The Fall of London: Difference between revisions
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|date = February 14th, 1862 | |date = February 14th, 1862 | ||
|alias = | |alias =The Fall | ||
}}<blockquote>''"Forty years ago, London was stolen by bats."''<ref>{{Citation|https://www.fallenlondon.com/|Home Page|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>Forty years ago — give or take — [[London]] found itself in a terrible predicament. Britain's Prince Consort, long admired and beloved, had fallen ill with typhoid fever. No one had expected his condition to take a turn for the worse, as he had been in generally good health, but on December 15, 1861, his death was announced.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..." [Editor's note: This is a snippet from a [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-death-of-prince-albert/15721531/ newspaper] announcing the death of Albert in 1861]''</ref> | }}<blockquote>''"Forty years ago, London was stolen by bats."''<ref>{{Citation|https://www.fallenlondon.com/|Home Page|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>Forty years ago — give or take — [[London]] found itself in a terrible predicament. Britain's Prince Consort, long admired and beloved, had fallen ill with typhoid fever. No one had expected his condition to take a turn for the worse, as he had been in generally good health, but on December 15, 1861, his death was announced.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..." [Editor's note: This is a snippet from a [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-death-of-prince-albert/15721531/ newspaper] announcing the death of Albert in 1861]''</ref> | ||
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<blockquote>''"London settles slowly into the influence of the Neath. The return of the dead, the articulacy of beasts, these will become more common."''<ref>{{Citation|https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Miscellaneous_Interactions|Mr Pages: Miscellaneous Interactions|Mask of the Rose|}}</ref></blockquote>The casualties of the Fall were staggering. Many people disappeared, and only the bodies of a few were found.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Introduction Recalling the Past: Introduction, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"So many people vanished that night and have never been found since. Only a few of them left corpses in the morning."''</ref> Survivors found themselves beset by the symptoms of trauma,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#After_the_Fall,_needing_to_lie After the Fall, needing to lie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"It's a long list and every item on it is open to attack. Insomnia, accompanied by a sharp pain high in my abdomen, like something gnawing its way out. Faces sometimes in the mirror that are not my face. Nightmares when I did sleep; fever dreams that didn't melt on waking, but left a detritus of imposter memories."''</ref> and many locked themselves in their homes out of fear.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#After_the_Fall,_failing_to_heal Recalling the Past: After the Fall, failing to heal, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"There were days when I couldn't leave my room and I couldn't (also) think of anything that had happened or anything that was going to happen. [...] I go about now and my days are better, but what was wrong has not come right. A wound that does not close as lips do not close when they have something still to say."''</ref> And of course, [[the Sun]] did not rise on London again. | <blockquote>''"London settles slowly into the influence of the Neath. The return of the dead, the articulacy of beasts, these will become more common."''<ref>{{Citation|https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Miscellaneous_Interactions|Mr Pages: Miscellaneous Interactions|Mask of the Rose|}}</ref></blockquote>The casualties of the Fall were staggering. Many people disappeared, and only the bodies of a few were found.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Introduction Recalling the Past: Introduction, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"So many people vanished that night and have never been found since. Only a few of them left corpses in the morning."''</ref> Survivors found themselves beset by the symptoms of trauma,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#After_the_Fall,_needing_to_lie After the Fall, needing to lie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"It's a long list and every item on it is open to attack. Insomnia, accompanied by a sharp pain high in my abdomen, like something gnawing its way out. Faces sometimes in the mirror that are not my face. Nightmares when I did sleep; fever dreams that didn't melt on waking, but left a detritus of imposter memories."''</ref> and many locked themselves in their homes out of fear.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#After_the_Fall,_failing_to_heal Recalling the Past: After the Fall, failing to heal, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"There were days when I couldn't leave my room and I couldn't (also) think of anything that had happened or anything that was going to happen. [...] I go about now and my days are better, but what was wrong has not come right. A wound that does not close as lips do not close when they have something still to say."''</ref> And of course, [[the Sun]] did not rise on London again. | ||
