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{{Neath_Location|image1 = Corpsecage.png|caption1 = Rumors and smoke. Art from FL.|allegiance = Independent|notable_inhabitants = None}}
{{Neath_Location|image1 = Corpsecage.png|caption1 = Rumors and smoke. Art from FL.|allegiance = Mostly uninhabited|notable_inhabitants = None|location=Stormbones}}<blockquote>''"A spit of black rock and stunted heath. Touched by all the previous cities, so they say."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Destination:_Corpsecage_Island|Destination: Corpsecage Island|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>'''Corpsecage Island '''is a tiny, desolate, and rocky islet that is said to have been part of all the [[Fallen Cities]] to date, except for [[London]]. The island is rife with relics from cities past;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Religions_of_Corpsecage_Island|The Religions of Corpsecage Island|Fallen London|}} ''"All these relics of the Bazaar's previous cities. What can they tell you about their spiritual beliefs?"''</ref> as such, access is permitted to archaeologists working with the [[Dilmun Club]]. 
''"A spit of black rock and stunted heath. Touched by all the previous cities, so they say."''


'''Corpsecage Island '''is a tiny islet that is said to have been part of all [[the Fallen Cities]] to date, except for [[:Category:London|London]]. The island is populated by bats that carry secrets regarding [[the Great Game]], though of course these secrets are quite expired. Supposedly, [[the Constables]] occasionally exile rather vile prisoners here, a tradition since the Second City. As such, it is full of relics from the cities past.
Corpsecage is mostly populated by bats that carry intelligence from players of the [[Great Game]] - though these secrets are quite expired.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Corpsecage_bat|The Corpsecage bat|Fallen London|}} ''"The bats are surly, but they don't object to you getting close and removing tiny cylinders from their legs. [...] One of the messages is written in the picture-alphabet of the Second City. The part you can make out says, '..all the Pharaoh's daughters bar one are gone...'"''</ref> London's [[Constables]], the only other parties officially allowed access to Corpsecage, exile the city's "worst and most scandalous" prisoners here;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inauspicious_iron|Inauspicious iron|Fallen London|}} ''"The manacles are of a style that was standard issue for the Constables of ten years ago. But not even the Velocipede Squad would stoop to this barbarity, would they?"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Rummage_around_the_fire|Rummage around the fire|Fallen London|}} ''"You consider the mind of a criminal. Perhaps a revolutionary. Where, during a brief escape, would such a person hide something of value? There. [...] Radical texts, jade, and the discarded manacles and mask of a prisoner. So the stories were true."''</ref> this is said to have been a tradition of law enforcement in the [[Neath]] since the [[Second City]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Digging_up_bones_and_rough_justice|Digging up bones and rough justice|Fallen London|}} ''"Certain radicals say that the Constables occasionally dispose of the worst and most scandalous criminals here. They say this is a tradition that began in the Second City."''</ref> A confiscated and discarded diary found on the island belonged to a certain political visionary with much to say about class and capital, who seems to have met his end on Corpsecage.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_zee-caves|The zee-caves|Fallen London|}} ''"It's a little wooden chest, with the lock wax-sealed [...] The seal bears the locked-book crest of the Ministry of Public Decency. You force it open and extract a small book. It's a decade-old diary. You flip through the pages. The author was evidently a radical thinker. Good Lord! There's some complex stuff here about class and capital. It's no wonder the author ended up here."''</ref> There is one other, isolated prisoner on the island: the [[Devils|deviless]] [[Virginia]]'s former lover, a [[Grand Devil]] and one-time prince of [[Hell]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition:_Heart%27s_Desire_%E2%80%93_the_Prince%27s_Prison|Ambition: Heart's Desire %E2%80%93 the Prince's Prison|Fallen London|}} ''"You climb to a gorsed dell, tucked against a shoulder of a cliff. At its middle is a hollow, and at the bottom of the hollow a hole, barred with rusting iron. From within comes a nagging drone, the speech of locusts. A chain rattles, musically. Something wraps around the bars from below. Not fingers. Fingers lack chitin."''</ref>


