Death: Difference between revisions
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==Not Again== | ==Not Again== | ||
Thanks to the light of [[Stone]], people who die in places such as [[London]] may recover from death; those who die far out in [[the Unterzee]] often aren't so lucky.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Adam%27s_Way#Adam.27s_Way|Go ashore with the Adventuress|Sunless Sea|}} | |||
</ref> Death's elusiveness has caused some... changes in London's society. Serial killers such as [[Jack-of-Smiles]] aren't nearly as feared as those on the Surface, and the game of [[Knife-and-Candle]] basically consists of players competitively murdering each other. Furthermore, the elusiveness of death led to significant revisions of the Bible, thanks to [[The Church|God's Editors]]. | |||
All are not free from mortality's grip, however, as being chopped up into mincemeat or dying of natural causes is often fatal, permanently. Those who die many, many times often become [[The Tomb-Colonies|tomb-colonists]], especially when their ages and scars catch up to them.<ref name = "snippets"/> | |||
==A Slow Boat== | |||
''"Placid black water. Barren trees. A boat filled with pale and shivering passengers. That must be the place of the dead, over there on the far bank. Oh good."''<ref name = "a boat trip">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Category:A_boat_trip|Category:A boat trip|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ''"Placid black water. Barren trees. A boat filled with pale and shivering passengers. That must be the place of the dead, over there on the far bank. Oh good."''<ref name = "a boat trip">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Category:A_boat_trip|Category:A boat trip|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ||
[[File:Boatmanhat.png|thumb|The Boatman's Hat]] | [[File:Boatmanhat.png|thumb|The Boatman's Hat]] | ||
People who die in the Neath, whether temporarily or permanently, end up on '''a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river''', which serves as a limbo of sorts | People who die in the Neath, whether temporarily or permanently, end up on '''a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river''', which serves as a limbo of sorts. The dead await the boat on one shore, and the deceased go to the other side to rest. The dead that pass here have neither bodies nor souls, as both facets of their being still exist in the world of the living.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Remember_where_you_fell|Remember where you fell|Fallen London|}}</ref> The land of the dead is completely disconnected from the land of the living, though on occasion, items such as spectacles may cross over.<ref name = "the shallows">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"The Skittish Engineer waves his spectacles [...] "Incredible that these passed over with me. I can't tell if they're clean or not.""''</ref> This land also has five rivers,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Trail_your_fingers_in_the_water|Trail your fingers in the water|Fallen London|}}</ref> and it's implied that it ''may'' have ties to [[Parabola|the land beyond the mirrors]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Gaze_into_Heart%27s_Mirror|Gaze into Heart%27s Mirror|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ||
[[File:Boatmanlamp.png|thumb|The Boatman's Lantern]] | [[File:Boatmanlamp.png|thumb|The Boatman's Lantern]] | ||
[[The Constables]] have agents that die and return regularly to ensure that certain personages stay dead permanently. Such a task is extremely mentally taxing for obvious reasons.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Where_the_Dead_Go|Where the Dead Go|Fallen London|}} | [[The Constables]] have agents that die and return regularly to ensure that certain personages stay dead permanently. Such a task is extremely mentally taxing for obvious reasons.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Where_the_Dead_Go|Where the Dead Go|Fallen London|}} | ||
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==The Boatman== | ==The Boatman== | ||
''"Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Play_chess_with_the_Boatman|Play chess with the Boatman|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ''"Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Play_chess_with_the_Boatman|Play chess with the Boatman|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ||
''"'Enjoy it while it lasts,' he growls. 'You're all of you mine in the end.'"''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/A_friendly_greeting|A friendly greeting|Fallen London|}}</ref> | |||
[[File:Boatman.png|thumb|The Boatman]] | [[File:Boatman.png|thumb|The Boatman]] | ||
