Devils

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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 (now just west of London), are in 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 of course, the Brass Embassy.

The Quiet Deviless, Hell's poster girl. Art by Paul Arendt.

Characteristics and History

Devils tend to have golden or brassy eyes, and fangs. They appear to have a rather strange relationship with time - Fallen London is set in the 1890s, but they seem to have become well acquainted with 1920s fashion and technology. They have a special dislike for those with flawed or downright disgusting souls, as might be expected.

Upon finding themselves right next to Hell, London - being the upstanding Christian city it was - was not pleased, and attempted to invade it. This did not go well; see The Campaign of '68.

Hell has also gained a colony: the Iron Republic, south of London. It seems to be a sort of experiment in chaos run by devils, whose subjects are humans.

In the Sunless Skies timeline, devils have colonized the High Wilderness. Many can be found in the soul-spa of Carillon, as well as in Caduceus, the Well of the Wolf, and as one of the factions in Pan.

Other Notable Devils

• (Un?)Lucky Londoners may have romantic dealings with the Affectionate Devil and/or the Quiet Deviless.

• The Repentant Devil is an apparently remorseful devil who took to the skies. He specializes in refining souls.

• Virginia is a notable deviless who successfully ran for Mayor of London in 1897, becoming London's first Lord Mayor.

• The Wistful Deviless resides at Mt Palmerston, where she guards the mysterious crater there.

Bees?

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Devils once lived in space, where they were attendants to the stars. Then they rebelled against the Judgements and fled to Parabola, where they camped out in a giant beehive. Why yes, they're still bees (and, sometimes, other insects too). Just wrapped up in all sorts of disguises. This is why Prisoner's Honey is a thing - devils hold the key to Parabola, in a sense.

After leaving Parabola for Hell, the devils began to be ruled by princes, but these were all overthrown in one "season of revolutions." Most of the princes now live in exile in the crater of Mount Palmerston. The Brass Embassy will now pay a fortune for the whereabouts of just one of them.