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{{Character|image1 = Prismaticdowager promo edit.png
{{Character|image1 = Prismaticdowager promo edit.png
|caption1 = The Prismatic Dowager, a Grand Devil.
|caption1 = The Prismatic Dowager, a Grand Devil.
|location = [[Hell]]<br>[[Parabola]]<br>[[Mount Palmerston]]<br>[[The Hinterlands]]
|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 = Independent
|allegiance = [[Hell]] (former)
|notable_members = The Drummer<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<br>
[[The Prismatic Dowager]]<br>
The Piper}}<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''' are the former princes of [[Hell]], and were once the noble rulers of the [[Devils]]. They were overthrown in a revolution by their former subjects, and they have now been left scattered, dead, or otherwise indisposed.__forcetoc__
[[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__


==Correct and Proper and Beautiful==
==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 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>
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>  


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


===The Drummer===
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]].
The '''Drummer''', also known as the '''Saint in the Drum''' and the '''Drummer-in-the-Depths''', resides in [[Parabola]] under the church at [[Burrow-Infra-Mump]] (which was his domain before the Burrow’s fall). He has been sealed there, tantalizingly 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 his resting place regularly to preserve the holy site.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Permit_the_pilgrims_entry|Permit the pilgrims entry|Fallen London|}}</ref>


===The Mandolinist===
==Known Grand Devils==
See [[The Mandolinist]]
Most of the Grand Devils appear to be dead. This does not hinder communication with them as much as one might expect.
 
===The Chandler===
The '''Chandler''' is the primary saint of the Brazen Brigade, and their chapel is both his corpse and his tomb; it is 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 true saint of the [[Church]], martyred on the walls of Hell for his devotion.<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>
 
There is a grain of truth to that story of sainthood. The Chandler ''was'' killed for love - 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>


The monarchists at the Brimstone Convention of [[Mount Palmerston]] have an alliance with the Chandler, though they do not know that any of the other Grand Devils are alive or reachable.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_mission|Ask about her mission|Fallen London|}}</ref>
* [[The Drummer]], whose beat is irresistible
 
* [[The Mandolinist]], impaled by a thousand viol bows (for some reason)
===The Vintner===
* [[The Chandler]], martyred for forbidden love
Not much is known about the '''Vintner'''. She is the oldest saint of Hell.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Temple_of_Almost-Time|Pour libations to the Vintner Saint|Sunless Skies|}} ''"The Curious Dilettante knows of a ritual performed for the oldest of saints."''</ref> This scarlet-carapaced Grand Devil oversaw the distillation of [[souls]], a process that seems to be half religious ceremony and half brewery.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Breathe_in_the_scent_of_wine|Breathe in the scent of wine|Fallen London|}}</ref> The last remnants of her living self reside in the Progress of the Bells, in the [[Hinterlands]] near [[Hell]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Beseech_the_Vintner|Beseech the Vintner|Fallen London|}}</ref>
* [[The Vintner]], an ancient Saint who oversaw the distillation of souls
 
* [[The Prismatic Dowager]], left fuming over her own murder
===The Prismatic Dowager===
* [[The Piper]], a leader of the ancient rebellion against the [[Judgements]] who found the way into [[Parabola]]
[[File:PrismaticDowager.png|alt=A large insectoid being with a door for a face.|thumb|The Prismatic Dowager]]
* [[The King of Carols]], now imprisoned in the [[Well of Wonders]] for defiance
The '''Prismatic Dowager''' has been hollowed out and made into a building; this now hosts the '''Court of Diligence''', where Hell judges each of its trespassers that it has 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 own 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> She may be a practitioner of [[the Discordance]], or she may simply be affected by the natural influence of the Hurlers.<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>
* 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" />
Being a courthouse is not exactly a new experience for the Dowager; she was one - albeit a ''living'' one - before the Season of Revolutions, dispensing her own justice on criminals and petitioners. Her inner body may originally have been as hollow as it is now, but 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>
* 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 Piper===
The '''Piper''' is another of Hell's imprisoned saints, who found a way to enter and hide in [[Parabola]] after the failed rebellion against the Judgments.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Adamant_Idol|Entreat the Piper to emerge |Sunless Skies|}}</ref>  She is now interred beyond a gate at the bottom of the gorge at '''Henlys''', not too far off the Moloch railway line;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Twelve-Fifteen_from_Moloch_Street|The Twelve-Fifteen from Moloch Street|Fallen London|}} ''"There is a princess on the other side of the gate."''</ref> someday, her followers will free her and rejoice in her music.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Twelve-Fifteen_from_Moloch_Street|The Twelve-Fifteen from Moloch Street|Fallen London|}} ''"Her devotees will find her again, with thyrsus and stones, and they will play their music."''</ref> The Drummer was once her paramour.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Temple_of_Almost-Time|Return the message |Sunless Skies|}}</ref>
 
In the ''Sunless Skies'' timeline, a group of monarchist devils have liberated the Piper and brought her to [[Caduceus]], where she resides inside an adamantine idol. She is not happy with this change of scenery,<ref name=":0" /> and doesn't wish to defy the [[Judgements]] again,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Adamant_Idol|Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?" |Sunless Skies|}}</ref> to the disappointment of her followers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brazen_Brigade#The_Temple_of_Almost-Time|Return to the Scarlet Condiottere |Sunless Skies|}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Scroll box|text=<references/>}}
{{Scroll box|text=<references/>}}


[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Nonhuman]]
[[Category:Nonhuman]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Grand Devils]]
[[Category:Creatures]]
[[Category:Cited]]

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."