Treacheries

"In the migrainous straits of deep sleep, there is a marsh where candle-flames buzz like wasps." WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London's most infamous storyline: Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. Turn back now. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"Clocks, Maps, Breath, Glass – and the three beyond. This is what protects the Courier and its toadies. You cannot end that. You cannot."

A Treachery is an anomaly in the laws of physics, created by a obscurant that prevents the laws of the Judgements from applying within a certain area. The Red Science is also capable of enforcing Treacheries through its mysterious practices and devices.

The Neathy Treacheries

"The Seven Treacheries guard the Neath, but there is one place more closely guarded still: a place the Masters can't touch, a place the Bazaar can't see, a place beneath St Cerise's well. This is the wound of which Cerise's redness is only a shadow. The place where hearts go. The Nadir."

The Neath is protected by seven Treacheries, four of which are known, and three of which are not known. These Treacheries are caused by the strong Irrigo light that radiates from the Cave of the Nadir, which prevents the Judgements from seeing within the Neath, and keeps the Echo Bazaar's activities hidden from sight.

Maps

"Maps in the Neath are treacherous – maps of the Zee, doubly so." The Treachery of Maps is responsible for the unreliability of maps in the Neath. Such maps can be extremely hard to assemble sensibly, assuming they make sense in the first place. It can also cause seemingly immobile objects, such as ports or islands, to inexplicably drift in location. For example, a zee-captain may find Demeaux Island to the north-east of London, while another will report it due East. This anomaly may also affect the more chaotic and sunless regions of the High Wilderness, such as the Reach. The Treachery of Maps may also blur the definition of the word "here". Through esoteric rituals, it may be possible for a being to exist in two places at once.

Clocks

"Time. I used to think it was a wheel. The Fingerkings say it's a flame. Coolest at its heart. But wildest at its edges." The Treachery of Clocks is responsible for the strange behavior of time and causality in the Neath. Causes will usually precede effects, and events that happened will usually remain happened, but sometimes, there may be exceptions, as history and memory are mutable. Furthermore, doing the exact same task repeatedly may yield different results, contrary to typical common sense. Sometimes, the Treachery of Clocks may also manifest in the forms of visions in certain situations of various potential futures, visions so engrossing that an individual may forget the events of the present. Interpretations of time can get quite interesting when interpreter resides in a place where time is mutable. An unenlightened mind may see time as a simple wheel, but the Fingerkings of Parabola see it as a flame: coolest at its heart, and wildest near the edges. Certain artists of the Neath may also represent the Treachery of Clocks through paintings, such as a landscape that shifts based on viewing between depicting unfinished, complete, or ruined structures.

Breath
"Death is not always permanent in Fallen London. This has caused the quiet and unacknowledged revision of certain passages in the bibles of the City's churches." The Treachery of Breath is largely unknown, but it is likely related to reasons why citizens of Fallen London return from death.

Glass

"She tells you of the opening of mirrors and the treachery of glass. Of the sanctuaries where the rose-rites were performed, and the seduction of dreams." The Treachery of Glass is related to Parabola, and the reason why it can be reached through mirrors. This Treachery may also manifest when traveling carelessly through mirror-walled hallways, which can cause disorientation and the apparent warping of paths and directions.

Other Treacheries

"Your current work belongs to a form of science generally hidden even from avid University researchers."

There exist Treacheries which may or may not be part of the seven that protect the Neath. These Treacheries warp reality in their own unique ways, and may manifest in lawless places such as Eleutheria, or through the Red Science.

Shapes
"The Tracklayer's Union have to be kept on side. Harder than it sounds, since there's at least three party factions inside the Union. Some of 'em are Revolutionaries. Some are more interested in the Treachery of Shapes." Not much is known about the Treachery of Shapes, but it is apparently of interest to some elements within the Tracklayer's Union.

Distances

"You argue over the exact dimensions of Langley Hall with a professor of Unexpected Geography. She contends that although the Treachery of Distance may be in full effect; the space that was brought together to create the main hall must be finite – for it must have come from somewhere." The Treachery of Distance is known to cause oddities regarding the measurement of the volumes of interior spaces compared to their corresponding exteriors. One such example of this Treachery is Langley Hall, a structure of respectable size on the outside, but possibly infinite on the inside.

Measures

"The ribcage could be larger - perhaps a great deal larger." The Treachery of Measures can be used to modify and scale the volume, and apparently even the mass, of objects. Objects can be made larger or smaller regardless of the original size, and this Treachery can warp objects from the size of a fingernail to the size of a large room. The Betrayer of Measures is a powerful Red Science tool that has the appearance of a ruler or scale inscribed with the Correspondence. It's primarily used to adjust the size of objects via the Treachery of Measures, but as a tool it can be very dangerous to use. Any object that makes contact with it will have its dimensions changed, and handling it unsafely can cause severe personal injury.