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{{Neath_Location | {{Neath_Location | ||
|image1 = Irem-header.png | |||
|image2 = Irem_poster.png | |||
Irem.png | |location = The Pillared Sea | ||
|allegiance = The Seven-Serpent<br>[[Salt]] | |||
|port = Carlisle's Haven | |||
}}''"Irem, the Pillared City. She will rise from the zee and the ice like dawn. She will be garlanded with red and decked with gold. The Seven-Serpent will watch you longingly from its high pedestal. You will always arrive as a stranger, but when you leave, some part of you will always remain."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Irem|Irem|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> | |||
'''Irem''' will be an archipelago east of [[The Avid Horizon|Avid Horizon]]. | |||
__forcetoc__ | |||
==A Place of Rare Truths== | ==A Place of Rare Truths== | ||
[[File: | [[File:Irem.png|thumb]]<blockquote>''"The city will be vast, a metropolis of stone rising from the zee, surrounded by ice, blanketed in roses. Her streets will meander into curls and tangles, obeying no clear pattern."''<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Irem will be a vast city of stone, rising from the zee, surrounded by ice, and blanketed in roses. Its labyrinthine streets will wind in tangled patterns, its structures will be of granite and marble. It will be like a temple. At its heart, where all roads converge, will sit the seat of the Seven-Serpent. Beyond, towering stone pillars and grand staircases will ascend into nothingness. The northern edge will be a place of overwhelming roses, relentless wind, and perilous cold—where few will dare to linger before turning back.<ref name=":1">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Go_for_a_walk_(Irem) Go for a walk (Irem), ''Fallen London''] ''"The city will be vast, a metropolis of stone rising from the zee, surrounded by ice, blanketed in roses. Her streets will meander into curls and tangles, obeying no clear pattern. Closer to the jetty, her streets will be flanked by buildings of granite and marble. But further north, past the seat of the Seven-Serpent where all her streets converge, the city will resemble a silent temple. There you will find stone pillars and grand staircases, rising into the air to no discernible purpose. So close to the northern edge of the city, the smell of roses will be overwhelming; the wind unyielding; the cold dangerous. You will turn back the way you came."''</ref> | ||
< | |||
The | The local instrument of Irem will be the zither, said to be the finest of all stringed instruments.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Listen_to_the_music_(Evolution) Listen to the music (Evolution), ''Fallen London''] ''"No other stringed instrument will ever truly rival the Iremi zither."''</ref>The city will attract many kinds of people: zailors, merchants, priests, and, of course, prophets.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch_the_people_in_the_square Watch the people in the square, ''Fallen London''] ''"Zailors. Merchants. Prophets. Priests. So many lives will intersect."''</ref> Irem will have little in the way of a market, but what exists will offer trinkets from every corner of the Unterzee.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Explore_the_futures_market Explore the futures market, ''Fallen London''] ''"You will be shown all manner of trinkets: The bones of zee-beasts left as offerings by Chelonites. Stone tablets from the Presbyterate. Tapestries woven with secrets and riddles. You will make no purchases – whatever coin the merchants of Irem will take, you will not have any. But they will let you read the disposition of the threads in their wares, and you will learn much."''</ref> A cup of Iremi coffee will taste of roses.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Drink_coffee_at_the_House Drink coffee at the House, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Iremi way of making coffee will be unusual for a Londoner: ground terribly fine and poured into a small copper pot filled with boiling snowmelt. It will be frothy, and dense, and redolent of roses."'' | ||
</ref> | |||
[[ | Irem will lie perilously close to that dream-world Londoners call [[Parabola]].<ref name="maybe">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Irem#Story_Events|Help Maybe's Daughter search for her mother|Sunless Sea|}}''"She's known to visit. I think she must have come here when I was - ahem - conceived. It's close to dreams. I love this. It's like coming home."''</ref> Parabola will be Irem’s cousin, its often-unreliable ally.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_silvered_future_(The_Gates_of_the_Serpent) A silvered future (The Gates of the Serpent), ''Fallen London''] ''"Irem will be near to Parabola, a neighbour, a cousin, an unreliable ally. But she will not be in Parabola; for many things in Irem will be true."''</ref> It will always have been, always be, always become—a place where time collides with itself and meaning slips like mist through grasping fingers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Irem#Story_Events|Compile a Port Report|Sunless Sea|}}''"When you will sit down to write the report, you will recall that it was written already. Who wrote it? The report records that: it was already written when it was found. Who found it? The report describes another report, which will indicate the name of the finder. Where is the other report? There is a footnote which describes when you will record its location. When will that be? When all is well, and all manner of thing is well."''</ref> | ||
