Havnav

> *“A Peculiar sight, this city.”*
>
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The sea-stranded City of Havnav (spoken Haab-nav in native Tunga) is considered to be the shining gem of the Saemund clan. It is a city that occupies what feels like a piece of land that is smaller than many other cities that exist around the world, yet it is brimming with life. It has become known as the Trade Center of the Northern Seas, and as an attraction due to the way it was designed and built up. It is mostly used as a neutral trading ground for people from anywhere they come, be it the Sanosuke from the Lightning, the Hon from the Empire, or the Hyuzu from the Earth country. And despite sitting in the middle of the Saemund seas, the city actually does not show much for any religion or culture, focusing mostly on trade and the livelihood of those that choose to come and live there.

## Description

Havnav is a city that has existed for over two centuries now. It was founded after a few sailors came across the three signature pillars that stand on and marked it on newly mapped charts. Initially it was simply known as “Trei” for the Saemund, until people from distant islands began to use Trei as a middle ground for trades. It did not take long before several people chose to settle down and form the first trading outpost and small port on the island. This was the foundation of Havnav, which only continued to expand and attract more and more people to it from that time.

The first notable thing about Havnav is how it appears like an incredibly occupied and filled island, with three large, stone pillars standing out of it. While the stone pillars themselves are clearly natural, as one gets closer, it becomes apparent that the pillars were dug into, and now there are proper structures that have been made within each of the three pillars. All three pillars together have inherited the initial name of the island, Trei, with the name meaning in Tunga “Three Siblings”. All three pillars appear to reach about 1 kilometer high. Only one of the three pillars have ‘windows’ in it that reach quite high, reaching to almost a quarter way of the pillars, while the other two reach only half of that. If one stepped inside any of the three pillars, they would find the walls to still be considerably thick, to help ensure stability as they continued digging, while also having wooden supports.

The second notable feature, which becomes clearer as one reaches the island, is how some of the existing structures are made from decommissioned ships. While their placement appears dangerous at first place, upon closer inspection one will find the ships were placed in a rather unusually delicate manner, and all ships received support to the ground and against at least one of the pillars. These ships normally do not occupy any proper housing, instead holding many of the local market stalls, of those that live on Havnav. They are considered to be the more exciting stalls due to their unique placement in the ‘hovering’ ships, and should outsiders desire a stall on them, a rather expensive fee will be demanded in exchange.

Upon roaming around the city, one will hear not Tunga, but rather Chonobi as the most commonly spoken language. This is due to the influence of the Saemund’s trading partners, being the Sanosuke, Hon and Hyuzu, all of whom know the language and communicate with it on a regular basis. While it is more than likely that most Saemund traders know Taika too, it will often need to be requested for them to speak the language. The city itself also houses numerous Hyrlings, along with Dowhon and Framí Ylfings, who immigrated to Havnav due to the appeal, intrigue, and further trade potential it presented.

## Leadership

Unlike the rest of the clan islands, Havnav does not fall directly under the Meistari. The city’s leadership is instead handled by a Saemund member, often a former trader, who is responsible for the city’s neutral stance, for its protection and continued expansion. For this reason, the Saemund chosen will never be from any of the Blooflaoi, filled a neutral occupation (preferably trader), and lived on Havnav for at least a decade. In the past two decades, the role of the leadership began to be reworked, in order to let the members of the other clans become incorporated into the leadership, while still leaving the main reins at the hands of the Saemund.

Due to the neutral stance of the island and its lack of reliance on the Meistari, the Saemund in charge will often need to negotiate certain deals, in order to ensure the island still has its own protection. This has led to the island’s most common protection to be mercenaries from the clans that live on the island, and normally those mercenaries are chosen with care, to ensure they will not be flipped due to someone offering a higher price. However, with the island’s location still being in the cold seas of the Snow Country, and in the middle of the Saemund seas, no harm had come to the island thus far.

## Traditions

While there are no cultural or religious activities that take place on the island, over time a few traditions have come to be, ones that are considered by the island residents to be their way of coming together.

* 31st March - End of Cold Days

While there isn’t any visible showing of the days becoming warmer in the Snow Country, which is naturally cold and snowing in the majority of the year, the date is marked and celebrated as it marks the day the seas are considered to become calmer. This, in turn, marks that the activity for the island will increase, allowing more trades and work to take place. So the occupants of the island celebrate the occasion throughout the day, and each person is allowed to celebrate however they feel is right during the daytime. In the evening, a few feasts are hosted across the island, to ensure everyone has a chance to take part in the celebration.

* 15th July - Havnav’s Leadership Day

On this day, the island celebrates its leadership for a job well done, which is often done with a ceremony in which the current leader speaks up and everyone shares a drink. This is done during the late afternoon - early evening, thus allowing people to not lose any rest over the celebrations.
Once every decade, this date marks the day in which the Saemund that led the island for the last 10 years steps down, and allows the next chosen Saemund to step up to the role. The normal ceremony is exchanged for a bigger one, which includes a feast, and speeches from both the retiring leader and the new leader. Due to the ceremony’s bigger nature, the following day will normally see people open their shop at a slightly later hour.

* 1st November - Cold Days’s Last Calm Night

This is the day that, to the island residents, marks the beginning of the Cold Days. During this day, several volunteers on the island go around and offer warm drinks to anyone who works. Near the dusk of the day, the people gather in groups, and share a warm drink together, toasting for a calm winter sea, so that Havnav will not suffer and that they will still see prosperity in the months to come. This day’s activities are kept rather small and simple, as another way to signify their wish for the seas to be calm.