It did not take long for the citizenry to begin encountering the strange phenomena of the Neath, like the impermanence of death,<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Miscellaneous_Interactions|Mr Pages: Miscellaneous Interactions|Mask of the Rose|}} ''"London settles slowly into the influence of the Neath. The return of the dead, the articulacy of beasts, these will become more common."''</ref> the presence of [[Parabola]] behind mirrors,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#I_glimpsed_something_in_a_bit_of_mirror Recalling the Past: I glimpsed something in a bit of mirror, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"In a mirror, I saw something that wasn't my reflection. A Mongolian woman. She sat at a desk in a flooding palace, and the milky water had come level with her knee. She wrote in haste; her hands were gory with ink; ink stained and dimmed the firebirds embroidered on her sleeve. The glimpse of me goaded her. The ink bottle upset; blue-black bloomed in the floodwater."''</ref> and animals becoming sapient and able to speak.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Ferret#More_Newfound_Animal_Skills Ferret: More Newfound Animal Skills, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"They can talk. Not those ones. They ran away when we took the wall down. But others what I met afterward. One of 'em up and says to me, 'Where d'you think we got the notion to build traps then?' Only it was more fancy-spoken. Whoever taught it English, taught it to talk posh."''</ref> Faces disappeared from corpses, stolen by creatures Londoners would later call [[Snuffers]].<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Horatia_offered_Harjit_a_place_to_bring_the_wounded Recalling the Past: Horatia offered Harjit a place to bring the wounded, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"One young man was crushed by a beam across the middle. Someone had come and taken off his face."''</ref> Streets twisted and shifted without reason,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Introduction Recalling the Past: Introduction, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Once, around midnight, Griz went upstairs and opened the door to the street, but she came right back down again. She said the cobbles were galloping about. It wasn't safe to walk outside."''</ref> and entire structures vanished<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#There_was_a_stranger_across_the_way Recalling the Past: There was a stranger across the way, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Come the morning, that house was gone, and its neighbours on each side were sharing a party wall."''</ref> at the [[Masters]]' command,<ref>''[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Something_troubles_me_about_the_stranger_who_marked_the_curb Recalling the Past: Something troubles me about the stranger who marked the curb, Mask of the Rose] "Once I peered out of the basement window and saw a figure walking down the street. [...] It was a Master of the Bazaar, a creature the height and shape of Mr Pages. But its robes were sooty, not stained with ink – as I recall."''</ref><ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#There_was_a_stranger_across_the_way Recalling the Past: There was a stranger across the way, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"It paced out deliberate steps to the kerbstone opposite Mrs Chapmans, and on the stone face it wrote letters of fire."''</ref> all in an effort to cull the population to a more manageable size.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Theories_or_Manifesto_for_Archie Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"The city was newly-bought but overpopulous. Overmany souls in the Neath would increase our obligations."''</ref> [[Mr Mirrors]] issued cryptic warnings of these supernatural happenings through London's dreams, but they did little to help.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Various_Inquiries Mr Pages: Various Inquiries, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Mr Mirrors performed the necessary instructicance. What might be expected, and what ought to be done. London did not render attention."''</ref> | It did not take long for the citizenry to begin encountering the strange phenomena of the [[Neath]], like the impermanence of [[death]],<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Miscellaneous_Interactions|Mr Pages: Miscellaneous Interactions|Mask of the Rose|}} ''"London settles slowly into the influence of the Neath. The return of the dead, the articulacy of beasts, these will become more common."''</ref> the presence of [[Parabola]] behind mirrors,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#I_glimpsed_something_in_a_bit_of_mirror Recalling the Past: I glimpsed something in a bit of mirror, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"In a mirror, I saw something that wasn't my reflection. A Mongolian woman. She sat at a desk in a flooding palace, and the milky water had come level with her knee. She wrote in haste; her hands were gory with ink; ink stained and dimmed the firebirds embroidered on her sleeve. The glimpse of me goaded her. The ink bottle upset; blue-black bloomed in the floodwater."''</ref> and animals becoming sapient and able to speak.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Ferret#More_Newfound_Animal_Skills Ferret: More Newfound Animal Skills, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"They can talk. Not those ones. They ran away when we took the wall down. But others what I met afterward. One of 'em up and says to me, 'Where d'you think we got the notion to build traps then?' Only it was more fancy-spoken. Whoever taught it English, taught it to talk posh."''</ref> Faces disappeared from corpses, stolen by creatures Londoners would later call [[Snuffers]].<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Horatia_offered_Harjit_a_place_to_bring_the_wounded Recalling the Past: Horatia offered Harjit a place to bring the wounded, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"One young man was crushed by a beam across the middle. Someone had come and taken off his face."''</ref> Streets twisted and shifted without reason,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Introduction Recalling the Past: Introduction, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Once, around midnight, Griz went upstairs and opened the door to the street, but she came right back down again. She said the cobbles were galloping about. It wasn't safe to walk outside."''