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''"The Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Wines, Mr Spices, Mr Veils and the rest - speak in high-pitched whispers, and under their concealing cloaks they seem winged or hunchbacked. Fallen angels, stunted pterodactyls, mobile colonies of fungus[, ...bats]? They dismiss all personal questions with an airy wave of their gloved hands."''
{{Major spoiler}}
{{Character|title1 = The Masters of the Bazaar|image1 = Master twitter.jpg|caption1 = A Master of the Bazaar.|location = [[London]]|allegiance = [[The Bazaar]]|relationships = [[Curators]] (species)
[[The Orphanage#The Masked Man|Poor Edward]]<br>
[[Sinning Jenny]]<br>
Neddy Men<br>
[[The Relickers]]|notable_members = [[Mr Apples]] <br>
[[Mr Hearts]]<br>
[[Mr Iron]]<br>
[[Mr Cups]]<br>
[[Mr Mirrors]]<br>
[[Mr Spices]]<br>
[[Mr Wines]]<br>
[[Mr Veils]]<br>
[[Mr Fires]]<br>
[[Mr Pages]]<br>
[[Mr Stones]]<br>
<font color="red">[[Mr Eaten]]</font><br>
|name=|alias=|music=}}
<blockquote>''"The Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Wines, Mr Spices, Mr Veils and the rest - speak in high-pitched whispers, and under their concealing cloaks they seem winged or hunchbacked. Fallen angels, stunted pterodactyls, mobile colonies of fungus? They dismiss all personal questions with an airy wave of their gloved hands."''<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>


''"The Masters apply peculiar customs duties: to fish below a certain size, to green ribbons but not red, to speckled eggs but not plain. Perhaps their strangest tax is a heavy duty on stories of love, but it only applies to stories leaving the Neath..."''
<blockquote>''"The Masters apply peculiar customs duties: to fish below a certain size, to green ribbons but not red, to speckled eggs but not plain. Perhaps their strangest tax is a heavy duty on stories of love, but it only applies to stories leaving the Neath..."''<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>


[[File:Master.png|thumb]] The Masters of the Bazaar: it's hard to describe these cloaked, slightly creepy ''things'' as anything but, well, alien space bats. They call themselves Mr, but they may not really be men. Confusing? Fallen London is generally that way...
'''The Masters of the [[The Echo Bazaar| Bazaar]]''': it's hard to describe these cloaked, slightly creepy ''things'' as anything but, well, <font color="purple"><span style="background-color: purple">alien space bats</span></font>. They call themselves Mr, but they may not really be men. There are eleven titles, but two Masters take up four of them, and the rest have one apiece for a total of nine total Masters. Oh, and there are a few other titles that aren't ''really'' Masters, empirically speaking. Confusing? [[Fallen London|London]] is generally that way...


Here is a list of the Masters and their domains.
__forcetoc__
==The Masters==
 
{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
==An Introduction==
!colspan=3|[[File:cider.png|50px]][[File:Heart.png|50px]] Mr Apples/Mr Hearts
<blockquote>''"Authority is what's left when the money runs out."''<ref>https://twitter.com/Mr_Apples/status/6927249405</ref></blockquote>
|-
|'''Catch?' There is no 'catch'. All is delight and freedom from care!''


''This upstanding citizen governs commerce in food, wood and immortality. They say it's an ally of Mr Veils.''
The Masters of the Bazaar are in near-complete control of [[London]]'s trade economy. Each Master oversees a certain form of trade; for example, [[Mr Iron]] oversees the trade of metals and weapons. The Masters may seem united, but in truth, many of them run independent (and sometimes incompatible and clashing) schemes that occasionally span far beyond the scope of London.  