'''The Boatman''' is the Neath's Grim Reaper; it is his job to ferry the spirits of the dead across the river to the far shore. The Boatman appears to the dead as a skeletal figure, always wearing a brimmed top hat and possessing a softly glowing lantern.<ref name = "passing on">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"That skull looks directly at you. Those fingerbones beckon you forwards. Into your left hand, he places his lantern [...] Into your right hand, he places his oar [...] he lifts the hat from his head and places it on yours."''</ref> He has a special fondness for chess and dice, and winning against him may grant a spirit a little more time in the lands of the living.<ref name = "a boat trip"/> He also likes weasels, bats,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Offer_the_Boatman_a_sacrifice|Offer the Boatman a sacrifice|Fallen London|}}</ref> and dice.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Dice_with_the_Boatman|Dice with the Boatman|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Boatman has hinted that he may answer to a higher power, possibly even the [[Judgements]] themselves.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Your_move...|Your move...|Fallen London|}}</ref> | '''The Boatman''' is the Neath's Grim Reaper; it is his job to ferry the spirits of the dead across the river to the far shore. The Boatman appears to the dead as a skeletal figure, always wearing a brimmed top hat and possessing a softly glowing lantern.<ref name = "passing on">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"That skull looks directly at you. Those fingerbones beckon you forwards. Into your left hand, he places his lantern [...] Into your right hand, he places his oar [...] he lifts the hat from his head and places it on yours."''</ref> He has a special fondness for chess and dice, and winning against him may grant a spirit a little more time in the lands of the living.<ref name = "a boat trip"/> He also likes weasels, bats,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Offer_the_Boatman_a_sacrifice|Offer the Boatman a sacrifice|Fallen London|}}</ref> and dice.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Dice_with_the_Boatman|Dice with the Boatman|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Boatman has hinted that he may answer to a higher power, possibly even the [[Judgements]] themselves.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Your_move...|Your move...|Fallen London|}}</ref> However, he has also stated that he "failed" these powers, forcing him into exile.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/An_Episode_for_Exceptional_Friends|The Season of Family Ties|Fallen London|}} ''""I disappointed them. I failed in my service, and this is my exile." He surveys his boat and its passengers. "Now, I fulfil my duty as well as the Neath permits. But it will never be enough." He grins – but then he always grins."''</ref> | ||
The job of the Boatman seems to be a bequeathed one to some extent, as the current Boatman is actually capable of passing on his position to those who seek it.<ref name = "passing on"/> Taking up the Boatman's oars gives the recipient a skeletal appearance,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You have taken on the mantle of the Boatman. To the dead, you will appear skeletal, sinister; the embodiment of Death."''</ref> though those who have died several times are sometimes capable of telling the Boatmen apart.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You're not the real Boatman," he says."''</ref> The Boatman is actually capable of looking into the memories of the dying, which can be useful for gathering intel,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"When you concentrate, you share the images he sees. [...] Is this some power the Boatman holds?"''</ref> and he is held in his boat by a mysterious force; there must always be a Boatman, to prevent the dead from piling up on the near shore.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You can't seem to leave the boat and walk towards the realms of the living. What is this force that holds you? "There has to be a Boatman," the previous Boatman says. "Otherwise, the dead would simply build up here, on the border.""''</ref> | The job of the Boatman seems to be a bequeathed one to some extent, as the current Boatman is actually capable of passing on his position to those who seek it.<ref name = "passing on"/> Taking up the Boatman's oars gives the recipient a skeletal appearance,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You have taken on the mantle of the Boatman. To the dead, you will appear skeletal, sinister; the embodiment of Death."''</ref> though those who have died several times are sometimes capable of telling the Boatmen apart.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You're not the real Boatman," he says."''</ref> The Boatman is actually capable of looking into the memories of the dying, which can be useful for gathering intel,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"When you concentrate, you share the images he sees. [...] Is this some power the Boatman holds?"''</ref> and he is held in his boat by a mysterious force; there must always be a Boatman, to prevent the dead from piling up on the near shore.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You can't seem to leave the boat and walk towards the realms of the living. What is this force that holds you? "There has to be a Boatman," the previous Boatman says. "Otherwise, the dead would simply build up here, on the border.""''</ref> | ||
