Devils: Difference between revisions
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After establishing the government of Hell, the devils began to be ruled by Princes ([[Grand Devils]]), but these were all overthrown in one '''[[Season of Revolutions]]'''. While it is unknown whether any Grand Devils still roam free in the [[Neath]], their supporters live in exile in the crater of [[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> and among the [[Brazen Brigade]] of the [[Hinterlands]]. The [[Brass Embassy]] will now pay a fortune for the whereabouts of just one of their former overlords.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Reported_Location_of_a_One-Time_Prince_of_Hell|Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell|Fallen London}} ''"The season of revolutions brought an end to thrones in Hell. Where did their nobility take refuge? And what will Hell pay to find them out?"''</ref> | After establishing the government of Hell, the devils began to be ruled by Princes ([[Grand Devils]]), but these were all overthrown in one '''[[Season of Revolutions]]'''. While it is unknown whether any Grand Devils still roam free in the [[Neath]], their supporters live in exile in the crater of [[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> and among the [[Brazen Brigade]] of the [[Hinterlands]]. The [[Brass Embassy]] will now pay a fortune for the whereabouts of just one of their former overlords.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Reported_Location_of_a_One-Time_Prince_of_Hell|Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell|Fallen London}} ''"The season of revolutions brought an end to thrones in Hell. Where did their nobility take refuge? And what will Hell pay to find them out?"''</ref> | ||
And | At some point after humans arrived in the [[Neath]], the devils' old rivals, the Fingerkings, consulted "the grumpiest bee in both worlds" for advice on how to bring more creatures to Parabola.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Serpentine,_Melancholy|Order Serpentine, Melancholy|Fallen London|}} ''"ONCE UPON A TIME there was a little snake, no bigger than your finger, who lived behind the mirror. The little snake was very lonely, and the only friends he could find behind the mirror were old memories and strangling roots and the grumpiest bee above or below the world. And so…"''</ref> In an apparent attempt to settle the earlier grudge between the two parties, the Fingerkings offered to give one-fifth of the proceeds of their endeavors to Hell.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Serpentine,_Sorrowful|Order Serpentine, Sorrowful|Fallen London|}} ''"...THE LITTLE SNAKE asked the grumpiest bee in both worlds for help. And the bee said, why should I help? And the snake said, I will give you one-fifth of all I gain thereby. So the bee thought, and he said, in a far place there grows a rose. And that rose..."''</ref> In return, the devils used the Hellish [[Exile's Rose]] to brew the first batches of [[Prisoner's Honey|prisoner's honey]], creating a lucrative export for themselves and granting the Fingerkings their "new friends."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Serpentine,_Lachrymose|Order Serpentine, Lachrymose|Fallen London|}} ''"...THE ROSE, WHICH IS CALLED EXILE'S ROSE, has a property of passage. So shall I brew a honey from its dusts and pollens, and the honey shall be sweet, and it shall bring those who taste it, here to your dwelling. And sometimes they shall stay forever. And the little snake was very pleased with all the new friends the honey brought, but..."''</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== |
Revision as of 01:03, 17 February 2025
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"The Bazaar's conveniently located for Hell, and Hell's envoys keep stalls and warehouses here. Which is great if you want to buy brass, obsidian, sulphur, hydrogen, devilbone or any of Hell's other well-known exports. Or if you want to sell souls. But you shouldn't do that."
Courteous, rapacious, merciless, beguiling: devils, the emissaries of Hell, have come west to London for one purpose: souls. And perhaps the company, the sights, and a little chamber-music. They run and patronize several establishments in the vicinity of Ladybones Road; for example, Dante's Grill, the Long Spoon, Abbadon and Bael Trading Co., and their London headquarters, the Brass Embassy.
Characteristics
Devils are generally humanlike, but with fangs and golden or brassy eyes to set them apart. They appear to have a rather strange relationship with time; Fallen London is set in the 1890s, but the devils seem to have become well-acquainted with 1920s fashion and technology, so their style of dress also distinguishes them easily.
In the Sunless Skies timeline, devils also reside in the High Wilderness. Many can be found in the soul-spa of Carillon, as well as in Caduceus, the Well of the Wolf, and Pan.
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A Devil.
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A Devil.
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A Deviless.
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The Affectionate Devil
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The Quiet Deviless
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The Green-Eyed Devil
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The Blind Pianist
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The Gilded Minister
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The Discerning Deviless
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The Exiled Antiquarian
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The Solicitor-Baroness
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The Presiding Deviless of Carillon.