Mr Apples, aka Mr Hearts, has also been known by the names Mr Barley, Khan of Roots, and Khan of Hearts. Known for a love of games and gambling, this darkly cheery, kind, and 'overly familiar' Master is in charge of trade in food, wood, and immortality. As Mr Hearts, it deals in meats, skins, ligaments, bones, bloods, and animals, and runs an emporium at the [[The Labyrinth of Tigers|Labyrinth of Tigers.]] It's probably the most innocent Master; the worst atrocity it is known to commit is selling a very mysterious meat (whose consumption makes one Unaccountably Peckish... uh-oh) at his emporium.
The Masters generally took on similar jobs and roles in the previous [[The Fallen Cities|Fallen Cities]]; for example, they were called '''Khans''' during the time of the [[The Khanate|Fourth]].<ref name="khans">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dubious_attribution|Dubious attribution|Fallen London|}}</ref> As might be expected of these beings, the Masters are thousands of years old. Don't ''ever'' mention the Second City in their presence, however; they will all react in different but unanimously negative ways.<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref>


Mr Apples can be encountered rarely at [[Mrs. Plenty's Carnival]]. Those seeking to obtain pleasure-yachts will have to gamble with it - and win - to get them.
==The Masters as a Group==
|}
'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''<gallery>
File:Chiropteroushoarder.png|Mr Apples (Mr Hearts)
File:MrIron.png|Mr Iron
File:MrCups.png|Mr Cups
File:MrMirrors.png|Mr Mirrors
File:Spices.png|Mr Spices
File:MrWines.png|Mr Wines
File:MrVeils.png|Mr Veils
File:MrFires.png|Mr Fires
File:Pages.png|Mr Pages
File:Mrstones default.png|Mr Stones
File:Well.png|And who might this be?
</gallery>


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
==The Masters' Artifacts==
!colspan=3|[[File:coffee.png|50px]][[File:mirror.png|50px]] Mr Cups/Mr Mirrors
Everyone has treasures they'd like to keep under wraps, and the Masters are no exception.
{| class="article-table" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
! colspan="3" |
===[[File:crimsonbook.png|40px]] The Crimson Book ===
|-
|-
|''Work hard for the enrichment of the Bazaar, and us all. Shun seditionists. Practice courtesy & honesty.''
|<blockquote>"''The most stirring, the most wretched, the most savage tales of love and loss are here entombed. It has passed through fire and flood to rest in your hands. Leave it sealed... for now."''</blockquote>
Known for a harboring a strong enmity toward Mr Spices, this distant and proper (though possibly flirtatious) Master is in charge of trade in crockery, pottery, and sculpture. Under the name of Mr Mirrors, Mr Cups is also in charge of trade in "the frangible and the fine." This includes fine or quality secrets unlike the more affordable variety proffered by Mr Pages.
 
Mr Cups employs a group of "Relickers;" these collectors are tasked with salvaging junk or certifiable scraps, which they sometimes pay for with valuable items. It can be found running an emporium in the [[The Labyrinth of Tigers|Labyrinth of Tigers]]; its alter ego Mr Mirrors can occasionally be encountered in the [[Parabola|Mirror-Marches]].


Mr Cups/Mr Mirrors appears to be behind the murders of the loved ones of Fallen Londoners seeking their Nemeses. It and Mr Wines also drove the Watchmaker's Daughter, a talented craftswoman whose toys came alive, to suicide by pestering her too much.
'''The Crimson Book''' contains the most 'savage tales of love and loss' and has 'passed through fire and flood'. This indicates that the Crimson Book may have been written long before [[the Fifth City]]; perhaps it is still being added to today?<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Sealed_Copy_of_the_Crimson_Book|A Sealed Copy of the Crimson Book|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Masters have allegedly assigned a group of Special [[The Constables|Constables]] to specifically seek out and confiscate any and all copies.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_with_bohemians_about_lost_loves_and_the_Surface|Speak with bohemians about lost loves and the Surface|Fallen London|}}</ref>
|}
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
{| class="article-table" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
!colspan=3|[[File:fire.png|50px]]Mr Fires
! colspan="3" |
===[[File:blood.png|40px]] Masters' Blood===
|-
|-
|''Not bad, my little one. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.''
|<blockquote>''"The most grandiose trophy an anarchist might aspire to. Was it shed in battle, or given as a gift?"''<blockquote>


Mr Fires has also been known as Khan of Fire. Known for being the only Master who actually likes living in London, this strict yet confident Master is in charge of trade in coal, gas, candles (this last one after the fall of the Third City and the partial destruction of Mr Candles/Eaten), as well as dockside trade and dirigibles. Rumor has it that it intentionally tampers with the stories of London so as to make them useless to the Bazaar and prolong its stay in the Fifth City. But Mr Fires has a dark side: <span style="font-weight:normal;">it also is mean to its employees, hates unions, and runs the Orphanage, which is really a secret testing facility for all sorts of atrocious substances.</span>
'''Masters' Blood''' has many unusual and unique properties that separate it from normal blood. It is a far deeper red, is cold to the touch, and contains a song: 'an unending fading ring like black space struck with a fingernail.' It also emits a constant low vibration, and if left on a shelf, other items will physically move away from it.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Vial_of_Masters'_Blood|Vial of Masters' Blood|Fallen London|}}</ref>
|}


