Anthe

"They call it the city of flowers, but the flowers are crystals, spiral matrices grown on the walls of Anthean caves. The inhabitants of Anthe are at least partly crystal too: they call it "going sharp." Becoming more perfect, and clearer, and colder."

Anthe is a strange city of crystal located under the Zee.

Those Who Go Sharp

"The inhabitants of Anthe go sharp. Not all at once, but piece by piece, they turn to crystal. They sort themselves by sharpness, too: the sharp-handed cluster with others of their kind, ignoring the keen-footed and the brittle-waisted."

Anthe's inhabitants can transform parts of their bodies into crystal; this process is called "going sharp". The precise effects of sharpening vary depending on the body part; most involve the specific part becoming much more functional and efficient, but also losing sensation. The inhabitants of Anthe tend to congregate with others of similar type of sharpness.

The many different types of sharpness include, but are not limited to:

• Sharpness of the spleen, which practically erases a person's ability to feel anger and is thus desired by diplomats and other professions that need to keep a calm head.
• Sharpness of the liver, which makes one immune to any drinkable poison, and is desired by people working with toxins, such as assassins.
• Sharpness of the lungs, which allows one to breathe much less frequently and makes them immune to poisonous gases. It is thus desired by coal miners and others that might want to hold their breath for long periods of time.
• Sharpness of the groin, which greatly enhances one's sexual performance, at the cost of diminishing their passion. The benefits are a double-edged sword, and are thus sought out both by nuns and brothel habitués.
• Sharpness of the tongue, which makes one's speech very clear and precise, at the cost of losing their sense of taste. Unsurprisingly, desired by poets and anyone fanatical about talking.
• Sharpness of the skeleton, which makes one's bones much more durable. Desired by labourers and anyone else desiring endurance.
• Sharpness of the skin, which makes one's skin very tough. Desired by fighters and other people that live dangerous lives.

The Many Chambers of Anthe

• The Venous Salon, where the sharp-spleened entertain themselves by reading offensive literature and not reacting in the slightest.
• Rosina's Chambers, where a very special patient is being treated for her illness.
• The Salon of Silver Salts, where those with crystal livers like to eat and drink dangerous poisons.
• The Salon of Incense, where the barb-lunged spend their time deep in poisonous incense.
• The Chamber of Pillow-cut Rock, where the bristle-groined... er, socialize.
• The Cave-Pool, where the Drownies of Anthe like to spend their time.
• Tongue-point Pinnacle, where the hard-tongued have their crystal-clear conversations.
• The Shell, a concert hall made out of a giant oyster.
• The Granite Corridor, a place for the most linguistically skilled assassins.
• The Bone-Barrow, where those with crystal spines show off their strength by holding up a slowly collapsing ceiling.
• The Travertine Vault, where the Clay Men from Polythreme try their luck at going sharp.
• Femur and Lung, a drinking house for only the strongest workers.
• The Blistering Abyss, where those with transparent skins allow themselves to be attacked with all manner of dangers and remain unharmed.
• The Gallery of Axes, home to the Hooded Anthean, Anthe's prime executioner.
• The Dauntless Palate, a second club for those immune to every single manner of poison.

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously." Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

A Cavern of Giants

While Anthe's blessings might seem powerful and desirable, it isn't obvious to outsiders that going sharp is somewhat addictive. The more crystal one is made of, the more they want to turn more of themselves sharp, and the less likely it is that they ever leave the city. The inhabitants whose bodies have grown entirely into crystal are called the Sharpest, and they live in a giant cavern deep underneath Anthe. The Sharpest have long since ceased being human: their crystal bodies have grown to gigantic proportions, and they have permanently fused with the floor of the cavern. They are still very wise, however, and if approached by a person of sufficient sharpness, they can teach them how to turn the most difficult parts of the body to crystal: eyes, brain, heart and muscles.