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Milton
The Alphabets of Hell
“Your body has glimpsed what the rose giveth. It craves the knowledge of every step. You dream fitfully of brass tablets; ache for one upon which to carve your words. Inspiration – when it strikes – strikes red.”[1]
Devils speak many languages - around a hundred, all in all,[2] many of which may be lethal to learn or read.[3][4] They largely go unnamed and undifferentiated, but some alphabets are said to be invisible[5] while others glow bright enough to shine through several layers of cloth, making them useful for marking criminals.[6] These languages may also be spoken, which frequently brings strange memories or sensations,[7] and particularly grave words may even lead to sudden decay of objects around the speaker.[8]
The most frequently-mentioned language of devilkind is the Rose Giveth,[9] which is sometimes called the Rose Taketh[10] and said to be the best language of Hell.[11] It is unclear whether the two names designate some subtle distinction, or serve as synonyms. Regardless of its moniker, it is a dance-language: laboriously engraved into brass tablets,[12] and spoken through quick rhythmic motions that burn the floor and send sigil-sparks flying in their wake.[13] Ideally, it is performed with wings and six legs,[14] if not more - but even with four limbs, it is a difficult and demanding language.[15] Mistakes in the Rose Giveth lead to limbs bending in unnatural directions,[16] and novices may struggle to return to verbal speech as they instinctively attempt to dance what they want to say rather than voice it.[17] Even witnessing the Rose Giveth, either engraved or danced, leads to nightmares, aches across the body and even bleeding from the eyes.[18]
The Rose Taketh is, in truth, a variant of the Correspondence,[19] which explains another common complaint - singed eyebrows.[20] Other alphabets of Hell may share the same origins.[21]
Servants of the Stars
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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. |
Devils once lived in the High Wilderness, where they were attendants to the stars.[22] Some of the devils, if not all, were servants of the Binary[23] - until they betrayed it,[24] spurred by promises of glory and freedom[25] from the Prophet Exile,[26] and murdered the King Who Speaks[27] at a peace negotiation gone awry.[28] While the Prophet Exile and his followers were destroyed and scattered by the King Who Wars,[29] this was the beginning of a wider revolution.[30]
A major segment of this rebellion involved the King of Hours, as it instituted the Golden Day to rule its kingdom and place it in something of a time loop for all eternity. The King of Carols was a great leader of the devils, who protested the Golden Day by refusing to sing for the Judgements.[31] For this he was hung over the Well of the Wolf as a warning. After he gave his voices away in defiance, he was imprisoned within it for eternity,[32] which stirred the devils' insurrection to its height. It is said that "the Chain was broken" at this point - but ultimately, they failed.[33] The devils claim to have been responsible for the death of the King of Hours during this period of history,[34] but they conveniently shared a goal with the real murderer, the Sapphir'd King,[35] and said murder took place much later.[36] It is possible that they purposely conflated their assassination of the King Who Speaks, or another star, with the later death of the King of Hours to increase their own celestial clout.
The defeated devils fled to Parabola via Caduceus to escape the Judgements' sight.[37][38] Led by the Eglantine Regent,[39][40] they made a deal with the Fingerkings[41][42] and spent "aeons"[43] in Parabola,[44] mapping and planning.[45] When the devils finally discovered the Neath, the Fingerkings thought they had found their ticket to existence - but it was a poisoned bargain,[46] since the devils' bodies corroded anything that tried to possess them.[47] The devils passed through mirrors back into reality, and proceeded westward from Irem[46] until they settled at the current location of Hell, bargaining with the Creditor for safe settlement.[48] The founding of Hell was promptly celebrated by the deposition of the Eglantine Regent, who had proclaimed herself sole ruler.[49] (At least if the Book of Roses is to be believed; it is possible, given subsequent events, that this last segment was added much later.)
After establishing the government of Hell, the devils began to be ruled by Princes (Grand Devils), but these were all overthrown in one Season of Revolutions. While it is unknown whether any Grand Devils still roam free in the Neath, their supporters live in exile in the crater of Mount Palmerston[50] and among the Brazen Brigade of the Hinterlands. The Brass Embassy will now pay a fortune for the whereabouts of just one of their former overlords.[51]
At some point after humans arrived in the Neath, the devils' old rivals, the Fingerkings, consulted "the grumpiest bee in both worlds" for advice on how to bring more creatures to Parabola.[52] In an apparent attempt to settle the earlier grudge between the two parties, the Fingerkings offered to give one-fifth of the proceeds of their endeavors to Hell.[53] In return, the devils used the Hellish Exile's Rose to brew the first batches of prisoner's honey, creating a lucrative export for themselves and granting the Fingerkings their "new friends."[54]
References
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