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Bred and marketed by devils,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Debating_Matters_of_Business_with_the_Board/Descriptions|Debating Matters of Business with the Board/Descriptions|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] the board acquire Hellworms (at a considerable expense, and richly compensating the Devils who would make them available)."''</ref> hellworms are massive beasts that contain law-furnaces within their bodies.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Help_with_the_Hellworms|Help with the Hellworms|Fallen London|}} ''"The Hellworms work very quickly: they swallow rock, and the law furnaces within convert it into something that will not be in your way. They leave a tunnel through the mountain whose walls glow too hot to touch, that are still molten."''</ref> They are employed to drill tunnels through normally impenetrable land,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Debating_Matters_of_Business_with_the_Board/Descriptions|Debating Matters of Business with the Board/Descriptions|Fallen London|}} ''"The Railway has encountered a barrier of impenetrable rock. The proposed solution is that the board acquire Hellworms [...]"''</ref> leaving behind molten rock in their wake.<ref name=":0" /> They are also useful for mining ore containing impossible materials.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_her_to_help_with_research_into_the_Red_Science|Ask her to help with research into the Red Science|Fallen London|}} ''"Need a Hellworm to mine the ore. It doesn't lawfully exist yet."''</ref>
Bred and marketed by devils,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Debating_Matters_of_Business_with_the_Board/Descriptions|Debating Matters of Business with the Board/Descriptions|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] the board acquire Hellworms (at a considerable expense, and richly compensating the Devils who would make them available)."''</ref> hellworms are massive beasts that contain law-furnaces within their bodies.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Help_with_the_Hellworms|Help with the Hellworms|Fallen London|}} ''"The Hellworms work very quickly: they swallow rock, and the law furnaces within convert it into something that will not be in your way. They leave a tunnel through the mountain whose walls glow too hot to touch, that are still molten."''</ref> They are employed to drill tunnels through normally impenetrable land,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Debating_Matters_of_Business_with_the_Board/Descriptions|Debating Matters of Business with the Board/Descriptions|Fallen London|}} ''"The Railway has encountered a barrier of impenetrable rock. The proposed solution is that the board acquire Hellworms [...]"''</ref> leaving behind molten rock in their wake.<ref name=":0" /> They are also useful for mining ore containing impossible materials.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_her_to_help_with_research_into_the_Red_Science|Ask her to help with research into the Red Science|Fallen London|}} ''"Need a Hellworm to mine the ore. It doesn't lawfully exist yet."''</ref>


Miniature hellworms fetch a very high price;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Your_Very_Own_Miniature_Hellworm|Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm|Fallen London|}} ''"Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm [...] It can be purchased from Extramural Trading Company [...] Buying [...] 200000"''</ref> these smaller specimens may be ridden using a nevercold brass saddle and a bridle engraved with the Correspondence... each purchased separately, of course.<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Purchase_a_hellworm_saddle|Purchase a hellworm saddle|Fallen London|}} ''"Ah, d__n – of course it wasn't included in the original purchase. [...] The saddle itself, made of infernal brass [...] The 'bridle' is simply a sigil of the Correspondence, finely inscribed [...] onto a single strand of the hellworm's hair. [...] your hellworm is ready to ride. [...] "One simply climbs aboard and learns if one is worthy.""''</ref> The sigil on the bridle allows one to simply hop aboard to learn if they are worthy of being able to ride the hellworm.<ref name=":1" /> For the truly dedicated hellworm owner, there are specialized riding boots available as well,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Purchase_a_pair_of_Hellworm-Riding_Boots|Purchase a pair of Hellworm-Riding Boots|Fallen London|}} ''"'INDISPENSABLE to the DISCERNING HELLWORM OWNER', [...]"''</ref> complete with their own polish.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Purchase_an_amount_of_Hellworm-Riding_Boot_Polish|Purchase an amount of Hellworm-Riding Boot Polish|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] 'ESSENTIAL to MAINTAINING the VITAL FORCES of your new BOOTS'."''</ref>
Miniature hellworms fetch a very high price;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Your_Very_Own_Miniature_Hellworm|Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm|Fallen London|}} ''"Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm [...] It can be purchased from Extramural Trading Company [...] Buying [...] 200000"''</ref> these smaller specimens may be ridden using a nevercold brass saddle and a bridle engraved with the Correspondence... each purchased separately, of course.<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Purchase_a_hellworm_saddle|Purchase a hellworm saddle|Fallen London|}} ''"Ah, d__n – of course it wasn't included in the original purchase. [...] The saddle itself, made of infernal brass [...] The 'bridle' is simply a sigil of the Correspondence, finely inscribed [...] onto a single strand of the hellworm's hair. [...] your hellworm is ready to ride. [...] "One simply climbs aboard and learns if one is worthy.""''</ref> The sigil on the bridle allows one to simply hop aboard to learn if they are worthy of being able to ride the hellworm.<ref name=":1" /> For the truly dedicated hellworm owner, there are specialized riding boots available as well,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Purchase_a_pair_of_Hellworm-Riding_Boots|Purchase a pair of Hellworm-Riding Boots|Fallen London|}} ''"'INDISPENSABLE to the DISCERNING HELLWORM OWNER', [...]"''</ref> complete with their own polish.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Purchase_an_amount_of_Hellworm-Riding_Boot_Polish|Purchase an amount of Hellworm-Riding Boot Polish|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] 'ESSENTIAL to MAINTAINING the VITAL FORCES of your new BOOTS'."''</ref> Again, each is sold separately.


