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{{Major spoiler}}
{{Major spoiler}}
{{Character|image1 = Prismaticdowager promo.png.png
{{Character|image1 = Prismaticdowager promo edit.png
|caption1 = They don't come with the doors. Art from FL.
|caption1 = The Prismatic Dowager, a Grand Devil.
|location = [[Hell]]<br>[[Parabola]]<br>[[Mount Palmerston]]
|location = [[Hell]]<br>[[The Hinterlands]]<br>[[Parabola]]<br>[[The High Wilderness]]
|alias = The One-Time Princes of Hell<br>The Saints of Hell
|alias = The One-Time Princes of Hell<br>The Saints of Hell
|allegiance = The Brazen Brigade
|allegiance = [[Hell]] (former)
|notable_members = The Drummer-in-the-Depths<br>
|notable_members = [[The King of Carols]]<br>
The Mandolinist<br>
[[The Drummer]]<br>
The Chandler<br>
[[The Mandolinist]]<br>
The Prismatic Dowager<br>
[[The Chandler]]<br>
The Vintner}}
[[The Prismatic Dowager]]<br>
[[The Vintner]]<br>
[[The Piper]]<br>}}<blockquote>''"Do you know how long it takes one of our lords to die?" He shakes his head. "No, I don't either. Aeons, perhaps."''</blockquote>The '''Grand Devils''', also called the '''Saints of Hell,''' are the former princes of [[Hell]] who once ruled over [[Devils|devilkind]]. They were overthrown by their subjects in the [[Season of Revolutions]], and were left scattered, dead, or otherwise indisposed.__FORCETOC__


''"Do you know how long it takes one of our lords to die?" He shakes his head. "No, I don't either. Aeons, perhaps."''
==Correct and Proper and Beautiful==
Vast, eight-legged,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Heed_the_call|Heed the call|Fallen London}} ''"[...] some vast, eight-legged thing watches."''</ref> perfume-breathed,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Mandolinist|The Mandolinist|Fallen London}}''"Its breath is sweet as roses, perfuming the rotting of its body."''</ref> leather-winged, many-eyed,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_(the_Mandolinist)|Approach|Fallen London}} ''"Two great wings, leathery and dappled with red and gold eyes are unfurled beside it, pinned against the stone."''</ref> chitin-plated, and millipede-like,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Brass_Grail_(Story)|The Brass Grail|Fallen London}} ''"It's long and curved, like a millipede tucked into a spiral, and it's the size of an ironclad warship. Its vast chitinous plates glitter"''</ref> the Grand Devils are a diverse group of powerful beings. They have the ability to share their memories and thoughts with others; for a mere mortal this may be a rapturous experience, or one that they will never speak of again lest they relive it.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/For_All_The_Saints|For All The Saints|Fallen London}}''"The Deacon shrieks, then begins to sing. His voice arcs like a vault, ululating and high."''</ref> When the Grand Devils ruled [[Hell]], they each had a specific purpose, and their bodies may have had unique attributes to match.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Chorus_of_Hell|The Chorus of Hell|Fallen London}} ''"The Dowager is but one court, specialised and singular."''</ref>


The former princes of Hell, the '''grand devils''' were the queens to the devil's bees. Once humongous, noble rulers of devilkind, they have now been left scattered, dead, or otherwise indisposed after Hell's '''Season of Revolutions'''.
The Grand Devils' palace guard were known as the [[Brazen Brigade]]; the Brigade still worships and tends their prisons and resting places.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Permit_the_pilgrims_entry|Permit the pilgrims entry|Fallen London}} ''"Once you promise them entrance, the devils become more voluble. They are of the Brazen Brigade, they tell you. Once they were the palace guard of their Hellish saints. Now they are exiled from Hell and forbidden from their worship. They make journeys across the hinterlands, preserving the sites and shrines of their dead."''</ref> They also still have loyalists, called the Brimstone Convention, who have taken refuge at [[Mount Palmerston]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Mount_Palmerston#Interactions|Chat to the port-folk about the Brimstone Convention|Sunless Sea}} ''"Chat to the port-folk about the Brimstone Convention [...] There was a revolution in Hell: and the aristocracy of devils fled here. Here, they plot in exile. [...] “They don't do us any harm. They stay up there, and we stay down here."''</ref>


