Throughout Black Sun, characters struggle with the relationship between place and identity. For several characters, this struggle takes the form of their relationships with the place or places they live. The city of Tova, where most of Black Sun is set, contains many multicultural neighborhoods: among them, the major living spaces for each of the four major clans. Each area engages with the relationship between the physical space of the city and the psycho-geographical markers of identity which underpin that clan’s individuality and distinctness.

For most Tovans, their shared identity as a denizen of Tova takes precedence over their other identities, whether that’s clan, culture, class, ability, sexual orientation, or another intersectional axis. However, this is not the case for everyone: some Tovans see themselves as members of their clans first; clan interests take precedence. Throughout Black Sun, the city of Tova exists at a tipping point. Other cities are chomping at the bit to change their power relationships to Tova in their favor; the coup attempt within the priesthood and celestial tower and its attendant subplot exemplify this conflict.

Ostensibly, one place that all Tovans can feel united is on Sun Rock, the site of major ceremonies and public observances.