[[File:Currency1_silver.png|thumb|A Seven-Sided Justificande Coin]]The people of Irem will speak in riddles, their words fished from the sea by those called '''Riddlefishers'''.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Go_fishing_for_a_riddle Go fishing for a riddle, ''Fallen London''] ''"You will tie one end of a rose-coloured thread around your index finger. You will cast this line into the freezing waters. [...] And then you will drag a question from the water [...]. The riddlefishers will admire your work, and name it"''</ref> Irem and [[Whither]] will be locked in an unending rivalry of rhetoric.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Frostfound|Take tea with the squatters at the dock|Sunless Sea|}}''"We're keeping the steps for the Game of Truths," a Helpful Riddlefisher explains, as she fills your cup for the third time. "Every year, the people of Irem and Whither meet here, for - " she pauses. "Contests," she finished vaguely. "The difference between a question and a riddle. One day, someone will prove themselves enough to enter the castle."''</ref> The primary currency of Irem will be '''Justificande Coins'''—heptagonal and infamous for their adverse effects on the ticking of clocks.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_her_about_the_forged_Justificande|Ask her about the forged Justificande|Fallen London|}} ''"She performs certain tests to confirm that it is false: holding it near a pocketwatch, treating it with a droplet of yellow fluid."''</ref> These coins will have negative value, placing their owners into debt—fitting for a place such as Irem.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_her_about_the_Justificande_currency|Ask her about the Justificande currency|Fallen London|}}''"It's a currency of the Pillars. Safe enough there, but very dangerous when spent anywhere else." […] ONE DAY YOU WILL FORGIVE. "It is the only coin that indebts the person who accepts it. They've been seen more in London recently. It troubles me."''</ref> Given to a Riddlefisher, they will buy relief and comfort.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Rid_yourself_of_a_Justificande Rid yourself of a Justificande, ''Fallen London''] | |||
''"The Riddlefisher will not offer you anything in exchange for your Justificande – the debt that it encloses was created long ago. But in the cessation of these obligations, there will be relief."'' | |||
</ref> Cast into the Pillared Sea, they will earn secrets from the Seven-Serpent.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/You_will_change_currency You will change currency, ''Fallen London''] ''"The coins will sink into the glassy water without remark. But […] you will dream of a serpent of dark stone. It will feast on promises and disgorge secrets."''</ref> Traded at the Futures Market, they will sell for whispers of the night.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Futures_Market The Futures Market, ''Fallen London'']</ref> | |||
== | [[Maybe's Daughter]] will call Irem home, for she will have been conceived in Parabola.<ref name="maybe">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Irem#Story_Events|Help Maybe's Daughter search for her mother|Sunless Sea|}}''"She's known to visit. I think she must have come here when I was - ahem - conceived. It's close to dreams. I love this. It's like coming home."''</ref> | ||
Irem has many | |||
Time will be strange in Irem—twisting, coiling, evading definition. It will matter deeply to [[Salt]]. <choose uncached=""><option>It does lie dangerously close to its domain in the distant east, and looking east and speaking poorly of it in Irem will likely incur it curse upon unfortunate zee-captains.</option><option>It did lie dangerously close to his domain in the distant east, and looking east and speaking poorly of it in Irem did likely incur it curse upon unfortunate zee-captains.</option><option>It will lie dangerously close to its domain in the distant east, and looking east and speaking poorly of it in Irem is likely incurring his curse upon unfortunate zee-captains.</option></choose><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Tomb-Colonists_in_Irem|The Colonists will look East|Sunless Sea|}} The Gods of the Zee: Salt's Curse = 1</ref> Most of the time, the Seven-Serpent will offer safe passage.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/You_will_look_towards_her_shores You will look towards her shores, ''Fallen London''] ''"She will be a sight unlike any other in the Neath […] A profusion of red petals cascading eternally (ephemerally) onto marbled steps. And atop those steps stands the Seven-Serpent […] Today […] the gaze of the Seven-Serpent will be kind upon your vessel […]"''</ref> But rarely, it will do the opposite.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/You_will_look_towards_her_shores You will look towards her shores, ''Fallen London''] ''"[…] serpentine pillars gazing at the serene ice of the glassy Zee. […] And atop those steps stands the Seven-Serpent […] But today […] the gaze […] will be harsh […] You will be asked a question […] And […] an answer (there should be no answer) will begin to form within you."''</ref> | |||
