The King of Hours: Difference between revisions
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{{Major spoiler}}<blockquote>{{Character|location=[[Albion]] (former)|allegiance=[[Judgements]] (former)|relationships=[[The Sapphir'd King]] (enemy)|image1=Clock.png|caption1= | {{Major spoiler}}<blockquote>{{Character|location=[[Albion]] (former)|allegiance=[[Judgements]] (former)|relationships=[[The Sapphir'd King]] (enemy)|image1=Clock.png|caption1=}} | ||
''"The body of the sun is still cooling. A few embers continue to glow at its core, a low and sullen red."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies. | ''"The body of the sun is still cooling. A few embers continue to glow at its core, a low and sullen red."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Most_Serene_Mausoleum|Contemplate the dead sun|Sunless Skies}}</ref></blockquote>'''The King of Hours''', also known as '''the Martyr-King''', was the Regent of [[Albion]], or at least the space that would become it.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Autopsy|Investigate what killed the sun of Albion|Sunless Skies}} ''"Examining it through a microscope, it is immediately apparent that the sun of Albion wasn't killed by munitions, but by poison. It has worked its way into every golden cell."''</ref> | ||
== Eternal No More == | == Eternal No More == | ||
During his reign, this Regent used his power as the king of all time to hold his realm in a state of eternal daylight, a '''Golden Day'''.<ref name="golden day">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies. | <blockquote>''"The day that lasted a thousand years. ... The people loved it, of course, because they did not age. When he died, of course, time caught up with them, and they became less than dust."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|Ask about the Golden Day|Sunless Skies|}}</ref></blockquote>During his reign, this Regent used his power as the king of all time to hold his realm in a state of eternal daylight, a '''Golden Day'''.<ref name="golden day">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Ambition:_the_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|Ask about the Golden Day|Sunless Skies}}''"The day that lasted a thousand years. [...] The people loved it, of course, because they did not age. When he died, of course, time caught up with them, and they became less than dust."''</ref> The [[Sapphir'd King]] adheres to the Amaranthine Conjunction,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Forge_of_Souls|Enquire about the Forge of Souls, said to dwell within Lyceum|Sunless Skies}} ''"The Forge is under the Amaranthine Edict [...] For your benefit, that means that the Sapphir'd King has taken it under his protection to prevent against unwise use."''</ref> the belief that all things must end;<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Ambition:_the_Stars_are_Dying|Deliver your findings to the Bedevilled Didact|Sunless Skies}} ''"[...] while their counterparts, the Amaranthine Conjunction, believe in culmination, and bringing things to c-completion."''</ref> dissatisfied with his rival's state of affairs, he had the King of Hours murdered<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Sun%27s_Daughter|Hand over the Dignity of Albion Bill|Sunless Skies}} ''""We know. There is an order to creation; a Chain of Being. Things such as you cannot be the death of things such as we. [...] When a murder is committed correctly, only two creatures know what occurred: one is the murdered; the other..." She says no more, but opens one of her thousand plumed hands [...] A trophy, plucked from the corpse of a star."''</ref> using poisoned words.<ref name=":0" /> Some time after the King of Hours' death, the [[Clockwork Sun]] took over his domain, and Albion took all the credit.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Most_Serene_Mausoleum|Contemplate the dead sun|Sunless Skies}} ''"When Her Majesty entered Albion, she slew the sun with an experimental weapon: an Unclear Bomb. Then she claimed the sun's throne and dominion. Leaving the remains here is a clear message: not even the suns are above the Empire's reach."''</ref> In fact, the murder occurred centuries before Albion entered the picture;<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Royal_Observatory|Use your reputation to help skip the queue|Sunless Skies}} ''"Using the telescope, he was able to locate the last light cast by Albion's old sun, the one the Empire claims to have defeated 5 years ago. But according to his calculations, the light is centuries old. Albion's sun was dead long before the Empress came to the skies."''</ref> while the devils have also claimed credit for the murder, theoretically placing it within the time frame of their rebellion against the [[Judgements]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discovered:_A_Brilliant_Future|Discovered: A Brilliant Future|Fallen London}} ''"Book of Roses 1:3: AND THUS SPAKE THE KING OF HOURS: “For those who wear crowns, let their kingdoms be counted; and for those who wear ashes, let their miseries be counted; and for those who keep this tally, let their debts be counted.” Upon hearing this, the people struck him down." (The Book of Roses is an approximate chronology of the history of the devils. Ensuing excerpts recount their exile in Parabola, then their journey through the Neath to found Hell. The devils take undue credit for the murder here.)''</ref> there is no evidence to suggest that any devils served the Sapphir'd King, and this would place the murder as being ''millennia'' ago.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Hold_steady|Hold steady|Fallen London}} ''"Aeons passed [...] They [the devils] searched the mirrors endlessly for a suitable destination in which to hide themselves, but always that goal remained out of reach – until they found the Neath. Until the first person brought the first looking-glass below."''</ref> | ||
== The Unseen Queen == | == The Unseen Queen == | ||
The King had a daughter, | <blockquote> | ||
''"I always wondered why I was born. Apparently, I was a contingency. As he died, he stole the moment of my birth and used it to preserve the moment of his death. Now he is forever dying, forever in torment, but never dead. A shadow.''<br> | |||
''"And what does that make me? He erased me. He stole my existence to preserve his own. I am not even the shadow of a shadow. But I will claw my way back."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|Ask about the King of Hours|Sunless Skies|}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
