South Haven

The official GemStone IV encyclopedia.
Revision as of 12:07, 19 July 2024 by HATESHI (talk | contribs) (Created page with "thumb|right|Solhaven map by Mourne<br>South Haven is south of the canal '''South Haven''' originally was a separate town but over time has largely marged with its northern neighbor and is often lumped together with Solhaven. It has its own unique {{boldmono|LOCATION}} flag as the southern part of Solhaven. South Haven encompasses the part of the city that is south of the Vornavis Canal and is reached via the Baron's Bridge or the East Bridge. Li...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Solhaven map by Mourne
South Haven is south of the canal

South Haven originally was a separate town but over time has largely marged with its northern neighbor and is often lumped together with Solhaven. It has its own unique LOCATION flag as the southern part of Solhaven. South Haven encompasses the part of the city that is south of the Vornavis Canal and is reached via the Baron's Bridge or the East Bridge. Like Solhaven, South Haven also has access points into Vornavis City along its eastern side via the Gate of Shadows and the Vespertine Gate.

The Solhaven realm consists of several unique buroughs that over time have merged into a larger metropolis associated with the Barony of Vornavis and its capitol: Vornavis City, Solhaven, South Haven, Marshtown, the Southern Caravansary.

Shops

Main article: Category:South Haven shops
Shop Name Realm Type Inventory Sold Shop Specialty
Aulidie's Pottery Solhaven shop tableware decorative pottery
Bakery Solhaven shop food baked goods
Candle Shop Solhaven shop specialty candles and incense
Casey's Club Solhaven eatery beverages
Communitea House Solhaven eatery beverages, brewing supplies
Desert Wind Music Solhaven shop instruments
The Drowned Boar Solhaven eatery food alcohol and bar snacks
Faeilythe's Fashions Solhaven shop apparel, jewelry
Fishmarket Pier Solhaven shop groceries raw fish and shellfish
Fyne Fouds Solhaven shop food food past its prime
Krawling Kraken Solhaven inn food
Large iron cart Solhaven cart food fishcakes
Limpidity Solhaven shop jewelry, tableware glass finery
Maellyn's Fabrics Solhaven shop specialty fabric and sewing supplies
Midrian's Dyes Solhaven shop dyes
Mistsheen Annex Solhaven shop specialty perfume
Myra's Millinery Solhaven shop apparel hats and headwear
Nice to Meat You Solhaven shop groceries raw meat
Pasha's Pavilion Solhaven eatery food Tehiri cuisine
Porich's Cartography Shop Solhaven shop specialty navigational implements and maps
Rat-On-A-Stick Solhaven shop food rats-on-sticks
Shadows and Symbols Solhaven shop clerical supplies Lornon arkati symbols and ritual supplies
The Lobstereum Gift Shop Solhaven shop general goods lobster themed souvenirs
The Wage and Dagger Eatery Solhaven eatery food
Wharfside Weavers Solhaven shop apparel
Wil's Fish Shop Solhaven shop groceries raw fish

Non-Player Charcters (NPCs)

Public Gathering Places

Room Name Node Type Room ID Lich Room # Shattered
Beacon Tower Super node 4902087 14234 14234
South Market Super node 4902093 1572 1572

Other Places of Interest

  • Beacon Tower - Chronomages
  • Celebration Barge
  • Crooked Way - dangerous after dark
  • Ebondrift - Premium home neighborhood, urban upper class
  • Fisherman's Quay - boat rentals for lobstering in Solhaven Bay
  • Kraken Manor - Council of Light headquarters
  • Lornon Avenue - site of multiple temples, shrines, and gardens
  • Market Bend - Premium home neighborhood, urban middle class
  • Niima temple
  • Old Market Plaza
  • Onar shrine
  • Public Baths - bathhouse
  • Royal Court - Premium home neighborhood, urban lower class
  • Solhaven Free Clinic
  • Solhaven Hall - MHO Hall
  • Sorcerer Guild
  • Sunderer's Glaive & Bobo's Toy Park
  • Venquinor House
  • Voaris and Laethe shrines

General Information

South Haven is the site of the kraken breeding grounds, which ultimately led to the downfall of the dwarven city Vorn Ahvis. Following the dwarves' departure, the new settlers that arrived removed the excess opal-flecked sand along the southern shoreline to expose the rock beneath and prevent a repeat of that tragedy. Much of the architecture along the bay side of South Haven consists of houses and other structures lofted on stilts, built this way as an adaptation to the exposed terrain. Buildings are more densely clustered toward the east, hugging the outer walls of Vornavis City.

Several prominent features define South Haven. Lornon Avenue, the counterpart to Solhaven's Liabo Esplanade, runs the length of the canal and mirrors the Esplanade in its design, beginning with an archway connecting it to Lornon Plaza and leading all the way to the Vornavis City gates. Multiple temples, shrines, and gardens dedicated to various Lornon arkati and lesser spirits flank Lornon Avenue. Many, but not all, of these had their construction funded by the local Mercantyler's Guild. The Mercantyler's Guild has prudently chosen to offer at minimum a token of appeasement toward all of the arkati in an effort to placate even the most volatile among their ranks, with the hopes that this will prevent them from enacting their wrath upon the Guild or its interests. There are rumors that there are other hidden temples or shrines dedicated to those of Lornon hidden elsewhere in South Haven, some of which predate even Vorn Ahvis.