Apparently, the island's former inhabitants had a strong urge to move Southeast, perhaps to [[the Elder Continent]] or beyond. It's also implied that Karl Marx's diary was left here, after the Ministry of Public Decency was done with it.
A group of people came to Corpsecage from the [[Fourth City]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Digging_up_bones_and_rough_justice|Digging up bones and rough justice|Fallen London|}} ''"You unearth the remnants of the past. [...]. Horse-bone amulets and cracked clay rice-bowls. A stone monument, its bell-like shape familiar to you from your outings to the Forgotten Quarter, now subsumed by clinging moss. The denizens of the Fourth City came here in numbers."''</ref> but they left and zailed eastward,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What%27s_written_here%3F|What's written here?|Fallen London|}} ''"This is a map. Well, a set of directions. You can't decipher all of it [...] But there's somewhere East over the Unterzee. Somewhere that zailors of the Fourth City called 'our last bastion and salvation'."''</ref> with a detour to the [[Elder Continent]] on the way.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What%27s_written_here%3F|What's written here?|Fallen London|}} ''"There's somewhere East over the Unterzee. But on the way there, the zailors of the Fourth City visited the Elder Continent. Perhaps they left something there? A camp? A colony, even?"''</ref> This is consistent with the expedition of the Great Khan toward the end of the Fourth City, which resulted in the founding of the [[Khanate]] after a failed invasion of the Continent.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Write_a_history_of_the_Khanate%27s_failed_invasion_of_the_Elder_Continent|Write a history of the Khanate's failed invasion of the Elder Continent|Fallen London|}} ''"Before founding the Khanate as we know it, the Great Khan first attempted a landing on the shores of the Elder Continent. Neither side likes to tell the story."''</ref> There is also evidence of [[Third City]] settlement,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/See_what_you_can_dig_up|See what you can dig up|Fallen London|}} ''"Your finds confirm what the carvings on the walls suggested. Skyglass shards, perished lumps of indiarubber, a few bones. This court was definitely built and used by people of the Third City. It's chilly up here. They must have wrapped up warm."''</ref> and the gossip of the bats<ref name=":0" /> suggests potential [[Second City]] involvement as well.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Writing_it_all_down|Writing it all down|Fallen London|}} ''"You have seen proof of Fourth and Third City inhabitation, and some evidence suggesting the Second City."''</ref>


It's also home to an old, nearly-abandoned prison with only one inmate. The deviless [[Virginia]]'s former lover, a one-time prince of Hell, is the one prisoner on the island.
== Historical Inspirations ==
That political visionary could only be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx Karl Marx], who did spend much of his life in London. Marx needs little introduction, but for those less familiar, his best-known works include his coauthorship of ''The Communist Manifesto'', and ''Das Kapital,'' a foundational philosophical text and critique of capitalism.


Most of the island's visitors are sponsored by the Dilmun Club's scientific expeditions.
== References ==
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[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:The Unterzee]]
[[Category:The Unterzee]]
[[Category:Unformatted]]
[[Category:The Neath]]
[[Category:The Neath]]
[[Category:Cited]]

Latest revision as of 18:24, 3 October 2024

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"A spit of black rock and stunted heath. Touched by all the previous cities, so they say."[1]

Corpsecage Island is a tiny, desolate, and rocky islet that is said to have been part of all the Fallen Cities to date, except for London. The island is rife with relics from cities past;[2] as such, access is permitted to archaeologists working with the Dilmun Club.

