New Haven Island

The place that is now known as "New Haven" was originally once a remote valley in the world's highest mountain range. Before the Great Catastrophe it was a remote place, ruled by the wilderness and seen only by the occasional explorer or mountain climber. Now, however, the valley and surrounding peaks are but an island in the sea. The old tunnel leading into the valley was expanded and is now the main waterway into the center of the valley, which is marked by a large bay taking up 1/8th of the area within the mountains. The entryway is large enough for all but the largest of ships. There is a lake at the top of Mount Kuzu, which is the source of the River Kuzu, which in turn runs into Haven Bay and out into the Ocean proper. The Kuzu river splits New Haven roughly in half.

Being the only safe harbor ever found, New Haven is the leader in salvage operations, oceanic drilling, oceanic mining, sand dredging (to lessen the effects of erosion around the island) and fishing. Less frequently, New Haven is home to relic hunters and underwater exploration teams. Cargo supplies and salvage are usually carried in/out via smaller cargo ships to the larger shipping vessels unable to enter the bay, which in turn go on to deliver the goods to an area below the skyland which it is trading with. Cargo sea-planes from that skyland then bring the loads of goods up to/down from the skyland.

On calm days all of the fishing boats. large and small, can brave the oceans to fish, explore, or pirate. During rough seas or stormy weather, which occur frequently, only the largest of transport ships braves the oceans, and even they are not guaranteed safety. Smaller ships often find shelter in a number of coves around New Haven, formed by the peaks and summits of other large mountains from the old mountain range. Most are little more than rocky outcroppings from the sea, badly weathered by wind and waves. Others have been carved out to provide safe shelter for pirates and merchants during rough seas.

The industry, manufacturing, and exporting businesses are on the coast of the bay and the more rural farming area is back against the mountains. New Haven city is itself located where the Kuzu River and Haven Bay meet. Most live along the banks of the Kuzu River and in the city. Some few choose to live in the solitude in the peaks of the mountains or around Lake Kuzu, but there are few known to live on the ocean side of the peaks, as they are frequently pounded by heavy ocean waves. In bad weather conditions and with rough seas the waves reach nearly to the peaks.

One reason planes do not directly or frequently fly down to New Haven from Skytopia is because of both frequent bad weather and fog. Often skyrates who come to visit New Haven end up stranded on the ground for months, cursing their lost profits and fame. The much more common method of both getting to and leaving New Haven is to book passage aboard one of the larger trading vessels going to New Haven to trade, then once price is agreed on, take a transport/cargo plane that is going down to a transport ship to pick up/drop off goods. The benefit of this method is that the traveler can leave by ship whenever they please and need only wait until a nice day to get back into the air. The shipping routes of the larger shipping vessels are usually quite vast and so it is easy to get aboard one going to your destination. The downside is that travel by ship takes a lot longer than travel by plane. Hours become days. Still, potentially better than waiting months!

On the opposite side of the island from the entrance to Haven Bay, and on the outer, ocean side, there is a small community, called Three Sisters after the three mountains which create the beach there and shelter their community. Originally, when the beach was first spotted from the top of Mount Kuzu it was completely inaccessible. Over time however a narrow tunnel was created connecting the two areas, although it is still a long and winding journey requiring many hours. Because of this long journey, the beach goers, but especially the surfers, snorkelers, and canoeists, would leave the evening before and hold lively festivals at night, so that they could wake up early and enjoy the ocean on days with calm, nice weather. The beach itself is created by two mountains nearly side by side, but with a gap in between them, that jut out from the main oval ring of mountains that make up New Haven island. Set behind these two is the third mountain. Along the two outer mountains and the inner empty space is where the beach is located. On the non-ocean side is where the village of the Three Sisters is located, protected from the ocean.

Eventually people began to settle there in earnest when a small fresh water source was discovered. Food is mostly brought in from New Haven, fished/caught, or grown on terraces on the non ocean side of Little Sister (Middle Sister stands in front of Little Sister and to her left, while Big Sister stands to the front and to the right). Mount Kuzu is often referred to by the villagers of Three Sisters as "Big Brother" or "Elder Brother." Three Sisters is mostly comprised of a large circular area with large trees. Some homes have been built in the kintava trees and are linked by walkways above the ground. The trees are the source of sweet and flavorful kintava fruit, which unfortunately do not last long enough to be shipped. Some saplings are rumored to have taken root on Grottopolis' fertile soil, but it could never become a main commodity. More permanent settlers usually build their homes into the ocean facing sides of the mountain behind the Three Sisters (as the Three Sisters themselves protect those mountain faces from being pounded by the ocean waves).