Irem’s counterpart will be [[Kingeater's Castle]], where the world ends.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Sun_beneath_the_Sea|The light below|Sunless Sea|}}''"It will be silent, that place where the sun lies beneath the sea. The engines will toil without sound. Words will issue from our mouths and puff into vapours. The silence will be too much, and the scrutiny of the golden light rising beneath us. We will have no choice to turn back, to Irem, where the world becomes real."''</ref> | |||
==The Seven-Serpent== | |||
[[File:Sevenserpent.png|thumb|The Seven-Serpent]]<blockquote>''"A monumental pedestal will rise above Irem. The Seven-Serpent will coil upon that pedestal: [...] ruby eyes watching the steps that bring travellers to supplicate themselves. It will receive their offerings and prayers, but it will confer no blessings. It will only be a statue, after all."''<ref name=":0">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_the_Seven-Serpent Approach the Seven-Serpent, ''Fallen London''] ''"A monumental pedestal will rise above Irem. The Seven-Serpent will coil upon that pedestal: [...] ruby eyes watching the steps that bring travellers to supplicate themselves. It will receive their offerings and prayers, but it will confer no blessings. It will only be a statue, after all."''</ref></blockquote>'''The Seven-Serpent''' will be a monumental serpent statue,<ref name=":0" /> that coils upon a grand pedestal overlooking Irem, with carved scales, icicle-like fangs, and ruby eyes. The Seven-Serpent will placidly tally the days yet to come, consuming the What-Might-Have-Beens<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Lift_your_blindfold_(Sloughing) Lift your blindfold (Sloughing), ''Fallen London''] ''"A sloughed snakeskin, electric in the dread light. The skin has seven heads. A whisper in your head, dry as dying: "One day, this tragedy will be eaten, and will never be.""''</ref> and holding destiny in its teeth, awaiting those who seek to claim it.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Seven-Serpent,_Revisited The Seven-Serpent, Revisited, ''Fallen London''] ''"A monumental pedestal will rise above Irem. The Seven-Serpent will coil upon that pedestal: carved scales encrusted with frost, jaws dripping with icicle-fangs, ruby eyes watching the steps. It will look over the city of snow and roses, placidly tallying up days yet to come. And it will hold destiny in its teeth, awaiting those who come to claim it."''</ref> | |||
It will be the keeper of fate, and only with its permission will travelers be allowed to alter their destinies.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Gates_of_the_Serpent The Gates of the Serpent, ''Fallen London''] ''"Any two pillars can enclose a gate, and Irem will have many pillars. Before you may weave your fate anew, you must glimpse your fate. When the Seven-Serpent allows it, a glimpse of the future can be claimed in Irem."''</ref> Supplicants will bring offerings to its pedestal<ref name=":0" /> and those who know the right rites will be able to seize the thread of their destiny from the Serpent's fangs<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Grip_the_thread_of_your_own_destiny Grip the thread of your own destiny, ''Fallen London''] ''"You will seize it from the serpent's teeth."''</ref> and be admitted into the Loom,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Observe_the_Youthful_Naturalist%27s_supplication Observe the Youthful Naturalist's supplication, ''Fallen London''] ''"His forehead will touch the ground. His lips will whisper sibilant words, first recorded in ancient ledgers. The Seven-Serpent will bend to listen in a waking dream."''</ref> where they will weave the very tapestry of their fate.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Observe_the_Youthful_Naturalist%27s_supplication Observe the Youthful Naturalist's supplication, ''Fallen London''] ''"Irem will stretch away beneath the Seven-Serpent's gaze. Streets threaded into a great tapestry. Tapestries in the marketplace, fingered by merchants to inspect the weave. His fingers snaking through snow and roses, the Naturalist's appendages will flex like tentacles. Stitches will bind his body. Their strings will intersect, crossroads sewn into flesh. After the rite, when he takes his next step, his future will fork like a dream-serpent's tongue. You will follow him, tracing the thread: past to future to present again."''</ref> | |||