South Haven is home to places of worship honoring those outside of Lornon, too. A temple dedicated to Niima is housed prominently on the shores of the bay. A townhome close to the Voranvis City gates serves as a shrine to both Voaris and Laethe. The barbican spanning the canal itself just outside of the Lornon Gate houses altars to Leya and the Huntress. And both Gosaena and Zelia are likewise honored with their own temples just a short distance away from Lornon Avenue.

Several urban neighborhoods can be found within South Haven, including the only urban upper class neighborhood in the region, Ebondrift. The other two neighborhoods are a bit seedier or more run down. Market Bend provides housing in the back alleys off of Old Market Plaza for middle class tenants. Royal Court is in an oft forgotten corner of South Haven that has fallen into disrepair, though it once was a bustling community; it offers lower class housing.

South Market is the primary gathering point in South Haven and is a market square flanked on all sides by a variety of shops and boutiques. Other prominent points of interest include the Beacon Tower near Old Market Plaza, which is used by the the chronomages; Sunderer's Glaive off of Changeling Bending, which still bears the damage to the land following the Solhaven Cataclysm and now houses Bobo's Toy Park; Venquinor House at Punkt Court, the family home of Paidreg Venquinor, former Provost of Solhaven, which is open to the public; Kraken Manor at the south end of Eastbridge Lane, which is associated with the Council of Light; and Crooked Way, a meandering street on the south end of South Haven that hosts anti-magic wardstones and is not advised to visit after dark due to street thugs who wander it after the sun has set.

General activites to do in South Haven include renting a boat on Fisherman's Quay to go lobstering, visiting the Lobstereum museum off of Fishmarket Pier, sightseeing the various temples and gardens along Lornon Avenue, visiting the local bathhouse, viewing the memorial to the Solhaven Cataclysm on Beacon Circle, fishing off of a number of piers in the bay, shopping in the wide variety of unique stores, or eating dinner at the many different restaurants or taverns.

History

  • In 3925, a group of Parkshnuum Clan dwarves were part of an expedition that discovered a series of habitable caverns near Solhaven Bay. The dwarven settlement in the area lasted until 3975, when it was attacked and destroyed by kraken. The caverns were afterwards sealed with a massive boulder, and the nearby waterfalls became known as the Cascade of Tears.
  • In 4168, survivors of the elven Wildwood Settlement's destruction built relocated to the southern side of the Cairnfang River to rebuild. This new town expanded slowly southward, eventually building atop the opal-flecked sands of Solhaven Bay's shoreline.
  • In 4410, this expanded fishing town of mixed races was destroyed in a single night by unknown means. The town was rebuilt and mysteriously destroyed again each of the following three years. Stories by the survivors allow listeners to piece together the possibility that the opal-flecked beaches are a kraken breeding ground. The sealed dwarven caverns are discovered and humans seek out the Parkshnuum Clan about the incident that occurred in 3975. Upon learning more about it, the denizens of Vornavis cleanse the kraken breeding grounds by removing the sand from its opal-flecked beaches. This effort takes several decades.
  • In 4476, after the last of the sand has been removed from he kraken breeding grounds, another project begins to cover the flanking cliffs in granite to prevent the beach from reforming.
  • In 4596, the first buildings since the fishing town's destruction are built atop the beaches again, now free of the opal-flecked sand, in what will eventually become both Solhaven and South Haven. The history of the land below Vornavis City does not encourage the growth of the community, but the need for growth of the port is recognized. Vornavis constructs an extensive wooden platform off the removed beach, over the rocks and tidal pools, and into Solhaven Bay.
  • Solhaven and South Haven continue to grow as independent sister communities, overseen by the Mercantyler's Guild as part of the free port of Solhaven.
  • At some point in the 5000s, a massive fire broke out in South Haven, causing significant damage to it as many of its buildings are made of wood by necessity due to being held aloft on wooden piers. In 5098, The Mercantyler's Guild had set out anti-magic wardstones along Crooked Way to prevent a similar catastrophe from happening again. The damage from this event is still readily apparent and has caused the southern part of South Haven to fall into severe decline.
  • Following the assassination of Empress Mynal'lyanna in 5103, the rogue witch hunter who killed her was found hiding in South Haven and captured off of Crooked Way.
  • During the War of Nations, the erithian woman involved in some key poisoning incidents hid in the same part of South Haven.
  • Many of the events associated with the Dark Alliance's influence in the Solhaven region during the Griffin Sword Saga of 5102-5106 were based out of South Haven, such as Draezir's summoning of the shadow creatures that plagued the city and frequent appearances by Eryael. Many of the Dark Alliance's supporters congregated in South Haven due to the presence of its many Lornon-aligned temples.
  • Paidreg Venquinor, who was the appointed provost of Solhaven from 5108 to 5109, hosted public events in his family manor, Venquinor House, off of Punkt Court.
  • In 5109, the Solhaven Cataclysm event submerged both Solhaven and South Haven. When the two cities were restored, much of South Haven had been significantly changed, including whole streets and neighborhoods lost. Sunderer's Glaive, which was a primary point of impact from the massive wave, is the site of much of that damage.
  • In late 5123, the Mercantyler's Guild held a new event, the Seven Days and Nights of Illumination. This event saw a series of improvements around the Vornavis region, including in South Haven. South Market saw some renovations, improving it for locals and tourists alike. Limpidity and Wharfside Weavers opened, and Nice to Meat You updated its offerings. The new site of Bobo's Toy Park was established at Sunderer's Glaive. The Solhaven Free Clinic opened just off of Old Market Plaza. While not specific to South Haven, a barbican was constructed just outside the Vornavis City gates, spanning the Vornavis Canal between South Haven and Solhaven, and it opened with shrines to Leya and the Huntress.

Resources