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''"The Ephemera are the many, many dead who have come to the Blue Kingdom to enter by Death's Door. They are Ephemera only until they pass through, and then... but it is forbidden to speak of that higher mystery."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Sky_Barnet#Free_Consultation|What is Ephemera status?|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ''"The Ephemera are the many, many dead who have come to the Blue Kingdom to enter by Death's Door. They are Ephemera only until they pass through, and then... but it is forbidden to speak of that higher mystery."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Sky_Barnet#Free_Consultation|What is Ephemera status?|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ||
[[File:Maskedshade.png|thumb|120px|A Shade. Art from Sunless Skies.]] | [[File:Maskedshade.png|thumb|120px|A Shade. Art from Sunless Skies.]] | ||
Dying in [[the High Wilderness]] sends a spirit to [[the Blue Kingdom]], an ''enormous'' bureaucracy that processes the dead.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Blue_Kingdom|The Blue Kingdom|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> The spirits who roam the Kingdom are called '''shades''', and they often wear white, porcelain masks.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Served_by_Shades|Served by Shades|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> All sorts of creatures, including animals, end up in the Blue Kingdom.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Airs_of_the_Blue_Kingdom|Airs of the Blue Kingdom|Sunless Skies|}} ''"A crowd of masked spirits passes you: an elephant, a giraffe, two cats, a little boy, and many others."''</ref> Those who are dead are considered Ephemera by the Kingdom's bureaucracies, and are eventually sent to [[Death's Door]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Sky_Barnet|What is Ephemera status?|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> But those who are deemed unworthy of passing through, such as immortality seekers, often end up in [[the White Well]]<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Trials_of_the_Dead|Intercede on the Failed Dead's behalf|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> or simply fade into nothing.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/An_Encounter_in_the_Blue_Kingdom|Make the writhing spirit as comfortable as possible|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | Dying in [[the High Wilderness]] sends a spirit to [[the Blue Kingdom]], an ''enormous'' bureaucracy that processes the dead.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Blue_Kingdom|The Blue Kingdom|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> The spirits who roam the Kingdom are called '''shades''', and they often wear white, porcelain masks.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Served_by_Shades|Served by Shades|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> All sorts of creatures, including animals, end up in the Blue Kingdom.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Airs_of_the_Blue_Kingdom|Airs of the Blue Kingdom|Sunless Skies|}} ''"A crowd of masked spirits passes you: an elephant, a giraffe, two cats, a little boy, and many others."''</ref> Those who are dead are considered Ephemera by the Kingdom's bureaucracies, and are eventually sent to [[Death's Door]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Sky_Barnet|What is Ephemera status?|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> But those who are deemed unworthy of passing through, such as immortality seekers, often end up imprisoned in [[the White Well]]<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Trials_of_the_Dead|Intercede on the Failed Dead's behalf|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> or simply fade into nothing.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/An_Encounter_in_the_Blue_Kingdom|Make the writhing spirit as comfortable as possible|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 03:12, 21 September 2019
|
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. |
"Death in the Fifth City isn't necessarily the end. If you're stabbed or shot, someone may come along and sew you back together soon enough. If you're drowned, you'll wake with a hangover. If you die of old age or disease, or if you're hacked to pieces, it's a more serious matter. But in any case, once you die and return to life down here, you'll never be permitted to return to the surface...unless you're one of the few who find a way to immortality."[1]
Death is strange, needless to say.
Not Again
Thanks to the light of Stone, people who die in places such as London may recover from death; those who die far out in the Unterzee often aren't so lucky.[2] Death's elusiveness has caused some... changes in London's society. Serial killers such as Jack-of-Smiles aren't nearly as feared as those on the Surface, and the game of Knife-and-Candle basically consists of players competitively murdering each other. Furthermore, the elusiveness of death led to significant revisions of the Bible, thanks to God's Editors.