</ref> and entire structures vanished<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#There_was_a_stranger_across_the_way Recalling the Past: There was a stranger across the way, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Come the morning, that house was gone, and its neighbours on each side were sharing a party wall."''</ref> at the [[Masters]]' command,<ref>''[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Something_troubles_me_about_the_stranger_who_marked_the_curb Recalling the Past: Something troubles me about the stranger who marked the curb, Mask of the Rose] "Once I peered out of the basement window and saw a figure walking down the street. [...] It was a Master of the Bazaar, a creature the height and shape of Mr Pages. But its robes were sooty, not stained with ink – as I recall."''</ref><ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#There_was_a_stranger_across_the_way Recalling the Past: There was a stranger across the way, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"It paced out deliberate steps to the kerbstone opposite Mrs Chapmans, and on the stone face it wrote letters of fire."''</ref> all in an effort to cull the population to a more manageable size.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Theories_or_Manifesto_for_Archie Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"The city was newly-bought but overpopulous. Overmany souls in the Neath would increase our obligations."''</ref> [[Mr Mirrors]] issued cryptic warnings of these supernatural happenings through London's dreams, but they did little to help.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Various_Inquiries Mr Pages: Various Inquiries, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Mr Mirrors performed the necessary instructicance. What might be expected, and what ought to be done. London did not render attention."''</ref> | ||
The first person to come back from the dead was a Jewish gentleman by the name of [[David Landau]], who had the unfortunate distinction of also being Fallen London’s first murder victim. At first, his resurrection sparked awe,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/David#Visitors David: Visitors, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"We've had reporters on my resurrection from the newspapers. We've had medical men. We've had an artist who wanted to capture an eye-witness account of Death's appearance for his next painting. But above all, we have received half of Jewish London."''</ref> with some in the Jewish community wondering if he could be the returned prophet Elijah or even the Messiah.<ref name=":1">[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/David#Decreasing_Visitors David: Decreasing Visitors, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"David: I'm not the only person who has returned from the far shore. Rachel: Several of them were women. Naturally, that put an end to the thought that returning could make you the Messiah, or even Elijah."''</ref> But when it became clear that returning from the dead was simply another property of the Neath, the excitement faded.<ref name=":1" /> | The first person to come back from the dead was a Jewish gentleman by the name of [[David Landau]], who had the unfortunate distinction of also being Fallen London’s first murder victim. At first, his resurrection sparked awe,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/David#Visitors David: Visitors, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"We've had reporters on my resurrection from the newspapers. We've had medical men. We've had an artist who wanted to capture an eye-witness account of Death's appearance for his next painting. But above all, we have received half of Jewish London."''</ref> with some in the Jewish community wondering if he could be the returned prophet Elijah or even the Messiah.<ref name=":1">[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/David#Decreasing_Visitors David: Decreasing Visitors, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"David: I'm not the only person who has returned from the far shore. Rachel: Several of them were women. Naturally, that put an end to the thought that returning could make you the Messiah, or even Elijah."''</ref> But when it became clear that returning from the dead was simply another property of the Neath, the excitement faded.<ref name=":1" /> | ||
Latest revision as of 19:55, 17 March 2025
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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. |
"Forty years ago, London was stolen by bats."[1]
Forty years ago — give or take — London found itself in a terrible predicament. Britain's Prince Consort, long admired and beloved, had fallen ill with typhoid fever. No one had expected his condition to take a turn for the worse, as he had been in generally good health, but on December 15, 1861, his death was announced.[2]
His passing shattered the reigning Queen. Consumed by grief, she intended to wear jet-black mourning dress for the rest of her days, and ordered the palace to be shuttered to keep out sunlight.[3] Her love for her Prince Consort was boundless enough that she would do anything to bring him back — and that love drew the attention of the Masters of the Bazaar.[4] They came with an offer:[5] they would preserve the life of her beloved in exchange for everything she owned. And that included London.[6]
Once the deal was struck, the Masters granted Victoria a week before they would return to claim the city. She sent notice to Parliament, granting them full discretion over how to share this information with the public.[7] However, the government ultimately chose to withhold the news, fearing widespread riots and potential backlash from the Masters.[8]
So it was that on February 14, 1862,[9] the Masters came to London and took it downward into the vast, lightless cavern known as the Neath. It fell upon Karakorum, the Fourth City (or what remained of it at least), crushing it and becoming the Fifth City.
