Airhaven

Spoiler warning!

This article or section contains plot spoilers for the Mortal Engines quartet. Proceed at your own risk.

Airhaven is a flying city that was introduced in Mortal Engines. It was considered neutral territory in the Traction Era.

Description[]

Airhaven was a ring of metal.^[2]

The Gasbag and Gondola was a popular inn and restaurant.^[3]

The infrastructure of Airhaven resembled a jellyfish.^[4]

The Gasbag and Gondola was a restaurant that the Anti-Traction League frequented.^[5]

History[]

Pre-Series[]

Before the events of Mortal Engines, Airhaven's founders got tired of constantly running from predator cities on land, so they inflated gas bags and flew into the air. The town travelled through the sky, visiting different cities.

As Airhaven was neutral, it had both Tractionists and Anti-Tractionists.

Mortal Engines quartet[]

Mortal Engines[]

Anna Fang brings Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw to Airhaven, in the hopes of boarding the two on a London-bound airship (as the duo had fallen off the city earlier in the novel).

When the trio dined with Fang's friends in the Gasbag and Gondola, Shrike lays siege to the city in the hopes of killing Tom and Hester (on the orders of Magnus Crome). Unfortunately for him, the teens escaped in a hot air balloon and the Stalker reboarded his airship and followed the two into the Rustwater Marshes.

Because of the attack, the city landed on the Black Island for repairs. Seizing on its crippled state, Tunbridge Wheels attempted to "eat" it, but was stopped by the island's rocky shores and Shrike himself. This allowed the city to re-enter the sky again unharmed.

Predator's Gold[]

Airhaven appears at the beginning of the novel.

A Darkling Plain[]

In 1026 T.E., Airhaven had become divided between Tractionists and Anti-Tractionists. Hester Natsworthy and Theo Ngoni saved Lady Naga from a slave trader, Napster Varley. On the way out, Shrike stabbed a guard through the foot from below and helped them escape. Nimrod Pennyroyal fell onto the safety net along with a rival news journalist.

The net gave way and they both fell. Nimrod landed on an airship and was rescued by Shrike, while the journalist plunged to his death.

Film[]

Airhaven is not a town, but instead a gigantic, skeletal station for airships held aloft by a single giant balloon. The station has a number of docks, shops and restaurants built into it, but due to its skeletal nature can be very dangerous to visit, as no safety precautions are installed to save those who have fallen.

Similar to the novel, Airhaven is attacked by Shrike, who had caused a number of small explosions as a diversionary tactic. One of these explosions managed to reach the upper level of the station, causing the balloon system to rupture and sending Airhaven plummeting from the sky. The skeletal parts of the station broke and combusted upon making contact with the Earth's surface, completely destroying it.

Trivia[]

Philip Reeve had said that he imagined Airhaven initially being a single airship. Over time, other airships (which were dead) attached themselves to the lone origin point, forming a sprawling city in the sky. Christian Rivers has admitted that the film adaptation of Airhaven is an airship graveyard.^[4]