__forcetoc__
In the ''Sunless Skies'' timeline, multiple Grand Devils have been liberated and brought to the skies, including the [[The Piper|Piper]] (thanks to the Brazen Brigade)<ref name=":0">{{Citation|1=https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Adamant_Idol|2=Entreat the Piper to emerge|3=Sunless Skies|4=}}''"She is not pleased that the Brigade have returned her to the heavens she fled, and has no intention of leaving the confines of her idol. But she is merciful today, and sends you on your way."''</ref> and the [[The Drummer|Drummer]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Caduceus#The_Darkling_Caverns|Entreat the Drummer|Sunless Skies}} ''"Below Caduceus, the Drummer plays. One of the greatest Saints of Hell, all Caduceus dances to his beat."''</ref> The corpses and husks of others, including the Chorister<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Grove_of_Far-Too-Late|Return to the Scarlet Condottiere (Chorister)|Sunless Skies}} ''"Of course you encountered one of his shells. The meat of him is elsewhere. Our Chorister was not so easily vanquished."''</ref> and the Mantle-bearer,<ref name=":2">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Winter%27s_Reside#A_Solitary_Cobbled_Street|Find the tomb of the Mantle-bearer|Sunless Skies}} ''"Somewhere in Winter's Reside lies the corpse of the armourer-saint, once squire-sommelier to the Binary, the twin kings of Eleutheria."''</ref> never left the [[High Wilderness]].
 
==Correct and Proper and Beautiful==
Vast, Eight-legged<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Heed_the_call|Heed the call|Fallen London|}} ''"some vast, eight-legged thing watches."''</ref>, perfume-breathed<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Mandolinist|The Mandolinist|Fallen London|}}</ref>, leather-winged, many-eyed<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_(the_Mandolinist)|Approach|Fallen London|}} ''"Two great wings, leathery and dappled with red and gold eyes are unfurled beside it, pinned against the stone."''</ref>, chitin-plated and millipede-like<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Brass_Grail_(Story)|The Brass Grail|Fallen London|}} ''"It's long and curved, like a millipede tucked into a spiral, and it's the size of an ironclad warship. Its vast chitinous plates glitter"''</ref>, the grand devils are a diverse bunch to say the least. They have the ability to share their memories and thoughts with others, without speech. This can be a rapturous experience, or one one would rather not repeat.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/For_All_The_Saints|For All The Saints|Fallen London|}}''"The Deacon shrieks, then begins to sing. His voice arcs like a vault, ululating and high."''</ref> When they ruled Hell, they each had a specific purpose, which their body may have had uniquenesses to accommodate.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Chorus_of_Hell|The Chorus of Hell|Fallen London|}} ''"The Dowager is but one court, specialised and singular."''</ref>


==Known Grand Devils==
==Known Grand Devils==
Most of the grand devils we know about are dead. This does not hinder communication with them as much as one might expect.
Most of the Grand Devils appear to be dead. This does not hinder communication with them as much as one might expect.


===The Drummer-in-the-Depths===
* [[The Drummer]], whose beat is irresistible
The Drummer-in-the-Depths, also known as the '''saint in the drum''', resides, in Parabola, under the church at [[Burrow-Infra-Mump]] (which was his domain before the burrow’s fall). He has been sealed there, tantalisingly close to his drum, but not close enough to play it.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Commune|Commune|Fallen London|}}</ref> Members of '''the Brazen Brigade''', the palace guard from when the grand devils still reigned, still make the pilgrimage to him regularly, preserving his holy site.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Permit_the_pilgrims_entry|Permit the pilgrims entry|Fallen London|}}</ref>
* [[The Mandolinist]], impaled by a thousand viol bows (for some reason)
* [[The Chandler]], martyred for forbidden love
* [[The Vintner]], an ancient Saint who oversaw the distillation of souls
* [[The Prismatic Dowager]], left fuming over her own murder
* [[The Piper]], a leader of the ancient rebellion against the [[Judgements]] who found the way into [[Parabola]]
* [[The King of Carols]], now imprisoned in the [[Well of Wonders]] for defiance
* The Bellows Saint/The Mantle-bearer, once the "armourer-saint" and "squire-sommelier" to the [[The Halved|Binary]]<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Winter%27s_Reside#A_Solitary_Cobbled_Street|Find the tomb of the Mantle-bearer|Sunless Skies}} ''"The Binary went to war. Against the storied sons of the Solonacean. And the Bellows Saint did mantle the king in a raiment of killing light."''</ref>
* The Chorister/The Chorister Saint, who accompanied the suns to war<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Heart-Catcher_Gardens#The_Nurseries|Sanctify the corpse of the Chorister Saint|Sunless Skies}} ''"You daub its lips with some of the vial of souls, and anoint its armour as it would have done when it accompanied the suns to war."''</ref> and shed his shells to escape death<ref name=":1" />
* The Violist, a "queen-saint"<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Grove_of_Far-Too-Late|Receive the Blessing of the Violist|Sunless Skies}} ''"The Condottiere produces an ivory fiddle and dons the reliquary to play. "You shall dance," he tells you. "These are the steps." [...] The air resounds with the wail of the viol and those who descended here. [...] the Condottiere promises that you have been blessed by the Violist. "You drip with sanctity." He gives you a pilgrim badge, a token of the queen-saint."''</ref> and, one might suppose, the rightful owner of the bows that impale the Mandolinist
* The Fiddler<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Explore the temple|Sunless Skies}} ''"Each holds a reliquary to a single figure. One is to the Fiddler, another to the Piper, a third to the Drummer, the Chorister and the Violist."''</ref>


