The Roof of the Neath: Difference between revisions
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<blockquote>''"Bats flock around the dirigible as it rises toward the roof. The glimmer of the False-Stars becomes a glare. Stalactites hang like icicles of bone, the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>''"Bats flock around the dirigible as it rises toward the roof. The glimmer of the False-Stars becomes a glare. Stalactites hang like icicles of bone, the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
[[File:Shard.png|alt=A shard of a blue glass.|thumb|A shard of glim.]] | [[File:Shard.png|alt=A shard of a blue glass.|thumb|A shard of glim.]] | ||
The roof may seem barren and remote,<ref name = "instrusion"/> but it is in fact teeming with life. [[Moon-misers]] are large insectoids that emit a bright glow seen from the ground, known in [[London]] as "false-stars."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"I've not got overwhelming evidence yet, but I think that they've been purposefully bred. [...] part light fitting."''</ref><ref name = "respect">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"Do you know about moon-misers? They're the false-stars on the cavern roof. [...] they're like giant insects. Size of a cow [...] Glim is the bits of their carapaces they shuck off."''</ref> They travel across the roof by digging their legs into rock,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"A moon-miser crawls ahead [...] powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."''</ref> and shed their carapaces in a process called "glim-fall," raining down shards of glim for gatherers to collect.<ref name = "respect"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Glim-fall!|Glim-fall!|Fallen London|}} ''"Glim-fall! [...] The creaking and whistling from above presages a [...] fall of glim. Man the nets!"''</ref> The roof is also inhabited by [[Starved Men]], who use the [[Shapeling Arts]] to warp and transform themselves.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Advise_Dr_Vaughan_to_join_the_Starved_Men_(The_Hybrid_Speaks)|Advise Dr Vaughan to join the Starved Men (The Hybrid Speaks)|Fallen London|}} ''"Push the boundaries of flesh. Transform, rather than conform. Shatter the Chain."''</ref> They travel the roof via blimps,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"The Starved Men have their own method of flight. Two oblong sacks are sewn tip to tip, [...] inflated [...] affixed with six slim rods, [...] a kind of cage the Starved Men fit into; they then propel themselves from stalactite to stalactite, floating across."''</ref> rope bridges,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"Thick strands of rope [...] You have seen such ropes elsewhere, used as bridges by the Starved Men."''</ref> or by climbing "spider-like,"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"A lone wandering Starved Man crawls 'spider-like' along the roof [...]"''</ref> and they carve and tunnel through stalactites to form massive citadels to reside in.<ref name = "tunnels"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"Stalactites hang [...] the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."''</ref> | The roof may seem barren and remote,<ref name = "instrusion"/> but it is in fact teeming with life. [[Moon-misers]] are large insectoids that emit a bright glow seen from the ground, known in [[London]] as "false-stars."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"I've not got overwhelming evidence yet, but I think that they've been purposefully bred. [...] part light fitting."''</ref><ref name = "respect">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"Do you know about moon-misers? They're the false-stars on the cavern roof. [...] they're like giant insects. Size of a cow [...] Glim is the bits of their carapaces they shuck off."''</ref> They travel across the roof by digging their legs into rock,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"A moon-miser crawls ahead [...] powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."''</ref> and shed their carapaces in a process called "glim-fall," raining down shards of glim for gatherers to collect.<ref name = "respect"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Glim-fall!|Glim-fall!|Fallen London|}} ''"Glim-fall! [...] The creaking and whistling from above presages a [...] fall of glim. Man the nets!"''</ref> The roof is also inhabited by [[Starved Men]], who use the [[Shapeling Arts]] to warp and transform themselves.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Advise_Dr_Vaughan_to_join_the_Starved_Men_(The_Hybrid_Speaks)|Advise Dr Vaughan to join the Starved Men (The Hybrid Speaks)|Fallen London|}} ''"Push the boundaries of flesh. Transform, rather than conform. Shatter the Chain."''</ref> They travel the roof via blimps,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"The Starved Men have their own method of flight. Two oblong sacks are sewn tip to tip, [...] inflated [...] affixed with six slim rods, [...] a kind of cage the Starved Men fit into; they then propel themselves from stalactite to stalactite, floating across."''