The Gonfaloniere: Difference between revisions
KestrelGirl (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary Tag: visualeditor |
KestrelGirl (talk | contribs) No edit summary Tag: visualeditor-wikitext |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Spoiler}} | {{Spoiler}} | ||
<blockquote>''"The head of the Guild of Gondoliers, the one who wears the golden mask."''<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_the_Gonfaloniere|Ask about the Gonfaloniere|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote> | {{Character|image1=maskamber.png|caption1=The Gonfaloniere's mask.|location=[[Jericho Locks]]|allegiance=[[The Guild of Gondoliers]] (leader)|relationships=[[The Swan Bride]]}}<blockquote>''"The head of the Guild of Gondoliers, the one who wears the golden mask."''<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_the_Gonfaloniere|Ask about the Gonfaloniere|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Gonfaloniere''' is the leader of the [[Guild of Gondoliers]],<ref name=":0" /> who wears a golden mask as a symbol of their authority.<ref name=":0" /> | ||
The '''Gonfaloniere''' is the leader of the [[Guild of Gondoliers]],<ref name=":0" /> who wears a golden mask as a symbol of their authority.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Ruler of the Rivers== | ==Ruler of the Rivers== | ||
Revision as of 05:35, 1 April 2023
|
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. |
"The head of the Guild of Gondoliers, the one who wears the golden mask."[1]
The Gonfaloniere is the leader of the Guild of Gondoliers,[1] who wears a golden mask as a symbol of their authority.[1]
Ruler of the Rivers
Traditionally the Gonfaloniere is selected, and can be challenged for their position, via a boat race to Hell and back.[2] The winner claims or retains the title, while the loser is condemned to Hell.[3] The practice has all but died out more recently, however, after a string of short-lived Gonfalonieres.[4] At least one early holder of the title spent their time exploring and charting Jericho's canals, but they were a worse leader than an oarsman, and their position was challenged frequently.[5]
The Reigning Gonfaloniere
|
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. |
"He spoke to the Lotus Pool, and the Pool answered. Blood for water."
The current Gonfaloniere has held his title for the last fifty years.[6] He is a personable but cunning man,[7][8] with green eyes behind his golden mask;[9] he is seen wearing a sable cloak[10] and brandishing a golden cane.[11] From what little one might see of his pale skin, the veins beneath it run a poisonous green.[12]
By the time the Gonfaloniere assumed his position, he was already a senior member of the Guild of Gondoliers and renowned for his great skill and speed as a boatman.[13] He was a natural fit for his role, but knew what would happen if his skill deteriorated with age, so he ventured far and wide to find a way to prevent a gruesome demise at the hands of Hell.[13] He found his answer in the Poisoned Priestess and the toxic waters of the Lotus Pool;[14] she told him that he would need to replace his blood with the canal waters, thus becoming one with the waters themselves, in order to be unbeatable in a race. This was too high a price for him to pay,[15] so he manipulated the Priestess into allowing him to make a substitution.[8]
That substitution was his betrothed, who still lived on the Surface.[16] He brought her to the Neath,[16] and used the unwitting young woman as a sacrifice in the ritual. The Priestess wed the couple;[17] then she replaced the bride's blood with the poisonous waters[18] and infused a mere sample of this ichor into the aspiring Gonfaloniere's veins, securing his reign indefinitely.[19] The bride, now known as the Swan Bride, was transformed into something inhuman by the ritual.[20] She retained only fragmentary memories of what had happened to her,[21] and was left to wander Jericho. Meanwhile, her would-be husband spun up a cover story[22] and forbade anyone from interacting with her,[23] ensuring she would be a hated outcast for as long as he reigned.
References
|