===The Mandolinist===
==References==
The Mandolinist resides under the walls of Hell, trapped by an immovable gate and Hell’s own continual laws against its release.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Break_open_the_gate|Break open the gate|Fallen London|}}</ref> Unlike much of its brethren, however, it's very much alive. It’s trapped in agony, impaled on a pillar by a thousand viol bows.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_(the_Mandolinist)|Approach|Fallen London|}}</ref> Faceless and mandolin-less, he is forced to play his music by scraping his tongue with a bow.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Commune_with_the_Prince|Commune with the Prince|Fallen London|}}</ref>
{{Scroll box|text=<references/>}}
 
Before his punishment, the Mandolinist lay in a similar place. He was the gatehouse, and his limbs stretched throughout Hell. He would sound each entrant with his bows, which could be heard throughout the hinterland.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_upon_the_walls_of_Hell|Look upon the walls of Hell|Fallen London|}}</ref>
 
===The Chandler Saint===
The Chandler is the primary saint of the Brazen Brigade, and their chapel is both his corpse and his tomb; it’s constructed from his hollowed-out bones and contains his Parabolan prison.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/For_All_The_Saints|For All The Saints|Fallen London|}} ''"This is the Chandler's Ossuary – made of his own bones."''</ref> The Brigade are trying to spread the Chandler’s word through London, disguising his nature as that of a good, Christian saint, martyred on the walls of Hell for love of Christ.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/For_All_The_Saints|For All The Saints|Fallen London|}} ''"Well, well. A new saint. Or a very old one. A good Christian, slain for love of Christ."''</ref>
 
The Chandler ''was'' killed for love. Not for Christ however - love for his old master, a [[Judgement]]. His prison allows him to see his love through the glass, but never talk to or return to it.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/For_All_The_Saints|For All The Saints|Fallen London|}} ''"The Chandler commanded us to return to the Mandate of Heaven; to once more serve his beloved. ... Now he may always look upon his love, through glass."''</ref> Hell likes this punishment, it seems.
 
The monarchists at the '''Brimstone Convention''' have an alliance with the Chandler, though they do not know that any of the other grand devils are able to be communed with.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_mission|Ask about her mission|Fallen London|}}</ref>
 
===The Vintner===
Not much is known about the Vintner. A Saint in scarlet, she oversaw the distillation of [[souls]], a process that seems to be half religious ceremony and half alcohol production.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Breathe_in_the_scent_of_wine|Breathe in the scent of wine|Fallen London|}}</ref>
 
===The Prismatic Dowager===
The Prismatic Dowager has been hollowed out and made into a building, which now hosts the '''Court of Diligence''', where Hell judges each of its trespassers that it's failed to deal with in... other ways.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Brass_Grail_(Story)|The Brass Grail (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"The Court of Diligence comprises the legal experts you see here. The Dowager is our hostess."''</ref> The Dowager is still fuming over her murder, and is not particularly happy with this arrangement.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Brass_Grail_(Story)|The Brass Grail (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"How dare they! You kept the methods and the proprieties for a thousand aeons! How dare they! How dare they!"''</ref>. It may also be possible that she is a practitioner of [[the Discordance]], though this may just be the natural influence of the Hurlers at work.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Beseech_the_Dowager|Beseech the Dowager|Fallen London|}}''"She is, of course, not here. ... She has no independent thought, and certainly could not consent to become a chorister in a traitor's chorus. ... The Dowager's eyes dull as she crawls backwards into the hill, having of course, not agreed to anything. Though how can they dull when they never regarded you? Only at the Hurlers, and now she is gone."''</ref>
 
Being a courthouse is not a new experience for her, however - she used to be one before the season of revolutions, dispensing her own justice on criminals and petitioners. Her inner body may originally have been as it is now, just a lot more under her control.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Chorus_of_Hell|The Chorus of Hell|Fallen London|}} ''"Petitioners travel through her great form; she processes them according to their crime and her judgement."''</ref>


[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Nonhuman]]
[[Category:Nonhuman]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Grand Devils]]
[[Category:Creatures]]
[[Category:Cited]]
<references />

Latest revision as of 08:11, 6 June 2025

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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.