Corpsecage is mostly populated by bats that carry intelligence from players of the Great Game - though these secrets are quite expired.[3] London's Constables, the only other parties officially allowed access to Corpsecage, exile the city's "worst and most scandalous" prisoners here;[4][5] this is said to have been a tradition of law enforcement in the Neath since the Second City.[6] A confiscated and discarded diary found on the island belonged to a certain political visionary with much to say about class and capital, who seems to have met his end on Corpsecage.[7] There is one other, isolated prisoner on the island: the deviless Virginia's former lover, a Grand Devil and one-time prince of Hell.[8]

A group of people came to Corpsecage from the Fourth City,[9] but they left and zailed eastward,[10] with a detour to the Elder Continent on the way.[11] This is consistent with the expedition of the Great Khan toward the end of the Fourth City, which resulted in the founding of the Khanate after a failed invasion of the Continent.[12] There is also evidence of Third City settlement,[13] and the gossip of the bats[3] suggests potential Second City involvement as well.[14]

Historical Inspirations[edit]

That political visionary could only be Karl Marx, who did spend much of his life in London. Marx needs little introduction, but for those less familiar, his best-known works include his coauthorship of The Communist Manifesto, and Das Kapital, a foundational philosophical text and critique of capitalism.

References[edit]

  1. Destination: Corpsecage Island, Fallen London
  2. The Religions of Corpsecage Island, Fallen London "All these relics of the Bazaar's previous cities. What can they tell you about their spiritual beliefs?"
  3. 3.0 3.1 The Corpsecage bat, Fallen London "The bats are surly, but they don't object to you getting close and removing tiny cylinders from their legs. [...] One of the messages is written in the picture-alphabet of the Second City. The part you can make out says, '..all the Pharaoh's daughters bar one are gone...'"
  4. Inauspicious iron, Fallen London "The manacles are of a style that was standard issue for the Constables of ten years ago. But not even the Velocipede Squad would stoop to this barbarity, would they?"
  5. Rummage around the fire, Fallen London "You consider the mind of a criminal. Perhaps a revolutionary. Where, during a brief escape, would such a person hide something of value? There. [...] Radical texts, jade, and the discarded manacles and mask of a prisoner. So the stories were true."
  6. Digging up bones and rough justice, Fallen London "Certain radicals say that the Constables occasionally dispose of the worst and most scandalous criminals here. They say this is a tradition that began in the Second City."
  7. The zee-caves, Fallen London "It's a little wooden chest, with the lock wax-sealed [...] The seal bears the locked-book crest of the Ministry of Public Decency. You force it open and extract a small book. It's a decade-old diary. You flip through the pages. The author was evidently a radical thinker. Good Lord! There's some complex stuff here about class and capital. It's no wonder the author ended up here."
  8. Ambition: Heart's Desire %E2%80%93 the Prince's Prison, Fallen London "You climb to a gorsed dell, tucked against a shoulder of a cliff. At its middle is a hollow, and at the bottom of the hollow a hole, barred with rusting iron. From within comes a nagging drone, the speech of locusts. A chain rattles, musically. Something wraps around the bars from below. Not fingers. Fingers lack chitin."
  9. Digging up bones and rough justice, Fallen London "You unearth the remnants of the past. [...]. Horse-bone amulets and cracked clay rice-bowls. A stone monument, its bell-like shape familiar to you from your outings to the Forgotten Quarter, now subsumed by clinging moss. The denizens of the Fourth City came here in numbers."
  10. What's written here?, Fallen London "This is a map. Well, a set of directions. You can't decipher all of it [...] But there's somewhere East over the Unterzee. Somewhere that zailors of the Fourth City called 'our last bastion and salvation'."
  11. What's written here?, Fallen London "There's somewhere East over the Unterzee. But on the way there, the zailors of the Fourth City visited the Elder Continent. Perhaps they left something there? A camp? A colony, even?"
  12. Write a history of the Khanate's failed invasion of the Elder Continent, Fallen London "Before founding the Khanate as we know it, the Great Khan first attempted a landing on the shores of the Elder Continent. Neither side likes to tell the story."
  13. See what you can dig up, Fallen London "Your finds confirm what the carvings on the walls suggested. Skyglass shards, perished lumps of indiarubber, a few bones. This court was definitely built and used by people of the Third City. It's chilly up here. They must have wrapped up warm."
  14. Writing it all down, Fallen London "You have seen proof of Fourth and Third City inhabitation, and some evidence suggesting the Second City."