When the [[Devils]] will have made their pilgrimage from Parabola into [[the Neath]], they will pass through Irem. The [[Fingerkings]] will find that their bargain with the Devils was a mistake, and many great Fingerkings will die—including the Parlous Knot.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discovered:_A_Neon_Future Discovered: A Neon Future, ''Fallen London''] ''"Book of Roses 7:7-9:'' AND WHEN THE TIME CAME for the people to depart the Is-Not, they made their passage through Irem. For the porous border of the Is-Not is the Will-Be. And from the serpents there arose a death rattle, and the Parlous Knot girded itself for war. And so said the Eglantine Regent: “For the future to arrive one must have a present.” And the Parlous Knot cursed the name of the Eglantine Regent. And the Parlous Knot perished.''"''</ref> The Devils will then fashion the Seven-Serpent from the petrified corpse of the Parlous Knot and leave it in Irem as tribute to the future.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discovered:_A_Ruinous_Future Discovered: A Ruinous Future, ''Fallen London''] ''"Book of Roses 8:4-6:'' AND THE PEOPLE FOUND in this place the broken form of a stone serpent. And said the Eglantine Regent: "Let us repair this serpent of the Will-Be, as tribute to the future that shelters us." And the people disagreed on what shape the future should take. And so it came to pass that they remade this serpent with seven heads, as they could not choose which future was right.''"''</ref> It will be the Devils who will teach Irem to dictate destiny.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Conclude_your_study_of_the_metallurgy_of_Justificandes Conclude your study of the metallurgy of Justificandes, ''Fallen London''] ''"Before they came to Parabola, Irem lay distant and dreaming, and intruded rarely on anyone else's affairs. It was the devils who taught Irem to say not only 'will' but also 'should' and 'could' and 'must'."''</ref> | |||
==Historical & Cultural Inspirations== | |||
Irem will echo an ancient city of legend. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iram_of_the_Pillars Iram of the Pillars], also called '''Aram''', '''Iram''', '''Irum''', '''Irem''', '''Erum''', or the '''City of the Tent Poles''', is a lost city, country, or general area that is mentioned in the Quran. Iram became known to Western literature with the translation of ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights''. | |||
From the Quran:<blockquote>''Did you not see how your Lord dealt with 'Aad? / [With] Iram – who built lofty pillars / The likes of which had never been created in the lands / And [with] Thamud, who carved their homes into the rocks in the valley? / And [with] Pharaoh of the obelisks? / [All of] whom transgressed within the lands / And spread much corruption. / So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.''<ref>[[https://quran.com/89?startingVerse=6|The Quran, chapter 89, verses 6-13. Translation refined slightly to account for lack of context.]]</ref></blockquote> | From the Quran:<blockquote>''Did you not see how your Lord dealt with 'Aad? / [With] Iram – who built lofty pillars / The likes of which had never been created in the lands / And [with] Thamud, who carved their homes into the rocks in the valley? / And [with] Pharaoh of the obelisks? / [All of] whom transgressed within the lands / And spread much corruption. / So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.''<ref>[[https://quran.com/89?startingVerse=6|The Quran, chapter 89, verses 6-13. Translation refined slightly to account for lack of context.]]</ref></blockquote> | ||
In other words, the residents of the city (or members of the tribe, as some interpret it) angered God and their settlement was driven into the sands, never to be seen again. The | In other words, the residents of the city (or members of the tribe, as some interpret it) angered God and their settlement was driven into the sands, never to be seen again. | ||
The legend of Iram has spurred numerous expeditions aiming to uncover its remnants. In the early 1990s, archaeologists, guided by ancient maps and satellite imagery, announced the discovery of a site in Oman believed to be Ubar, the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis_of_the_Sands Atlantis of the Sands]." which some scholars associate with Iram. This finding, however, remains a topic of debate among historians and archaeologists. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 17:57, 19 February 2025
"Irem, the Pillared City. She will rise from the zee and the ice like dawn. She will be garlanded with red and decked with gold. The Seven-Serpent will watch you longingly from its high pedestal. You will always arrive as a stranger, but when you leave, some part of you will always remain."[1]
Irem will be an archipelago east of Avid Horizon.