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"Do you know how long it takes one of our lords to die?" He shakes his head. "No, I don't either. Aeons, perhaps."

The Grand Devils, also called the Saints of Hell, are the former princes of Hell who once ruled over devilkind. They were overthrown by their subjects in the Season of Revolutions, and were left scattered, dead, or otherwise indisposed.

Correct and Proper and Beautiful[edit]

Vast, eight-legged,[1] perfume-breathed,[2] leather-winged, many-eyed,[3] chitin-plated, and millipede-like,[4] the Grand Devils are a diverse group of powerful beings. They have the ability to share their memories and thoughts with others; for a mere mortal this may be a rapturous experience, or one that they will never speak of again lest they relive it.[5] When the Grand Devils ruled Hell, they each had a specific purpose, and their bodies may have had unique attributes to match.[6]

The Grand Devils' palace guard were known as the Brazen Brigade; the Brigade still worships and tends their prisons and resting places.[7] They also still have loyalists, called the Brimstone Convention, who have taken refuge at Mount Palmerston.[8]

In the Sunless Skies timeline, multiple Grand Devils have been liberated and brought to the skies, including the Piper (thanks to the Brazen Brigade)[9] and the Drummer.[10] The corpses and husks of others, including the Chorister[11] and the Mantle-bearer,[12] never left the High Wilderness.

Known Grand Devils[edit]

Most of the Grand Devils appear to be dead. This does not hinder communication with them as much as one might expect.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Heed the call, Fallen London "[...] some vast, eight-legged thing watches."
  2. ↑ The Mandolinist, Fallen London "Its breath is sweet as roses, perfuming the rotting of its body."
  3. ↑ Approach, Fallen London "Two great wings, leathery and dappled with red and gold eyes are unfurled beside it, pinned against the stone."
  4. ↑ The Brass Grail, Fallen London "It's long and curved, like a millipede tucked into a spiral, and it's the size of an ironclad warship. Its vast chitinous plates glitter"
  5. ↑ For All The Saints, Fallen London "The Deacon shrieks, then begins to sing. His voice arcs like a vault, ululating and high."
  6. ↑ The Chorus of Hell, Fallen London "The Dowager is but one court, specialised and singular."
  7. ↑ Permit the pilgrims entry, Fallen London "Once you promise them entrance, the devils become more voluble. They are of the Brazen Brigade, they tell you. Once they were the palace guard of their Hellish saints. Now they are exiled from Hell and forbidden from their worship. They make journeys across the hinterlands, preserving the sites and shrines of their dead."
  8. ↑ Chat to the port-folk about the Brimstone Convention, Sunless Sea "Chat to the port-folk about the Brimstone Convention [...] There was a revolution in Hell: and the aristocracy of devils fled here. Here, they plot in exile. [...] “They don't do us any harm. They stay up there, and we stay down here."
  9. ↑ Entreat the Piper to emerge, Sunless Skies "She is not pleased that the Brigade have returned her to the heavens she fled, and has no intention of leaving the confines of her idol. But she is merciful today, and sends you on your way."
  10. ↑ Entreat the Drummer, Sunless Skies "Below Caduceus, the Drummer plays. One of the greatest Saints of Hell, all Caduceus dances to his beat."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Return to the Scarlet Condottiere (Chorister), Sunless Skies "Of course you encountered one of his shells. The meat of him is elsewhere. Our Chorister was not so easily vanquished."
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Find the tomb of the Mantle-bearer, Sunless Skies "Somewhere in Winter's Reside lies the corpse of the armourer-saint, once squire-sommelier to the Binary, the twin kings of Eleutheria."
  13. ↑ Find the tomb of the Mantle-bearer, Sunless Skies "The Binary went to war. Against the storied sons of the Solonacean. And the Bellows Saint did mantle the king in a raiment of killing light."
  14. ↑ Sanctify the corpse of the Chorister Saint, Sunless Skies "You daub its lips with some of the vial of souls, and anoint its armour as it would have done when it accompanied the suns to war."
  15. ↑ Receive the Blessing of the Violist, Sunless Skies "The Condottiere produces an ivory fiddle and dons the reliquary to play. "You shall dance," he tells you. "These are the steps." [...] The air resounds with the wail of the viol and those who descended here. [...] the Condottiere promises that you have been blessed by the Violist. "You drip with sanctity." He gives you a pilgrim badge, a token of the queen-saint."
  16. ↑ Explore the temple, Sunless Skies "Each holds a reliquary to a single figure. One is to the Fiddler, another to the Piper, a third to the Drummer, the Chorister and the Violist."
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