== Biology ==
== Biology ==

Revision as of 17:02, 28 May 2023

"Hellworms. One must admire the advertising enterprise of giving them such a name."[1]

Hellworms are a remarkable species that originate from the lands of Hell.

Behold the Worm

Bred and marketed by devils,[2] hellworms are massive beasts that contain law-furnaces within their bodies.[3] They are employed to drill tunnels through normally impenetrable land,[4] leaving behind molten rock in their wake.[3] They are also useful for mining ore containing impossible materials.[5]

Miniature hellworms fetch a very high price;[6] these smaller specimens may be ridden using a nevercold brass saddle and a bridle engraved with the Correspondence... each purchased separately, of course.[7] The sigil on the bridle allows one to simply hop aboard to learn if they are worthy of being able to ride the hellworm.[7] For the truly dedicated hellworm owner, there are specialized riding boots available as well,[8] complete with their own polish.[9] Again, each is sold separately.

Biology

Hellworms are serpentine, fur-covered,[10] eyeless creatures[11] with fiery maws.[12] It is unclear how large they are when fully grown, but an entire locomotive can fit inside their tunnels.[13] They are capable of moving extremely quickly, applying tremendous force to anything in front of them, and can even jump.[14] Their diet includes hellish wine and ancient, whispered proto-law.[15] Juvenile hellworms are called Wyrmlights; they have gold carapaces, and until they mature, they cannot survive if their "parent" law-furnace is disabled.[16]

Miniature hellworms are the size of draft horses,[17] and weigh in at two tons.[18] They are excitable,[19] loyal pets[11] that enjoy attention[20] and adventure.[21] When roused,[22] these hellworms build up liquids in their bodies that may be harvested;[23][24] the origin of these is unknown,[25] but a hellworm may dispense quality wine,[26] commercial goods,[25] or perhaps something[27] stranger.[28] The most unique product of the hellworm is its sweet-tasting milk,[29] which is not suitable for consumption as even droplets of it can corrode stone.[30] This milk can be made into cheese; the ripening process takes an entire year.[30] Hellworm cheese is edible and enjoyable in small quantities, but in large quantities, it is said to be "one of the very worst ways to die."[31]