Mr Fires controls the neddy men (the Masters' enforcers), and can be encountered near his office in [[Wolfstack Docks]] if one is currently dealing with said enforcers.
{| class="article-table" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
|}
! colspan="3" |


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
===[[File:veilsvelvet.png|40px]] Veils-Velvet===
!colspan=3|[[File:manacles.png|50px]] Mr Iron
|-
|-
|
|<blockquote>''"If Mr Veils shed hair - if blind orphans collected, carded and spun it over the years - it might just look like this."''</blockquote>
 
''Tools, printing-presses, guns, steam-engines: taxes from trade in these are payable to Mr Iron. They say it never speaks, but can write with both hands simultaneously.''
 
Mr Iron has also been known as Mr Bronze and Khan of Swords. Known for communicating only through written means (often writing with both hands at once), this silent and seemingly humorless Master is in charge of trade in tools, engines, weapons, and printing presses. Mr Iron actively discourages notable professions and involvement in stories. Rumor has it that it is also secretly in charge of the game of [[Knife-and-Candle]].


Mr Iron can be occasionally encountered at Mrs. Plenty's Carnival, but that's not a good thing.
Little is known about '''Veils-Velvet''' aside from this quote, which would explain why this fabric is so incredibly valuable.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Veils-Velvet_Scrap|Veils-Velvet Scrap|Fallen London|}}</ref>
|}
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
{| class="article-table" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
!colspan=3|[[File:bloodybook.png|50px]] Mr Pages
! colspan="3" |
|-
|''It is my business to keep secrets, your Grace. Mine and the Ministry’s. We desire only to preserve London from maleficitude.''
 
Known for a bountifacious proclivity towards verboserlous sayitudes, this excitable and friendly Master is in charge of trade in anything and everything written as well as all manner of writing implements. Mr Pages employs the Ministry of Public Decency who are tasked with <strike>collecting cool books</strike> protecting the public from "dangerous contraband." 
 
As one of the more accessible Masters, Mr Pages can be encountered throughout the whole of London, especially at the emporium he runs in the Labyrinth of Tigers.
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
===[[File:Riverofblood.png|40px]] The Sceptre of [[Mr Wines]]===
!colspan=3|[[File:redhoney.png|50px]] Mr Spices
|-
|-
|''I do not play games! I am a Master of the Bazaar! It is not a matter for games!''
|<blockquote>''"Topped with a black ruby miniature of an unknown crown, this bronzewood sceptre represents all the authority of some far-away kingdom and its once and former king."''</blockquote>
 
This irritable and peevish Master is in charge of trade in spices, sweet smokes, and [[Prisoner's Honey|prisoner's honey]].


Mr Spices and Mr Wines were once friends, but then they fell into dispute over which of them has right and claim to the domain of dreams. It and Mr Cups are also enemies. One of the more elusive masters, Mr Spices appears very infrequently in the stories of London; it seems that the only situation in which one may encounter it is during the hunt for [[Criminals|Jack-of-Smiles]] (<font color="black"><span style="background-color: black">which this Master created in a halfhearted attempt to somehow make more love stories through murder</span></font>).
A symbol of power that once belonged to a king. '''The Scepter of Mr Wines''' is as heavy as lead, covered in frost and talon-marks, and is topped with a jewel from a [[the High Wilderness|faraway land]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Sceptre_of_Mr_Wines|The Sceptre of Mr Wines|Fallen London|}}</ref> Mr Wines doesn't like looking at it much; maybe it's just insecure.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Property_of_Mr_Wines|The Property of Mr Wines|Fallen London|}}</ref>
|}
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
==What Lies Under the Cloak==
!colspan=3|[[File:ruby.png|50px]] Mr Stones
|-
|''Mine.''
 
Mr Stones has also been known by the name Mr Marble, and perhaps Khan of Marble as well. This terse and materialistic Master is in charge of trade in all manner of stones including jewels, quarrystone, salt, and blasting powder. It is rumored that Mr Stones tires of life in the Fifth City and wishes to expedite its end.
 