All are not free from mortality's grip, however, as being chopped up into mincemeat or dying of natural causes is often fatal, permanently. Those who die many, many times often become tomb-colonists, especially when their ages and scars catch up to them.[1]
A Slow Boat
"Placid black water. Barren trees. A boat filled with pale and shivering passengers. That must be the place of the dead, over there on the far bank. Oh good."[3]
People who die in the Neath, whether temporarily or permanently, end up on a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river, which serves as a limbo of sorts. The dead await the boat on one shore, and the deceased go to the other side to rest. The dead that pass here have neither bodies nor souls, as both facets of their being still exist in the world of the living.[4] The land of the dead is completely disconnected from the land of the living, though on occasion, items such as spectacles may cross over.[5] This land also has five rivers,[6] and it's implied that it may have ties to the land beyond the mirrors.[7]
The Constables have agents that die and return regularly to ensure that certain personages stay dead permanently. Such a task is extremely mentally taxing for obvious reasons.[8]
The Far Shore
"The ground erupts. Grey, wizened figures scrabble from walls of meat, clawing at one another, fingers locked in bone and socket, dragging at your wrists and ankles, tangling hair and tendons. With cracked tongues they beg for transport, promising grisly favours for one day's respite."[9]
The Boatman
"Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course."[10]
"'Enjoy it while it lasts,' he growls. 'You're all of you mine in the end.'"[11]
The Boatman is the Neath's Grim Reaper; it is his job to ferry the spirits of the dead across the river to the far shore. The Boatman appears to the dead as a skeletal figure, always wearing a brimmed top hat and possessing a softly glowing lantern.[12] He has a special fondness for chess and dice, and winning against him may grant a spirit a little more time in the lands of the living.[3] He also likes weasels, bats,[13] and dice.[14] The Boatman has hinted that he may answer to a higher power, possibly even the Judgements themselves.[15] However, he has also stated that he "failed" these powers, forcing him into exile.[16]
The job of the Boatman seems to be a bequeathed one to some extent, as the current Boatman is actually capable of passing on his position to those who seek it.[12] Taking up the Boatman's oars gives the recipient a skeletal appearance,[17] though those who have died several times are sometimes capable of telling the Boatmen apart.[18] The Boatman is actually capable of looking into the memories of the dying, which can be useful for gathering intel,[19] and he is held in his boat by a mysterious force; there must always be a Boatman, to prevent the dead from piling up on the near shore.[20]
The High Wilderness
"The Ephemera are the many, many dead who have come to the Blue Kingdom to enter by Death's Door. They are Ephemera only until they pass through, and then... but it is forbidden to speak of that higher mystery."[21]
Dying in the High Wilderness sends a spirit to the Blue Kingdom, an enormous bureaucracy that processes the dead.[22] The spirits who roam the Kingdom are called shades, and they often wear white, porcelain masks.[23] All sorts of creatures, including animals, end up in the Blue Kingdom.[24] Those who are dead are considered Ephemera by the Kingdom's bureaucracies, and are eventually sent to Death's Door.[25] But those who are deemed unworthy of passing through, such as immortality seekers, often end up imprisoned in the White Well[26] or simply fade into nothing.[27]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sidebar Snippets, Fallen London
- ↑ Go ashore with the Adventuress, Sunless Sea
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Category:A boat trip, Fallen London
- ↑ Remember where you fell, Fallen London
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "The Skittish Engineer waves his spectacles [...] "Incredible that these passed over with me. I can't tell if they're clean or not.""
- ↑ Trail your fingers in the water, Fallen London
- ↑ Gaze into Heart%27s Mirror, Fallen London
- ↑ Where the Dead Go, Fallen London
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London
- ↑ Play chess with the Boatman, Fallen London
- ↑ A friendly greeting, Fallen London
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Shallows, Fallen London "That skull looks directly at you. Those fingerbones beckon you forwards. Into your left hand, he places his lantern [...] Into your right hand, he places his oar [...] he lifts the hat from his head and places it on yours."
- ↑ Offer the Boatman a sacrifice, Fallen London
- ↑ Dice with the Boatman, Fallen London
- ↑ Your move..., Fallen London
- ↑ The Season of Family Ties, Fallen London ""I disappointed them. I failed in my service, and this is my exile." He surveys his boat and its passengers. "Now, I fulfil my duty as well as the Neath permits. But it will never be enough." He grins – but then he always grins."
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "You have taken on the mantle of the Boatman. To the dead, you will appear skeletal, sinister; the embodiment of Death."
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "You're not the real Boatman," he says."
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "When you concentrate, you share the images he sees. [...] Is this some power the Boatman holds?"
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "You can't seem to leave the boat and walk towards the realms of the living. What is this force that holds you? "There has to be a Boatman," the previous Boatman says. "Otherwise, the dead would simply build up here, on the border.""
- ↑ What is Ephemera status?, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Blue Kingdom, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Served by Shades, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Airs of the Blue Kingdom, Sunless Skies "A crowd of masked spirits passes you: an elephant, a giraffe, two cats, a little boy, and many others."
- ↑ What is Ephemera status?, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Intercede on the Failed Dead's behalf, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Make the writhing spirit as comfortable as possible, Sunless Skies