References

  1. ↑ Persuade the Jovial Contrarian, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Debating Matters of Business with the Board/Descriptions, Fallen London "[...] the board acquire Hellworms (at a considerable expense, and richly compensating the Devils who would make them available)."
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Help with the Hellworms, Fallen London "The Hellworms work very quickly: they swallow rock, and the law furnaces within convert it into something that will not be in your way. They leave a tunnel through the mountain whose walls glow too hot to touch, that are still molten."
  4. ↑ Debating Matters of Business with the Board/Descriptions, Fallen London "The Railway has encountered a barrier of impenetrable rock. The proposed solution is that the board acquire Hellworms [...]"
  5. ↑ Ask her to help with research into the Red Science, Fallen London "Need a Hellworm to mine the ore. It doesn't lawfully exist yet."
  6. ↑ Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm, Fallen London "Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm [...] It can be purchased from Extramural Trading Company [...] Buying [...] 200000"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Purchase a hellworm saddle, Fallen London "Ah, d__n – of course it wasn't included in the original purchase. [...] The saddle itself, made of infernal brass [...] The 'bridle' is simply a sigil of the Correspondence, finely inscribed [...] onto a single strand of the hellworm's hair. [...] your hellworm is ready to ride. [...] "One simply climbs aboard and learns if one is worthy.""
  8. ↑ Purchase a pair of Hellworm-Riding Boots, Fallen London "'INDISPENSABLE to the DISCERNING HELLWORM OWNER', [...]"
  9. ↑ Purchase an amount of Hellworm-Riding Boot Polish, Fallen London "[...] 'ESSENTIAL to MAINTAINING the VITAL FORCES of your new BOOTS'."
  10. ↑ Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm, Fallen London "Entirely covered in luxuriant fur."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Your Very Own Hellworm, Fallen London "If it had eyes, it would stare at you in adoration. "
  12. ↑ Offices of the Tracklayer's Union: Station VIII Branch, Fallen London "[...] a painting [...] The Hellworm's fiery maw has been rendered in loving detail by someone who has obviously seen it close-up."
  13. ↑ Onward, Fallen London "No one speaks much on the train back to London. [...] when it passes through the tunnel dug by Hellworms [...]"
  14. ↑ Ride your hellworm, Fallen London "You cling to dear life [...] it gives you more: more speed, more force. [...] Leaping over the locks at Jericho. [...] Carving a deep furrow through the [..] mud of Moulin."
  15. ↑ Fuel the excavation with hellworm food, Fallen London "An [...] Handler cares for the hellworm. It feeds on Muscaria Brandy and ancient proto-Law – the latter, you must whisper [...]"
  16. ↑ Upwards (Story), Fallen London "Hell [...] Maybe they could loan you one of their rock-eating worms. [...] Wyrmlights [...] A [...] Menagerie-Keeper arrives [...] bearing a brass cage of crawling grubs. [...] golden carapaces cannot hide the burning glow from inside [...] "Child law-furnaces," [...] "They'll thrive so long as their parent does. Should it be extinguished, these little grubs will go out like lights." [...] You set the grubs to work on the rock of the roof. They take to their task hungrily, converting what is rock to what is not."
  17. ↑ Your Very Own Miniature Hellworm, Fallen London "The size of a warhorse."
  18. ↑ Play with your hellworm, Fallen London "Your hellworm [...] it weighs two tons, [...]"
  19. ↑ Play with your hellworm, Fallen London "Your hellworm rolls over and squirms like a manic puppy."
  20. ↑ Play with your hellworm, Fallen London "[...] the cooing noises it makes seem to indicate that it enjoys the attention."
  21. ↑ Ride your hellworm, Fallen London "It is more than happy to accelerate to blistering speed on its own [...]"
  22. ↑ The Disposition of your Hellworm, Fallen London "Your hellworm is becoming more accustomed to being handled. Perhaps. For now. [...] 1+: Your hellworm seems a little warmer, a little more attentive. [...] Decreases by 7: Your hellworm seems a little more lethargic. "
  23. ↑ Milk your hellworm, Fallen London "What liquid will come out of it this time? "
  24. ↑ Milking your Hellworm, Fallen London "The process is rather difficult. [...] you have a flask full of... something."
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Examine its contents 25, Fallen London "Nikolas & Sons Instant Absolution Ablution [...] Identical in all regards to the commercial formulation, somehow."
  26. ↑ Examine its contents 2, Fallen London "A fine old vintage; [...]"
  27. ↑ Examine its contents 18, Fallen London "Cantigaster Venom [...] hard not to get a few droplets on skin, where they burn [...]"
  28. ↑ Examine its contents 17, Fallen London "Master's Blood [...] How? "
  29. ↑ Examine its contents 26, Fallen London "[...] unable to identify the liquid, you resort to tasting it. It is creamy and a little sweet. This is milk."
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Offer a pail of Hellworm Milk, Fallen London "While it is not suitable for the Apicius Club's immediate consumption, [...] He takes the pail [...] sloshing a few drops onto the street. They [...] leave pockmarks in the cobblestones. [...] "I've a cheese ripening cave [...] A year of sitting there [...] and we'll have [...] a cheese wheel, you'll see." [...] A year."
  31. ↑ Ripened Wheel of Hellworm Cheese, Fallen London "In small quantities, a [...] delight best eaten [...] In large doses, one of the very worst ways to die."
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