The Roof of the Neath

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"The stalactites drip down all around. There is nary a bat, nor the faintest wind. Here is a peace which one can never know in London, where there is always the maddening crowd bustling by, or hawkers screeching the virtue of rotten meat, or marsh-wolves interrupting your afternoon picnic."

The Roof of the Neath is the boundary that separates the Neath from the Surface. Despite its high altitude, many creatures and civilizations have taken up residence within its stalactites.

Lofty

"The ceiling grows ever closer. The false-stars shine ever brighter. You are among stalactites which glisten with iridescent shine, and the unknown wonders of the upside down world!"

The roof of the Neath is an enormous plane that makes up the "sky" of Fallen London and the Unterzee. It's made of rock, and is said to be "unfathomably" deep. The roof's most distinctive features are its massive stalactites, many which exceed the size of a skyscraper. These stalactites occasionally fall from the roof, posing a hazard to residences and careless pedestrians. One district in London is so infamous for its falling stalactite problem that it was given the name Smashtile Alley; needless to say, the roof-tile industry there is quite profitable. A particularly colossal stalactite fell into the Unterzee long ago, and is now known as Godfall.

A dirigible.

The roof can be accessed via dirigible, though London's dirigible network is closely managed by Mr Fires, and unsanctioned trips to the roof are forbidden. Dirigibles are used to transport prisoners and cargo to and from London's only known holding on the roof, New Newgate Prison, and Mr Fires and its employees frequently use dirigibles for travel across the Neath and to the roof itself.

While the roof is extremely resilient, it has several breaches; these include the Travertine Spiral and the Cumaean Canal, both which can be used by travelers to access the Surface, and Aestival, an island in the Unterzee lit by sunlight from a hole in the roof above.

Inhabitants

"Bats flock around the dirigible as it rises toward the roof. The glimmer of the False-Stars becomes a glare. Stalactites hang like icicles of bone, the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."

A jewel in the false-sky...

While the roof is one of the most remote locations in the Neath, it is by no means devoid of life. The roof is home to tribes of Starved Men, humans who make extensive use of the Shapeling Arts to warp and change themselves. These individuals reside within the larger stalactites of the roof, hollowing them out into castles using architectural and engineering techniques; such castles are well-furnished and contain residences, churches, art galleries, and eating halls. Because the Starved Men wage war amongst themselves, their castles also boast defenses, like turrets and barricades; those who fall in battle are interred within ossuaries. The Starved Men make use of hot air balloons and rope bridges to travel between stalactites, and can even climb across stalactites using nothing but their own dexterity. They also may be capable of molding stalactites into identical, orderly shapes, resembling the teeth of a comb.

The roof is also inhabited by luminescent creatures known as Moon-Misers, who form enormous colonies and travel across the roof by digging their legs into its stone. Their bright glow is visible even from the ground, providing the Neath with dim ambient light; Londoners call these faraway lights the False-Stars.