The Harbor

*Proceed at your own risk if you have not yet finished the Starless Sea.*

> Beyond the door there is another Harbor on the Starless Sea, alive with books and boats and waves washing against stories of what was and what will be.
>
> Zachary (32)

The Harbor on the Starless Sea is the main setting of The Starless Sea (book), and the home of the Keeper, Rhyme, Eleanor, and Simon. It is not the first Harbor, nor will it be the last. The tides of the Starless Sea rise and swallow harbors whose stories have been told, though for each harbor that closes a new one opens up, somewhere higher.

## Known Harbors

We do not know much about the harbors, though a few are mentioned over the course of the book.

### The Basement Containing a Pirate

This is an old Harbor, and where the story begins. In this Harbor, there is a pirate (who is also a metaphor), who has been emprisoned in a basement (which is also a dungeon) for "numerous acts of a piratey nature considered criminal enough for punishment by those non-pirates who decide such things." There is a girl who comes to bring him food, and over time they grow closer. She asks him to tell her a story. He obliges. The pirate tells the girl not the single story she requested, but many stories. When he is done, she frees him with the intention of escaping together. They kiss. However, their freedom is short lived, for when they reach the shore, the ships are far away and there are already alarms going off in the distance. The pirate comes to the realisation that this will not be the last time they will be backed into a corner like this, this will not be the last life they live together. "The cage that contains them both is a large one that does not have a key. Not yet".

The girl is killed for helping the pirate escape. She meets her death bravely, "with open eyes and her lover’s screams echoing in her ears", but before she dies, she catches a glimpse of everything that lies between them and freedom, and how to cross them.

### The Library

This is the Harbor where the majority of Zachary's story takes place. It is not literally a library, but it is described as being cramped with books, resembling "a literary-centric antique store". There are many pieces of art scattered around, (a full list of which can be found at the Art of the Harbor), including:

* A painting of rabbits manning a pirate ship
* A life-sized statue of a woman seated in a stone chair, covered with bees.
* Images of impossible buildings (floating castles, mansions fused with ships, cities built into cliffs, etc.)
* "The Queen of the Bees", a painting depicting a woman in a low-cut, wine-red gown holding a pomegranate in one hand and a sword in the other.
* Another life-sized statue of a satyr and a nymph frozen in an impressively acrobatic embrace

There seem to be many hidden rooms and passages in this Harbor, including rooms entirely outside of time. This is the Harbor that Allegra fought so hard to preserve.

### The Lost City of Honey and Bone

This is the Harbor that Zachary, Dorian, and Mirabel fall into in Zachary (24). When they fall into it, it is covered with honey from the Starless Sea and the bones of those who died when the Harbor was flooded. It is one of the Harbors that Mirabel lived in during one of her many lifetimes, and the Harbor that Zachary and Dorian visit via memory in Zachary (21). When this Harbor was active, they would hang lanterns from the arches during parties, and were clearly fond of the colour gold.

## References

1. ↑ Book V: The Owl King, Zachary (24)
2. ↑ Book I: Sweet Sorrows, Once, very long ago...
3. ↑ Book I: Sweet Sorrows, ...Time fell in love with Fate
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Book II: Fortunes and Fables, Interlude II
5. ↑ Book II: Fortunes and Fables, Zachary (8)
6. ↑ Book V: The Owl King, Zachary (25)
7. ↑ Book IV: Written in the Stars, Zachary (21)