Whirlpool

A series of islands off the southern coast of the continent surrounded by whirlpool spirits which provide a great natural defense against outsiders.
Relatively low native population.
Despite their small claimed territory, Whirlpool has the greatest soft power projection on the continent, their Contractors having formed a crucial part of many other (and much larger) civilizations' legal system. On top of that, they control the most significant trading port, and are arguably the most technologically advanced.
One of the islands is linked by The Stormgate to the far north- a few dozen miles north of Hauntfall.
People from Whirlpool don't have a nationality tied to the land's name, in reference to the fact that they still think of themselves as northerners culturally (of the civilization that settled there before the Sunstone Citadels). There's no "whirlpoolian" or anything similar, even centuries later.