newest and most extravagant fashions they can afford and always being interested in news and ideas from beyond the Federation’s borders. There is also a notable sense of superiority when it comes to the rest of the Federation — the City has a successful history of throwing its weight around and being in or near the political and economic center of gravity of the nation, which can lead the City’s natives to be a bit patronizing to other Daleans, even those from one of the other Great Cities.

The City is also a major center of the arts in Aurendale, with the greatest concentration of painters, sculptors, and other artists in physical mediums in the Federation. (It only loses out to Melodia in the quality and number of musicians due to that City’s grand school of music and long-standing history as a pilgrimage site for followers of Eravae.) Many of the rich and powerful in Bellharbor compete with each other to be patrons of the arts, spending lavishly to ensure that their favored artists are able to focus on making their masterpieces rather than needing to chase the next commission. A “small” (i.e. intense and very expensive) rivalry has grown up between Bellharbor and the Vauldan city of Goldport about who has the best arts scene, with Goldport Benefactores making “gifts” of their artists’ latest pieces to the upper crust of Bellharbor, and the Bellharborines repaying the favor in kind. The nobles and merchants competing for bragging rights has been very good for the art scene of both cities.

The City is home to the Blessed Toll, a cult of Druathan Mystics who worship and maintain the cliffside formations that produce the characteristic sound that Bellharbor is named for whenever the tide comes in. They behave as a mystery cult, keeping many of their rituals and sacraments secret, which has produced a number of conspiracy theories about what they get up to behind closed doors. However, their public image is that of friendly philanthropists and caretakers — they regularly hold fundraising drives for orphanages in the City, and give out day-old bread collected from the City’s bakeries to any who are hungry.