Mr Stones can be encountered running one of the emporiums in the Labyrinth of Tigers; it is also responsible for the Affair of the Box.
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
<blockquote>''"...everything I've ever told you was a lie. Except this. Mr Spices, Mr Iron, the rest, aren't the Masters of the Bazaar. They're its pets."''<ref>Rare success on "[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_with_your_consulting_cartographer Speak with your consulting cartographer]"</ref></blockquote>
!colspan=3|[[File:parabolalinen.png|50px]] Mr Veils
|-
|''A scream is just an imperfectly tuned song. And we all have a song in our hearts.''


''Mr Veils deals with clothing and fabric, and takes a close interest in the silk-weavers of Spite. But not in any of the more dubious activities in the district of Spite! The mere suggestion is slander!''
<blockquote>''"The second source is ''A Rhyming Revelry'', a slim book of nonsense rhymes written by a once-celebrated cellist. He was, for a time, a favourite at Mr Wines’ revels. One rhyme concerns eleven pilgrims who travelled from a cold and windy waste. It enumerates each of the reasons the pilgrims were unwelcome in their homeland."''<ref name="secret">{{Citation|https://www.failbettergames.com/a-secret-about-the-masters/|A secret about the Masters|Failbetter Games|}}</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Chiropteroushoarder.png|thumb|Mr Apples / Mr Hearts. Art from Sunless Skies.]]


This duplicitous and impatient Master is best known for its enjoyment of hunts and songs. Mr Veils is in charge of trade in clothing and fabric and can be encountered running one of the emporiums in the Labyrinth of Tigers. Zailors sometimes misattribute Mr Veils as being in charge of Mr Wines' ladies of the evening in their zee-zongs. This Master may (or may not) have sold out Mr Eaten, who actually enjoyed staying in one place for a while.
Based on two controversial sources, one called ''On the Origins and Descent of the Masters'' and another called ''A Rhyming Revelry'', we may reveal the following information.


''Spoilers for Ambition: Bag a Legend!:'' Mr. Veils assumes [[The Vake|another, more malevolent identity]] as well...
The Masters belong to a species native to [[the High Wilderness]] called [[Curators]]. These oversized space-bats hunt in the space between [[Judgements|stars]], often alone. On occasion, a group of Curators may band together to boast of their hoards and trade deals, and may fight amongst themselves for supremacy. Curator chiefs are described as "victorious, merciless pedlar-magnates."
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100%
In the grand scheme of things, the Masters of the Bazaar weren't Masters at all. Rather, they were a group of misfit criminals who joined forces with the Bazaar to escape "misfortune, failure, and fruitlessness."
!colspan=3|[[File:blood.png|50px]] Mr Wines
|-
|''To the wicked and the wise! To the hungry and the sharp!''


''Trade in anything drinkable comes under the jurisdiction of Mr Wines. Though it can't be bothered with water. Entertainment, music and the business of the ladies of the evening are also its domain. There's supposed to be some sort of dispute about dreams.''
=== The Crimes of the Masters ===
''A Rhyming Revelry'' provides hints about the crimes of the Masters, though which crimes correspond to what bat are based on conjecture and guesswork.<ref name="secret">{{Citation|https://www.failbettergames.com/a-secret-about-the-masters/|A secret about the Masters|Failbetter Games|}}</ref> The circumstances given in ''A Rhyming Revelry'' are:


Mr Wines has also been called Khan of Dreams, and appeared in the Fourth City as the Cloaked Emissary. Known for entertaining guests at huge revels, this jovial Master is in charge of the trade in all things drinkable, including medicine and with the exception of water. One of the more accessible Masters, it can be encountered throughout London; for example, it'll occasionally appear at [[Mrs. Plenty's Carnival]]. It is in charge of a group of dancing beauties who are often misassigned by zailors to Mr Veils.
*Hoarding (Stones)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Steer_the_conversation_to_Mr_Stones|Steer the conversation to Mr Stones|Fallen London|"[...]one must wonder what all this wealth Mr Stones is accumulating is for. The Masters do not value wealth for its own sake. So what is it going to do with it all?"}}</ref>