A Place of Rare Truths
"The city will be vast, a metropolis of stone rising from the zee, surrounded by ice, blanketed in roses. Her streets will meander into curls and tangles, obeying no clear pattern."[2]
Irem will be a vast city of stone, rising from the zee, surrounded by ice, and blanketed in roses. Its labyrinthine streets will wind in tangled patterns, its structures will be of granite and marble. It will be like a temple. At its heart, where all roads converge, will sit the seat of the Seven-Serpent. Beyond, towering stone pillars and grand staircases will ascend into nothingness. The northern edge will be a place of overwhelming roses, relentless wind, and perilous cold—where few will dare to linger before turning back.[2]
The local instrument of Irem will be the zither, said to be the finest of all stringed instruments.[3]The city will attract many kinds of people: zailors, merchants, priests, and, of course, prophets.[4] Irem will have little in the way of a market, but what exists will offer trinkets from every corner of the Unterzee.[5] A cup of Iremi coffee will taste of roses.[6]
Irem will lie perilously close to that dream-world Londoners call Parabola.[7] Parabola will be Irem’s cousin, its often-unreliable ally.[8] It will always have been, always be, always become—a place where time collides with itself and meaning slips like mist through grasping fingers.[9]
The people of Irem will speak in riddles, their words fished from the sea by those called Riddlefishers.[10] Irem and Whither will be locked in an unending rivalry of rhetoric.[11] The primary currency of Irem will be Justificande Coins—heptagonal and infamous for their adverse effects on the ticking of clocks.[12] These coins will have negative value, placing their owners into debt—fitting for a place such as Irem.[13] Given to a Riddlefisher, they will buy relief and comfort.[14] Cast into the Pillared Sea, they will earn secrets from the Seven-Serpent.[15] Traded at the Futures Market, they will sell for whispers of the night.[16]
Maybe's Daughter will call Irem home, for she will have been conceived in Parabola.[7]
Time will be strange in Irem—twisting, coiling, evading definition. It will matter deeply to Salt. <choose uncached=""><option>It does lie dangerously close to its domain in the distant east, and looking east and speaking poorly of it in Irem will likely incur it curse upon unfortunate zee-captains.</option><option>It did lie dangerously close to his domain in the distant east, and looking east and speaking poorly of it in Irem did likely incur it curse upon unfortunate zee-captains.</option><option>It will lie dangerously close to its domain in the distant east, and looking east and speaking poorly of it in Irem is likely incurring his curse upon unfortunate zee-captains.</option></choose>[17] Most of the time, the Seven-Serpent will offer safe passage.[18] But rarely, it will do the opposite.[19]
Irem’s counterpart will be Kingeater's Castle, where the world ends.[20]
The Seven-Serpent
"A monumental pedestal will rise above Irem. The Seven-Serpent will coil upon that pedestal: [...] ruby eyes watching the steps that bring travellers to supplicate themselves. It will receive their offerings and prayers, but it will confer no blessings. It will only be a statue, after all."[21]
The Seven-Serpent will be a monumental serpent statue,[21] that coils upon a grand pedestal overlooking Irem, with carved scales, icicle-like fangs, and ruby eyes. The Seven-Serpent will placidly tally the days yet to come, consuming the What-Might-Have-Beens[22] and holding destiny in its teeth, awaiting those who seek to claim it.[23]
It will be the keeper of fate, and only with its permission will travelers be allowed to alter their destinies.[24] Supplicants will bring offerings to its pedestal[21] and those who know the right rites will be able to seize the thread of their destiny from the Serpent's fangs[25] and be admitted into the Loom,[26] where they will weave the very tapestry of their fate.[27]
When the Devils will have made their pilgrimage from Parabola into the Neath, they will pass through Irem. The Fingerkings will find that their bargain with the Devils was a mistake, and many great Fingerkings will die—including the Parlous Knot.[28] The Devils will then fashion the Seven-Serpent from the petrified corpse of the Parlous Knot and leave it in Irem as tribute to the future.[29] It will be the Devils who will teach Irem to dictate destiny.[30]
Historical & Cultural Inspirations
Irem will echo an ancient city of legend. Iram of the Pillars, also called Aram, Iram, Irum, Irem, Erum, or the City of the Tent Poles, is a lost city, country, or general area that is mentioned in the Quran. Iram became known to Western literature with the translation of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.
From the Quran:
Did you not see how your Lord dealt with 'Aad? / [With] Iram – who built lofty pillars / The likes of which had never been created in the lands / And [with] Thamud, who carved their homes into the rocks in the valley? / And [with] Pharaoh of the obelisks? / [All of] whom transgressed within the lands / And spread much corruption. / So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.[31]
In other words, the residents of the city (or members of the tribe, as some interpret it) angered God and their settlement was driven into the sands, never to be seen again.
The legend of Iram has spurred numerous expeditions aiming to uncover its remnants. In the early 1990s, archaeologists, guided by ancient maps and satellite imagery, announced the discovery of a site in Oman believed to be Ubar, the "Atlantis of the Sands." which some scholars associate with Iram. This finding, however, remains a topic of debate among historians and archaeologists.
References
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