</ref> rope bridges,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"Thick strands of rope [...] You have seen such ropes elsewhere, used as bridges by the Starved Men."''</ref> or by climbing "spider-like,"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"A lone wandering Starved Man crawls 'spider-like' along the roof [...]"''</ref> and they carve and tunnel through stalactites to form massive citadels to reside in.<ref name = "tunnels"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"Stalactites hang [...] the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."''</ref> The powerful [[Gods of the Unterzee|zee-god]] [[Storm]] is said to be the "god in the roof",<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/A_fallen_stone#Story_description|A fallen stone#Story description|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The god in the roof! Storm is angry!"''</ref> but the details of this are... unclear.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What%27s_this%3F_1|What's this? 1|Fallen London|}} ''"This is not what I expected at all. The cavern should be smooth, as befits the cradle of my mind."''</ref> Regardless, certain objects that fall from the roof are considered "gifts" from Storm by [[Urchins]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Chimney_Pot_Wars|The Chimney Pot Wars|Fallen London|}} ''""Something fell from the roof," she tells you. "A gift from the old god that lives there. [...]"''</ref> | ||
[[File:Starvedman1.png|alt=A person with distorted facial features.|thumb|A [[Starved Men|Starved Man]].]] | [[File:Starvedman1.png|alt=A person with distorted facial features.|thumb|A [[Starved Men|Starved Man]].]] | ||
During the events surrounding the [[London Horticultural Show]], a massive stalactite was dropped onto London by invading Starved Men,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Stalactite|Stalactite|Fallen London|}} ''"Stalactite [...] A plunging eclipse. [...] Piercing pillar of rock. [...] A vasty knife to pierce London's skin."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/State_of_Emergence|State of Emergence|Fallen London|}} ''"The inside of the stalactite drips with amber. A hand emerges [...] Another hand [...] A gangly figure [...] Another follows, then another [...] more figures extrude themselves from fissures in the rock. [...] Starved Men. You've seen them [...] on your expeditions to the roof."''</ref> who sought to reshape the city to survive the [[The Fallen Cities|Fall]] of the [[Sixth City]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_War_in_London_2|The War in London 2|Fallen London|}} ''"London is overrun. Buildings, their quoins and cornice stones made flesh, ripped open and left to bleed."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_why_the_Starved_Men_attacked|Ask why the Starved Men attacked|Fallen London|}} ''""What is seen can be changed. All things can be changed. [...] this body, it has fared ill with past changes." [...] "This is not a body, it's a city," blusters the Commodore. [...] "Yes. We sought to reshape the city, to help it avert a greater change which it could not endure. [...] We were helping—" [...] "You were tearing down our homes and tearing up our people." [...] a flash of a very human expression. Shame. "We wished to prevent [...] The city's next great change, [...] How many has it been now? Four?" [...] there was no time – we had to act, before..." [...]"''</ref> After these Starved were forced to surrender,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Give_the_order|Give the order|Fallen London|}} ''"There. Walking out of the shadows. Six of them, [...] "Hold," says your gruff second. "I think... I think they're surrendering." [...] They cooperate as the monks of Godfall bind their many hands at the wrists. [...] they do their best to show willing, the hairy one generally guiding the others."''</ref> the [[Starved Lithologer]] revealed that another group of Starved were planning on boring a hole in the roof to direct [[sunlight]] onto London. Their weapon was an oculus of shaped flesh through which they would focus sunlight,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_up_(What_Lies_Above)|Look up (What Lies Above)|Fallen London|}} ''""They are preparing," says the Starved Lithologer. "We were not fast enough. We did not do enough." [...] "They have been digging upwards. They mean to... assist the city in a thorough metamorphosis." [...] "The sun," says the Commodore. "The b____y sun.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Also_Into_You|Also Into You|Fallen London|}} ''"A great ocular mass. A distended cornea the size of the [airship] itself [...] Helping these things hold their strained shape as they prepare to channel inimical sunlight."''</ref> and though the roof was successfully breached,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Last_Orders|Last Orders|Fallen London|}} ''"The skin on the ceiling parts, [...] a core of stone – falls from the roof. And what follows [...] Sunlight. A tiny beam [...] The light touches the rock [...] From being magnified and projected down, even as it burns out its channel."''