<span style="font-weight:normal;">Though Mr Wines is not known for many atrocities, it and Mr Cups/Mr Mirrors drove the Watchmaker's Daughter, a talented craftswoman whose toys came alive, to suicide by pestering her too much.</span>
*Light-bringing (Fires?)
|}


== Unknown Masters ==
*Impersonation, and the delivery of false testimony (probably Cups or Apples/Hearts, by process of elimination)


=== These may or may not be Masters ===
*Perpetration of the crimes of knife and of candle (Iron?)
{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
! colspan="3" |[[File:mistersacks.png|50px]] Mr Sacks
|-
|
This Master appears during the 12 Days of Mr Sacks, a rather demented version of Christmas. Mr Sacks was originally a separate Master, perhaps dealing with the trade in bags and containers, but more recently, its role has begun to be played by other Masters, and figures of note: at first Mr Wines, then a [[Noman]] (and [[Silas the Showman|one showman]]) emulating the other Masters.


Mr Sacks carries around a huge bag, which it uses to collect gifts from the citizenry over the course of the holiday. It's Christmas, only in reverse. And more ghastly, because sometimes, Mr Sacks will collect people.
*Idleness, and the dwelling-on of dreams (Spices?)
|}
{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
! colspan="3" |[[File:chimes.png|50px]] Mr Chimes
|-
|''Who is it? Is it, in fact, one of the Masters of the Bazaar? Is it Mr Iron or Mr Pages trading under another name? Or is it a bold rascal pretending to be an unknown Master? ''


We do know that it runs the [[House of Chimes]]. Mr Chimes has also been known by the name Khan of Drums; it seems to be a role played by many Masters.
* Runtery, aberration (<font color="red">Eaten</font>)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/No_map_knows_the_place_you_go|No map knows the place you go|Fallen London|}}</ref>(though also all of them)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Convocation_of_Runts|The Convocation of Runts|Fallen London|}}</ref>
|}


{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
*Pursuit of a Treachery (Apples/Hearts for the Treachery of Breath<ref name="almost eternal">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Incarnadine_Fur_Robe|Incarnadine Fur Robe|Fallen London|}} ''"Mr Apples is hunched over a vast steel desk bristling with many-lensed contraptions. [...] This rare specimen is almost eternal [...]"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mostly_Stuffed_Bound_Shark|Mostly Stuffed Bound Shark|Fallen London|}}</ref>, or Cups for the Treachery of Clocks<ref>{{Citation|1=https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_trade_in_clocks|2=The trade in clocks|3=Fallen London|4="There are clockmakers' shops in the Neath, but they are the preserve of Mr Cups, and it is difficult to find them. Apparently, he guards his monopoly on clocks jealously, as if this puts him in control of time itself."}}</ref>)
! colspan="3" |[[File:Names.png|50px]] Mr. Names
|-
|''Accept no substitutes.''
Unlike the other Masters, Mr Names does not appear in Fallen London at all. It exists only on Twitter and was created by Failbetter to act as a directory of official Fallen London Twitter accounts.
|}
==What Are the Masters' Most Prized Possessions?==
<gallery widths="100">
Cider.png|Hesperidean Cider
crimsonbook.png|A Sealed Copy of the Crimson Book
blood.png|Masters' Blood
tears.png|Tears of the Bazaar
veilsvelvet.png|Veils-Velvet
breathofthevoid.png|Breath of the Void
Princeofhell.png|Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell
network.png|Rumourmaster's Network
</gallery>


* Failure and defeat; a fall from king to beggar (Wines)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cricket,_Anyone%3F|Cricket, Anyone?|Fallen London|}}</ref>


== The Devoured Master ==
*Glass-whispering. And worse: charity (Mirrors?)
{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width="100%"
! colspan="3" |[[File:appallingsecret.png|50px]] Mr Eaten
|-
|
''Who is Mr Eaten? A good question, but not a wise one.''


