The local islanders named the island New Haven. The oral history is some what unclear but it seems the original members were escaping or found themselves lost at Sea. What ever the reason the sight of land came at the right time.
Sea folk by trade and occupation they soon found a harbour and quickly made land fall and started the first settlement. At the beginning there appears to be 5 family's of note:
The “Luckstones”.
The elder named Red due to his hair colour was the first “Lord Protector”. This title is given by the elders of each family voting in secret. The Lord protector have the power to make decisions for the islanders and sit in judgement in any disputes. The title can only be held by an elder and lasts until their death.
The “Gathers”.
In the early days this family held responsibility for fishing and up keep of the boats and equipment. One of the only families who had a female as Lord protector. Legend or rumour depending on who is telling the tale. Common tale is she was a ferocious fighter and maybe a Pirate.
The “Tureseekers”.
Strangely they have mostly females with only 1 on 20 being a male. They seem to have the “sight” and can use the Weave to perform magic. No Tureseeker has ever been voted as Lord Protector.
The “Ascore”.
They were the explorers of the Island and have on a few occasions been voted as Lord Protector. It was from their adventures into the island that the map was drawn and the “Temple” was discovered. No description exists of the Temple and it’s exact location is lost. The council ruled that the mountain range is out of bounds to all.
The “Arn”.
They were gifted with skills in the arts. However no written materials have ever been created. The islanders have a strong oral tradition and the children are taught rhymes that tell the family stories. It is only the mast heads of the boats that are highly decorated and this is only done by members of the Arn family.
The other families at the beginning were considered low born and were tasked with the manual tasks and unskilled labours. As the generations went by the cast system was dropped and through marriage the low cast was dropped.
Children stay with the families until 15 years old. On the 16 birth day they can go to sea with the other men. This includes the females, it is only when married that the female stay on the Island. All children can swim from an early age and help with hunting and farming.
Every 60 years the islanders gather from all the settlements and the youngest married couples will join together and find and make a new settlement. At this time any single teenagers can chose a partner to marry. The new settlement will have 2 years to succeed, if not the couples return to the original settlement.
At Sea. All members go to sea and fish this can be months at a time and often the fleet might leave together they soon split up. Elderly stay on land and help where they can, often teaching the skills to children.
Death. When an Islander dies the body is stripped of all belongings and wrapped in a sail cloth. The belongings are given to the youngest child from the family and kept until they reach 16. The family take the body out to sea and cast the body a drift. It is seen as the final payment back to the sea for providing their food.