</ref> the weapon was ultimately thwarted.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Fly_the_(Airship)_straight_into_the_Starved_weapon|Fly the (Airship) straight into the Starved weapon|Fallen London|}} ''"You hold the course. You make yourself a dart. A missile of wood and flesh and fabric. A spear, thrown from London, to put one in the eye of those who would unmake it."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_End,_at_Last|An End, at Last|Fallen London|}} ''""I know what it looks like when a city ends. It looks worse than this from here." [...] "And better.""''</ref> In the aftermath, Starved Men worked to repair the gap using the [[Shapeling Arts]]. However, according to the Lithologer, the roof would have healed on its own anyway; in their words, this is because the roof, and the Neath itself, are alive.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inquire_about_the_state_of_the_Roof|Inquire about the state of the Roof|Fallen London|}} ''"When last you saw it – in a blaze [...] golden light – it was in a state of [...] disrepair. [...] "The Roof is healing." [...] "It is like a body." [...] "The oculus was a wound. The light, an infection. We help, too," [...] "with amber from the forgetting-places, and arts of unscarring. But the wound would heal without us." [...] "The Neath lives. This is one of the things we know that you, perhaps, do not.""''</ref> | During the events surrounding the [[London Horticultural Show]], a massive stalactite was dropped onto London by invading Starved Men,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Stalactite|Stalactite|Fallen London|}} ''"Stalactite [...] A plunging eclipse. [...] Piercing pillar of rock. [...] A vasty knife to pierce London's skin."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/State_of_Emergence|State of Emergence|Fallen London|}} ''"The inside of the stalactite drips with amber. A hand emerges [...] Another hand [...] A gangly figure [...] Another follows, then another [...] more figures extrude themselves from fissures in the rock. [...] Starved Men. You've seen them [...] on your expeditions to the roof."''</ref> who sought to reshape the city to survive the [[The Fallen Cities|Fall]] of the [[Sixth City]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_War_in_London_2|The War in London 2|Fallen London|}} ''"London is overrun. Buildings, their quoins and cornice stones made flesh, ripped open and left to bleed."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_why_the_Starved_Men_attacked|Ask why the Starved Men attacked|Fallen London|}} ''""What is seen can be changed. All things can be changed. [...] this body, it has fared ill with past changes." [...] "This is not a body, it's a city," blusters the Commodore. [...] "Yes. We sought to reshape the city, to help it avert a greater change which it could not endure. [...] We were helping—" [...] "You were tearing down our homes and tearing up our people." [...] a flash of a very human expression. Shame. "We wished to prevent [...] The city's next great change, [...] How many has it been now? Four?" [...] there was no time – we had to act, before..." [...]"''</ref> After these Starved were forced to surrender,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Give_the_order|Give the order|Fallen London|}} ''"There. Walking out of the shadows. Six of them, [...] "Hold," says your gruff second. "I think... I think they're surrendering." [...] They cooperate as the monks of Godfall bind their many hands at the wrists. [...] they do their best to show willing, the hairy one generally guiding the others."''</ref> the [[Starved Lithologer]] revealed that another group of Starved were planning on boring a hole in the roof to direct [[sunlight]] onto London. Their weapon was an oculus of shaped flesh through which they would focus sunlight,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_up_(What_Lies_Above)|Look up (What Lies Above)|Fallen London|}} ''""They are preparing," says the Starved Lithologer. "We were not fast enough. We did not do enough." [...] "They have been digging upwards. They mean to... assist the city in a thorough metamorphosis." [...] "The sun," says the Commodore. "The b____y sun.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Also_Into_You|Also Into You|Fallen London|}} ''"A great ocular mass. A distended cornea the size of the [airship] itself [...] Helping these things hold their strained shape as they prepare to channel inimical sunlight."''</ref> and though the roof was successfully breached,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Last_Orders|Last Orders|Fallen London|}} ''"The skin on the ceiling parts, [...] a core of stone – falls from the roof. And what follows [...] Sunlight. A tiny beam [...] The light touches the rock [...] From being magnified and projected down, even as it burns out its channel."''</ref> the weapon was ultimately thwarted.