''The Drowned Man's brothers - aye, and sisters - gave him to the knives and the lacre.''
*Truth-strangling (Pages)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Train_with_Mr_Pages|Train with Mr Pages|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Dream_of_Truth-Strangling|A Dream of Truth-Strangling|Fallen London|}}</ref>


Once <s><font color="black"><span style="background-color: black">Mr Candles</span></font></s> . Consumed long ago when the Third City fell. Now a reclusive shadow of its former self. The main figure in a nightmarish, incredibly menacing, and soon(TM)-to-be-accessible quest involving the search for its name. It makes its home on [[Winking Isle]].
*Violation of the Order of Days, “which determines the hour of the hunt, the feast, the council, the bargain, and the slaughter” (Veils)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Hunt|The Day of the Hunt|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Embattled_with_Curator_Mr_Veils|Embattled with Curator Mr Veils|Fallen London|}}</ref>


''A reckoning is not to be postponed indefinitely. ''
==References==
|}
{{Scroll box|text=<references/>}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Nonhumans]]
[[Category:Nonhuman]]
[[Category:Connections]]
[[Category:Factions]]
 
[[Category:Unfinished]]
[[Category:Curators]]

Latest revision as of 17:26, 21 August 2024

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"The Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Wines, Mr Spices, Mr Veils and the rest - speak in high-pitched whispers, and under their concealing cloaks they seem winged or hunchbacked. Fallen angels, stunted pterodactyls, mobile colonies of fungus? They dismiss all personal questions with an airy wave of their gloved hands."[1]

"The Masters apply peculiar customs duties: to fish below a certain size, to green ribbons but not red, to speckled eggs but not plain. Perhaps their strangest tax is a heavy duty on stories of love, but it only applies to stories leaving the Neath..."[1]

The Masters of the Bazaar: it's hard to describe these cloaked, slightly creepy things as anything but, well, alien space bats. They call themselves Mr, but they may not really be men. There are eleven titles, but two Masters take up four of them, and the rest have one apiece for a total of nine total Masters. Oh, and there are a few other titles that aren't really Masters, empirically speaking. Confusing? London is generally that way...


An Introduction[edit]

"Authority is what's left when the money runs out."[2]

The Masters of the Bazaar are in near-complete control of London's trade economy. Each Master oversees a certain form of trade; for example, Mr Iron oversees the trade of metals and weapons. The Masters may seem united, but in truth, many of them run independent (and sometimes incompatible and clashing) schemes that occasionally span far beyond the scope of London.

The Masters generally took on similar jobs and roles in the previous Fallen Cities; for example, they were called Khans during the time of the Fourth.[3] As might be expected of these beings, the Masters are thousands of years old. Don't ever mention the Second City in their presence, however; they will all react in different but unanimously negative ways.[1]

The Masters as a Group[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

  • Mr Apples (Mr Hearts)
    Mr Apples (Mr Hearts)
  • Mr Iron
    Mr Iron
  • Mr Cups
    Mr Cups
  • Mr Mirrors
    Mr Mirrors
  • Mr Spices
    Mr Spices
  • Mr Wines
    Mr Wines
  • Mr Veils
    Mr Veils
  • Mr Fires
    Mr Fires
  • Mr Pages
    Mr Pages
  • Mr Stones
    Mr Stones
  • And who might this be?
    And who might this be?

The Masters' Artifacts[edit]

Everyone has treasures they'd like to keep under wraps, and the Masters are no exception.

 The Crimson Book[edit]

"The most stirring, the most wretched, the most savage tales of love and loss are here entombed. It has passed through fire and flood to rest in your hands. Leave it sealed... for now."

The Crimson Book contains the most 'savage tales of love and loss' and has 'passed through fire and flood'. This indicates that the Crimson Book may have been written long before the Fifth City; perhaps it is still being added to today?[4] The Masters have allegedly assigned a group of Special Constables to specifically seek out and confiscate any and all copies.[5]

 Masters' Blood[edit]

"The most grandiose trophy an anarchist might aspire to. Was it shed in battle, or given as a gift?"

Masters' Blood has many unusual and unique properties that separate it from normal blood. It is a far deeper red, is cold to the touch, and contains a song: 'an unending fading ring like black space struck with a fingernail.' It also emits a constant low vibration, and if left on a shelf, other items will physically move away from it.[6]

 Veils-Velvet[edit]

"If Mr Veils shed hair - if blind orphans collected, carded and spun it over the years - it might just look like this."

Little is known about Veils-Velvet aside from this quote, which would explain why this fabric is so incredibly valuable.[7]

 The Sceptre of Mr Wines[edit]

"Topped with a black ruby miniature of an unknown crown, this bronzewood sceptre represents all the authority of some far-away kingdom and its once and former king."

