Hauntfall

City built into the side of the a northern mountain, high enough elevation to not be plagued by haunts. Location of the great Mage's College.
Origins of the name are muddy. Some say that the original settlers were great warriors that killed enough haunts to claim the land for themselves. Others say that it stems from the fact that falling down the mountain leads to haunts.
Beneath the ground in the mountains of Hauntfall is a cavern housing a massive glowing construct composed of fractal light runes.
Hauntfall is quite different from the rest of the northern cities. It's the only one (barring Cotd settlements) not perpetually lit, though its day/night cycle isn't exactly ordinary due to being so far north. The architecture of illumination isn't forgotten, seeing use in the winter months where there may be but an hour of sunlight, but there's overall a clear lack of desperation and redundancy in the structures to maintain perpetual light.
Culturally, Hauntfall takes a lot from Whirlpool, almost more so than its geographically closer neighbors.

Laws

Relatively minimal, given the high concentration of influential people- it'd be rare to see fewer than four heirs to kingdoms studying within the city at any given point in time. Most laws exist as codifications of 'best practices' in dealing with people- defining acceptable levels of collateral damage or malicious intent before enforcement must step in. Hauntfall itself has never participated in a war, being considered neutral ground by the Sunstone Citadels. Its role in the Everlit War further cemented its position as a balancing force.

Location

While isolated from the other northern cities, Hauntfall is extremely close to two major magical travel routes: the Stormgate, and one of the Abyssian Veils.
It's only half a day's journey to Whirlpool from Hauntfall via Stormgate, closer than to the nearest major northern kingdom.
The Veil to the southeast takes around a day to reach; not for distance, so much as difficulty in traversing terrain. Strong, mobility-focused mages can make the journey within a few hours or less. In the later years, a road was constructed to provide much easier travel to the Veil.

Locals & Visitors

Locals are born in Hauntfall, and often considered of lower status than visitors- after all, the latter tend to be nobility and such. Locals wishing to gain an education often have to work much harder to gain the same opportunities, as they lack the extensive funding required for many aspects of arcanism (remember that many implements are constructed of gems, precious metals, and esoteric foreign materials).

Related Historical Events

• 822
  Hauntfall Founded