Bearly (usually pronounced “BARE lee” – though sometimes “BEER lee”) is a remote, mountainous town in the far south of the kingdom of Backbone. In 1090, it was the first city attacked by Sardul's orc armies and so bears the distinction of being the first battle in what became known as simply “The Wars”.
After the wars, Bearly was considered too remote to recolonize. However, when Kevin Arcana revealed the existence of the portals in 1109, one was shown to be adjacent to the city and so recolonization became a priority.
Before Rathwyn could organize her people to reclaim the city, though, the Dwarves from Blanan moved in and claimed the city for themselves. However, since it was traditionally a human city and the dwarves didn't want to start a new war, they ceded “official” control to Rathwyn, while maintaining a sizeable force of soldiers and “advisors”.
As of 1126, the city operates as a quasi-independent state, but owes allegiance to both Blanan and Backbone.