A symbol of power that once belonged to a king. The Scepter of Mr Wines is as heavy as lead, covered in frost and talon-marks, and is topped with a jewel from a faraway land.[8] Mr Wines doesn't like looking at it much; maybe it's just insecure.[9]

What Lies Under the Cloak[edit]

"...everything I've ever told you was a lie. Except this. Mr Spices, Mr Iron, the rest, aren't the Masters of the Bazaar. They're its pets."[10]

"The second source is A Rhyming Revelry, a slim book of nonsense rhymes written by a once-celebrated cellist. He was, for a time, a favourite at Mr Wines’ revels. One rhyme concerns eleven pilgrims who travelled from a cold and windy waste. It enumerates each of the reasons the pilgrims were unwelcome in their homeland."[11]

Mr Apples / Mr Hearts. Art from Sunless Skies.

Based on two controversial sources, one called On the Origins and Descent of the Masters and another called A Rhyming Revelry, we may reveal the following information.

The Masters belong to a species native to the High Wilderness called Curators. These oversized space-bats hunt in the space between stars, often alone. On occasion, a group of Curators may band together to boast of their hoards and trade deals, and may fight amongst themselves for supremacy. Curator chiefs are described as "victorious, merciless pedlar-magnates."

In the grand scheme of things, the Masters of the Bazaar weren't Masters at all. Rather, they were a group of misfit criminals who joined forces with the Bazaar to escape "misfortune, failure, and fruitlessness."

The Crimes of the Masters[edit]

A Rhyming Revelry provides hints about the crimes of the Masters, though which crimes correspond to what bat are based on conjecture and guesswork.[11] The circumstances given in A Rhyming Revelry are:

  • Hoarding (Stones)[12]
  • Light-bringing (Fires?)
  • Impersonation, and the delivery of false testimony (probably Cups or Apples/Hearts, by process of elimination)
  • Perpetration of the crimes of knife and of candle (Iron?)
  • Idleness, and the dwelling-on of dreams (Spices?)
  • Runtery, aberration (Eaten)[13](though also all of them)[14]
  • Pursuit of a Treachery (Apples/Hearts for the Treachery of Breath[15][16], or Cups for the Treachery of Clocks[17])
  • Failure and defeat; a fall from king to beggar (Wines)[18]
  • Glass-whispering. And worse: charity (Mirrors?)
  • Violation of the Order of Days, “which determines the hour of the hunt, the feast, the council, the bargain, and the slaughter” (Veils)[21][22]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sidebar Snippets, Fallen London
  2. ↑ https://twitter.com/Mr_Apples/status/6927249405
  3. ↑ Dubious attribution, Fallen London
  4. ↑ A Sealed Copy of the Crimson Book, Fallen London
  5. ↑ Speak with bohemians about lost loves and the Surface, Fallen London
  6. ↑ Vial of Masters' Blood, Fallen London
  7. ↑ Veils-Velvet Scrap, Fallen London
  8. ↑ The Sceptre of Mr Wines, Fallen London
  9. ↑ The Property of Mr Wines, Fallen London
  10. ↑ Rare success on "Speak with your consulting cartographer"
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 A secret about the Masters, Failbetter Games
  12. ↑ Steer the conversation to Mr Stones, Fallen London "[...]one must wonder what all this wealth Mr Stones is accumulating is for. The Masters do not value wealth for its own sake. So what is it going to do with it all?"
  13. ↑ No map knows the place you go, Fallen London
  14. ↑ The Convocation of Runts, Fallen London
  15. ↑ Incarnadine Fur Robe, Fallen London "Mr Apples is hunched over a vast steel desk bristling with many-lensed contraptions. [...] This rare specimen is almost eternal [...]"
  16. ↑ Mostly Stuffed Bound Shark, Fallen London
  17. ↑ The trade in clocks, Fallen London "There are clockmakers' shops in the Neath, but they are the preserve of Mr Cups, and it is difficult to find them. Apparently, he guards his monopoly on clocks jealously, as if this puts him in control of time itself."
  18. ↑ Cricket, Anyone?, Fallen London
  19. ↑ Train with Mr Pages, Fallen London
  20. ↑ A Dream of Truth-Strangling, Fallen London
  21. ↑ The Day of the Hunt, Fallen London
  22. ↑ Embattled with Curator Mr Veils, Fallen London
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