The King had a daughter, called the '''Unseen Queen''', who resides in the underworld of [[New London]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Ambition:_Underlondon|Try to find a path to the castle|Sunless Skies|}} ''"After a few hours of searching, you come across a curious sight. A section of the rubbish-heap has been assiduously cleared and flattened. The pieces of rubbish that remain seem to have been carefully chosen for aesthetic reasons – piping, wire, scrap metal – and assembled into something approaching a throne. And sitting in the throne, a faded old portrait."''</ref> The Queen is a flirtatious spirit who manifests as a painting of a noblewoman with her face scratched out.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|The Portrait of the Unseen Queen|Sunless Skies|}} ''"A silver-framed portrait hanging outside the door to your quarters. It depicts a noblewoman, face scratched out, sitting beneath a crescent moon. Your crew don't like it when you while away the hours in conversation with her."''</ref> In his last moments, the King used his last remnants of the Golden Day to create the '''Martyr-King's Cup''', an artifact that can grant the imbiber immortality.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Ambition:_the_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|Ask her about the Cup|Sunless Skies}}''"This Cup holds the moment of my father's death and the final gasps of a dying realm, after all. Immortality requires a complex ritual. We must take the Cup before the Storm That Speaks and recite the poisoned words that killed my father."''</ref> He stole the moment of his daughter's birth to evade death and transform into the [[The Storm that Speaks|Storm that Speaks]] - functionally erasing her in the process.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Ambition:_the_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|Ask about the King of Hours|Sunless Skies}}''"As he died, he stole the moment of my birth and used it to preserve the moment of his death. Now he is forever dying, forever in torment, but never dead. [...] And what does that make me? He erased me. He stole my existence to preserve his own. I am not even the shadow of a shadow. But I will claw my way back."''</ref> The Unseen Queen heavily resents her father for creating the endless day where she never shone, as well as for using her as a contingency to escape his death. One day, she may take her revenge.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Ambition:_the_Portrait_of_the_Unseen_Queen|Ask about the Golden Day|Sunless Skies}} ''"How I hated it. What use am I, during an endless day? Where is my light to shine? Even before I was unmade, I was unseen. Blame my father's arrogance. He couldn't bear to conceal his light, even for a moment."''</ref> | |||
One of the erstwhile questers for the Cup, and one of the most successful of them, says that the Queen "is nothing; she is less than nothing. She never existed."<ref name="conformer">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies. | One of the erstwhile questers for the Cup, and one of the most successful of them, says that the Queen "is nothing; she is less than nothing. She never existed."<ref name="conformer">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Piranesi#The_Chaplains|Ambition: Give a Captivating Treasure to the Conformer|Sunless Skies}}''"It is impossible for any mortal to access. I advise you to give up. The Queen is not worth dying for. In fact, she is nothing; she is less than nothing. She never existed."''</ref> | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{Scroll box|text=<references/>}} | |||
[[Category:Characters]] | [[Category:Characters]] | ||
[[Category:Nonhuman]] | [[Category:Nonhuman]] | ||
Latest revision as of 09:04, 7 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. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here. |
"The body of the sun is still cooling. A few embers continue to glow at its core, a low and sullen red."[1]
The King of Hours, also known as the Martyr-King, was the Regent of Albion, or at least the space that would become it.[2]
Eternal No More[edit]
"The day that lasted a thousand years. ... The people loved it, of course, because they did not age. When he died, of course, time caught up with them, and they became less than dust."[3]
During his reign, this Regent used his power as the king of all time to hold his realm in a state of eternal daylight, a Golden Day.[4] The Sapphir'd King adheres to the Amaranthine Conjunction,[5] the belief that all things must end;[6] dissatisfied with his rival's state of affairs, he had the King of Hours murdered[7] using poisoned words.[2] Some time after the King of Hours' death, the Clockwork Sun took over his domain, and Albion took all the credit.[8] In fact, the murder occurred centuries before Albion entered the picture;[9] while the devils have also claimed credit for the murder, theoretically placing it within the time frame of their rebellion against the Judgements,[10] there is no evidence to suggest that any devils served the Sapphir'd King, and this would place the murder as being millennia ago.[11]
The Unseen Queen[edit]
"I always wondered why I was born. Apparently, I was a contingency. As he died, he stole the moment of my birth and used it to preserve the moment of his death. Now he is forever dying, forever in torment, but never dead. A shadow.
"And what does that make me? He erased me. He stole my existence to preserve his own. I am not even the shadow of a shadow. But I will claw my way back."[12]
The King had a daughter, called the Unseen Queen, who resides in the underworld of New London.[13] The Queen is a flirtatious spirit who manifests as a painting of a noblewoman with her face scratched out.[14] In his last moments, the King used his last remnants of the Golden Day to create the Martyr-King's Cup, an artifact that can grant the imbiber immortality.[15] He stole the moment of his daughter's birth to evade death and transform into the Storm that Speaks - functionally erasing her in the process.[16] The Unseen Queen heavily resents her father for creating the endless day where she never shone, as well as for using her as a contingency to escape his death. One day, she may take her revenge.[17]
One of the erstwhile questers for the Cup, and one of the most successful of them, says that the Queen "is nothing; she is less than nothing. She never existed."[18]
References[edit]
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