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Fly_the_(Airship)_straight_into_the_Starved_weapon|Fly the (Airship) straight into the Starved weapon|Fallen London|}} ''"You hold the course. You make yourself a dart. A missile of wood and flesh and fabric. A spear, thrown from London, to put one in the eye of those who would unmake it."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_End,_at_Last|An End, at Last|Fallen London|}} ''""I know what it looks like when a city ends. It looks worse than this from here." [...] "And better.""''</ref> In the aftermath, Starved Men worked to repair the gap using the [[Shapeling Arts]]. However, according to the Lithologer, the roof would have healed on its own anyway; in their words, this is because the roof, and the Neath itself, are alive.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inquire_about_the_state_of_the_Roof|Inquire about the state of the Roof|Fallen London|}} ''"When last you saw it – in a blaze [...] golden light – it was in a state of [...] disrepair. [...] "The Roof is healing." [...] "It is like a body." [...] "The oculus was a wound. The light, an infection. We help, too," [...] "with amber from the forgetting-places, and arts of unscarring. But the wound would heal without us." [...] "The Neath lives. This is one of the things we know that you, perhaps, do not.""''</ref> | ||
Revision as of 23:16, 11 November 2023
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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. |
"The stalactites drip down all around. There is nary a bat, nor the faintest wind. Here is a peace which one can never know in London, where there is always the maddening crowd bustling by, or hawkers screeching the virtue of rotten meat, or marsh-wolves interrupting your afternoon picnic."[2]
The Roof of the Neath is the boundary that separates the Neath from the Surface.
Lofty
"The ceiling grows ever closer. The false-stars shine ever brighter. You are among stalactites which glisten with iridescent shine, and the unknown wonders of the upside down world!"[3]
The roof of the Neath is made of rock said to be "unfathomably" deep.[4] Its underside is dotted with stalactites,[5] many of which are large enough to accommodate entire communities.[6][7] Stalactites often fall from the roof to the lands down below;[8] Godfall was one such stalactite that landed in the Unterzee.[9] Falling stalactites are a known hazard in London, with Smashtile Alley[8] and Stonefall Copse in the Forgotten Quarter being particularly infamous for this.[10]
The roof can be accessed via dirigible, though London's dirigibles are managed by Mr Fires, and unsanctioned trips to the roof are forbidden.[11] London's contact with the roof is largely minimal[12] barring enterprising academics[13] and failed expeditions;[14] London's only known holding here is New Newgate Prison.[15] While the roof is extremely resilient, it has a few breaches: the Travertine Spiral and the Cumaean Canal can be used to travel to the Surface,[16] and Aestival is an island in the Unterzee lit by sunlight from a hole in the roof above.[17]
Inhabitants
"Bats flock around the dirigible as it rises toward the roof. The glimmer of the False-Stars becomes a glare. Stalactites hang like icicles of bone, the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."[18]
The roof may seem barren and remote,[5] but it is in fact teeming with life. Moon-misers are large insectoids that emit a bright glow seen from the ground, known in London as "false-stars."[19][20] They travel across the roof by digging their legs into rock,[21] and shed their carapaces in a process called "glim-fall," raining down shards of glim for gatherers to collect.[20][22] The roof is also inhabited by Starved Men, who use the Shapeling Arts to warp and transform themselves.[23] They travel the roof via blimps,[24] rope bridges,[25] or by climbing "spider-like,"[26] and they carve and tunnel through stalactites to form massive citadels to reside in.[7][27] The powerful zee-god Storm is said to be the "god in the roof",[28] but the details of this are... unclear.[29] Regardless, certain objects that fall from the roof are considered "gifts" from Storm by Urchins.[30]
During the events surrounding the London Horticultural Show, a massive stalactite was dropped onto London by invading Starved Men,[31][32] who sought to reshape the city to survive the Fall of the Sixth City.[33][34] After these Starved were forced to surrender,[35] the Starved Lithologer revealed that another group of Starved were planning on boring a hole in the roof to direct sunlight onto London. Their weapon was an oculus of shaped flesh through which they would focus sunlight,[36][37] and though the roof was successfully breached,[38] the weapon was ultimately thwarted.[39][40] In the aftermath, Starved Men worked to repair the gap using the Shapeling Arts. However, according to the Lithologer, the roof would have healed on its own anyway; in their words, this is because the roof, and the Neath itself, are alive.[41]
References
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