The Fall[edit]
"The dimming of the sun at three in the afternoon. The sky turning the colour of rust. The horrible bang and the cloud of dust from the direction of Westminster. The tolling of the bells. The horseman who rode down the street, liveried in the garb of the palace, shouting: In her Majesty's Name, go indoors! And then the sky was full of bats."[10]
The Fall occurred in the afternoon with what could only have been described as a series of signs of the apocalypse: the sun dimming, the sky turning a deep red, a tremendous noise heard from the direction of Westminster. At least one royal cavalry officer was ordered to ride through the streets, warning civilians to go inside. Almost immediately afterward, the sky was swarmed by an unimaginable number of bats.[11]
As the citizens scrambled for safety, many rushed indoors; the homeless crowded into churches and under bridges.[12] Amidst the panic, the iconic symbols of London faltered, as Parliament and Elizabeth Tower were swallowed by the Thames.[13] London itself, as well as everything else the Thames touched[14] and the royal holding of Balmoral in Scotland, were dragged into the Neath.[15] The rest of England, along with a peculiar section of London spared by a technicality,[16] remained on the Surface.[17]
Aftermath[edit]
"London settles slowly into the influence of the Neath. The return of the dead, the articulacy of beasts, these will become more common."[18]
The casualties of the Fall were staggering. Many people disappeared, and only the bodies of a few were found.[19] Survivors found themselves beset by the symptoms of trauma,[20] and many locked themselves in their homes out of fear.[21] And of course, the Sun did not rise on London again.
It did not take long for the citizenry to begin encountering the strange phenomena of the Neath, like the impermanence of death,[22] the presence of Parabola behind mirrors,[23] and animals becoming sapient and able to speak.[22][24] Faces disappeared from corpses, stolen by creatures Londoners would later call Snuffers.[25] Streets twisted and shifted without reason,[26] and entire structures vanished[27] at the Masters' command,[28][29] all in an effort to cull the population to a more manageable size.[30] Mr Mirrors issued cryptic warnings of these supernatural happenings through London's dreams, but they did little to help.[31]
The first person to come back from the dead was a Jewish gentleman by the name of David Landau, who had the unfortunate distinction of also being Fallen London’s first murder victim. At first, his resurrection sparked awe,[32] with some in the Jewish community wondering if he could be the returned prophet Elijah or even the Messiah.[33] But when it became clear that returning from the dead was simply another property of the Neath, the excitement faded.[33]
A month after the Fall, on March 20,[34] virtually all of London's trees withered and died overnight,[35] for reasons that remain unknown but went beyond a simple lack of sunlight.[36] Food supplies dwindled and starvation took hold,[37] causing the populace to turn to eating pets, vermin,[38] and whatever strange beasts now lurked in the Thames.[39] Eventually the Masters began distributing food from their own stores, in a gesture of goodwill with manipulative implications.[40]
Mr Pages established the Ministry of Accounting and Recounting and began a census of London's current population.[41] The purpose of the census was to collate love stories for presentation to the Bazaar.[42]
References[edit]
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