Mount Palmerston

"Tangles of thorned scrub climb the rocky slopes of the volcano. There are ruins here and there, of houses destroyed by fire."

"Brimstone. Always brimstone."

Mount Palmerston is a large volcanic island to the north of the Unterzee.

A Hell Away From Home

"Far above, the mountain's top flickers red: just for an instant."

Mt Palmerston is a sparsely populated island near a presumably active volcano. As would be expected of such a location, the surrounding area is completely covered in ash, rising up to one's knees in the island's loneliest corners.

The island was once home to many generations of agrarian settlements, all of which were completely destroyed in past volcanic eruptions, leaving behind only scorched fields and ruined structures. These ruins may have more to them than meets the eye: they're dotted with strange relics of the New Sequence written in the languages of Hell, and mysterious, bent crosses. There's also an oasis near Mt Palmerston, full of unnatural trees and strange fungi. The trees provide useful bounties of gall-fruits, and the streams are filled with edible gloam-carp, but the oasis may also be home to other monstrosities that no wise zailor would meet head-on.

The soul trade has a strong foothold in Mt Palmerston, with mysterious hooded figures serving as patrons and contacts for smugglers. One of these figures is the Buzzing Beggar, who, despite its title, does in fact pay for smuggled souls; it also wears an odd mask, and has hard, wood-like flesh.

The Brimstone Convention

"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.

"They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. But the road to the Brimstone Convention is paved with cinders."

"They don't do us any harm. They stay up there, and we stay down here. If Hell's fighting itself, that's good for us all, isn't it?"

The crater of Mt Palmerston.

Once, there was a revolution in Hell. Those on the losing side of the revolution, the aristocratic Grand Devils, have taken up shelter at Mt Palmerston, establishing the Brimstone Convention. They tend to remain near the summit of the island, very rarely interfering with the port's activities, but their powerful droning, like millions and millions of bees, permeates throughout the mountain's higher slopes, and is loud enough to rattle a person's teeth from their skull. These Grand Devils also possess massive crowns made of garish, searing metals, which they've worn since the founding of Hell. One of these crowns is larger than a horse.

A marigold.

The Brass Embassy is hellbent on hunting down the renegade Grand Devils that escaped to Palmerston, to the extent that they'll provide huge favors in return for information of their activities. Thanks to the bounties on the Grand Devils' heads, the Brimstone Convention believes that the Grand Devils who couldn't find refuge at Mt Palmerston are forever lost. However, a devil exiled to Marigold Station received an assignment from Hell to arrange the Annulment of an alliance between the Convention and a Grand Devil residing near Hell; in exchange, she would receive clemency. When signed by multiple parties, the Annulment would comprehensively void all the information and obligations exchanged between them. The Convention provisionally signed the Annulment; while they do not expect any monarch of Hell to sign in return, they remain hopeful for any confirmation that one may still be alive out there.

The Wistful Deviless

Incidentally, a certain Wistful Deviless resides in a cozy cottage near Mt Palmerston, acting as a guardian of the crater and preventing unauthorized access and eavesdropping from visitors. Despite her station, she misses Hell, and she seeks to feed intelligence about the Brimstone Convention to the Brass Embassy so that they may allow her to return.

What exactly the Grand Devils of the Brimstone Convention are plotting remains unclear, but it appears that their schemes may involve dreams, Judgements, Salt, and even a potential alliance with any one of those influential powers...

Real-Life Inspirations

Many real-life locations called "Palmerston" existed throughout history, named after the famous Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston. Temple was the Prime Minister of the UK from 1859-1865, and had a long and famed career as a politician throughout the Victorian Era; due to his reputation, diplomacy, and political activity, explorers named many sites after him. One such site in particular is the Palmerston Atoll in the Cook Islands of Polynesia, a chain of 15 small islands which are in fact the top of a volcano. Of these islands, the island of Palmerston is the only one currently populated.