The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel

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"He also chucks you under the chin, which is a little over-familar, but, well. His buttons are so very shiny. It's difficult to quarrel with a man of such shiny buttons. 'Thank you,' he says. 'I do hope you'll continue to enjoy your stay.'"

"The priest-king wears white linen, and many layers of shining copper and brass jewellery. He is unmistakably the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel."

The Manager of the Royal Beth, also known as the Merry Gentleman, is the Priest-King of the First City. His lover was the King with a Hundred Hearts. He is responsible for the First City's Fall, as he sacrificed it in return for the King with a Hundred Hearts' life when the latter was dying of "fits". Despite the King's hatred for what he has become due to this deal, the Manager still loves him after thousands of years.

As of now, he also acts as May of the Calendar Council, and gives his dark blessings to aspiring revolutionaries of renown. His book in the Agendums of Ascent keeps stories of forbidden and tragic passion.

He is also certainly a player of the Marvellous, and his desire is to share his lover's fate by becoming a second living city. This may be a reason why he collects diamonds, since all he needs is a diamond from the Mountain of Light to replace his heart. Besides these, he has quite an appetite for mysteries and ancient lore.

In Parabola, he keeps the Garden of Nightmares.

He is described as having eight fingers (though unclear if in total or on each hand) and a penchant for the dandyish side of the Fifth City's fashion, trying to blend in with his eccentric stovepipe hat, brass-buttoned frock coat and silver-capped cane.

His uncle is the Capering Relicker, the man who brewed the first Hesperidean Cider.

Real-Life Inspirations

If the First City is Uruk - though we don't know for sure - then the Manager is Gilgamesh, the King with a Hundred Hearts is Enkidu, and the Capering Relicker is Utnapishtim. These three are key players in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the events of which led to the sale of the First City in the Fallen London universe. Though the King with a Hundred Hearts' origin is different, the story of the First City followed the real-world epic closely until the death of Enkidu. In this universe, though, Gilgamesh was so desperate to have his friend Enkidu back that he was willing to give the Masters his city as a price.