The Cave of the Nadir: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:58, 27 February 2025

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

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 Cave of the Nadir

Icon

Location

The Forgotten Quarter

Notable Figures

The Lady in Lilac

Music

Irrigo Below

"This then is the Cave of the Nadir: aswim with auroral light, filled with a deep silence that makes the Forgotten Quarter seem like Spite on market-day."^[1]

The Cave of the Nadir, accessible via the Forgotten Quarter, is one of the few truly hidden places in the vicinity of London.

Who... Where are You?

"All this irrigo... Whatever its source, the Nadir is the place where things are lost. No eye can penetrate from the wider Neath. Even once you pass its gate, it is a deep labyrinth of forgetfulness. It is the finest hiding-place imaginable, and the deadliest."^[2]

The Nadir is bathed in irrigo light,^[3] which causes memory loss and ego death in exposed humans.^[4]^[5] Long-term exposure can result in the growth of bony plates over a person's eyes, presumably because the human body reflexively tries to shield itself from irrigo. When people die lost in the Nadir, their Eyeless Skulls,^[6] still filled with irrigo and able to cause adverse effects in another's possession,^[7] are left behind.^[8] The only antidote to irrigo is to consume something infused with violant light, like a costly Ray-Drenched Cinder - and even this is temporary.^[9] Interestingly, the irrigo does not reach all the way to the ceiling of the cave - as if it was pooling from somewhere, or behaving like carbon monoxide (which is heavier than air).^[10] The Nadir was formed by a celestial impact, and once, irrigo spread far beyond the Cave, reaching far out across the Neath.^[11]

Despite the effects of irrigo, the Cave of the Nadir is large enough to host a surprising number of residents.^[12]^[13] Over the centuries, many people have fled here from past Fallen Cities,^[14]^[15] only to die and leave their memories swirling in the irrigo fog.^[16] Some wandered away from London and found themselves here, with potentially dire consequences.^[17] The luckiest ones, or perhaps the best-prepared, have already survived for decades or more.^[18]^[19] The Nadir was also used as a burial ground for the enemies of the Third City,^[20] and remnants within may date back as far as the First City.^[21]

The Nadir borders Parabola.^[22] It is difficult to enter Parabola even so, but possible if one carries a Parabolan item with them. Such a mingling of eldritch power infuses the item with irrigo while also enhancing its Parabolan qualities.^[23]

Forgotten Purpose

"In the migrainous straits of deep sleep, there is a marsh where candle-flames buzz like wasps."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London's most infamous storyline: Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. Turn back now.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"The Seven Treacheries guard the Neath, but there is one place more closely guarded still: a place the Masters can't touch, a place the Bazaar can't see, a place beneath St Cerise's well. This is the wound of which Cerise's redness is only a shadow. The place where hearts go. The Nadir."^[24]

The Cave of the Nadir is what protects the Neath from the wrath of the Judgements, as they too are vulnerable to irrigo.^[25] This also means the Masters and the Bazaar do not notice this place;^[26] as such, among other parties, a cell of London's revolutionaries is searching for it in order to hasten the Bazaar's demise.^[27]^[28]

References

↑ In the Nadir, Fallen London
↑ Try to make sense of what you're seeing, Fallen London
↑ The Catafalquerie, Fallen London "Here lie those who never reached their destination. The irrigo light is very strong here: it's too dangerous to stay long."
↑ Make the journey, Fallen London "Through the gate [...] down where the air grows thick and syrupy with the irrigo taint. Hold on to your name: keep it fast in your fist like the yarn's end in the labyrinth. If you forget your name, you will be here always, and no one will ever come to find you."
↑ Struggle for the exit, Fallen London "Violet currents sleet around you, slow your thoughts. You can feel yourself eroding like ice in raw gin. Put your hand up to your face: is the skin at the edge of your eyes growing puffier? Get out. Get out now."
↑ Eyeless Skull, Fallen London "Thick plates of bone have developed over the orbits, as if to hide or protect them. They are smooth and cold to the touch."
↑ Something is missing 1, Fallen London "But since you found that skull, your memory grows unreliable. No. Parts of you are crumbling. No. No!"
↑ Make the journey, Fallen London "And you dare not return if you have any trace of irrigo still about you. A year from now, some poor fool might be using your skull to open the way."
↑ Enter the Cave of the Nadir, Fallen London "Yes. The light is irrigo: the colour of forgetfulness. We can sustain it for a little while, but only if we immunise ourselves. The Cinder carries elements of irrigo, but also violant, and other opposing colours. We'll need to, um, grind it in tea and drink it. And wait."
↑ The Third Choice: Ascend, Fallen London "The Cave of the Nadir is laid out below you. Only the intensity of the irrigo limits your view. You can see black roses, just beyond two wide-eyed urchins. There, a stone altar. Further off, card players trapped in an eternal game. And here, at the ceiling, a gap before the irrigo starts. Is it denser than air? Does it pool here? Or coalesce? And if so, from where?"
↑ Something ancient 2, Fallen London "[...] The language originates in one of the cities of the Presbyterate, but the dialect is archaic, and the script is casual and cramped [...]: '...because repeated visits to the low place (?) are difficult to record. But it seems evident that the cavity (?) was formed by a celestial conflagration/impact/war (?). Conditions in the low place likely to have extended further in the distant past. Investigate more; examine the city of sap (?) beneath the city...'"
↑ In the Nadir, Fallen London "The irrigo around you makes it difficult to judge distances, but it's big: a cathedral's extent at least before the distances are lost in violet fog. It must extend far under the Quarter. There are signs of habitation. And here and there, figures dart into the shadows as you look."
↑ An Altarful of Strangers, Fallen London "The lost ones of the Nadir gather by a stone altar. A man snuffling behind a velvet mask, two urchins scuffling half-heartedly, a Rubbery scratching something into the rock. Their eye-sockets have half-healed, giving them an unborn look: except for the Rubbery, whose tentacles have withdrawn almost into his spongy skull. They turn to look at you, with the hesitation that affects everyone in this place."
↑ Speak to the woman on the right, Fallen London "I long for far Irem. The Red Bird has taken all I knew. There was a chant that fell from the sky that will fill me with flame. I will cross the sea as a bird crosses the sky. My love awaits me. The Honey-Lord promised me."
↑ Speak to the man on the left, Fallen London "I ache for the floods to return. I am scarred and empty. Generations will remain unborn. Should I win, the zee will rise. The Khan of Dreams has promised me."
↑ Dice!, Fallen London "They shout nothing of the kind. Perhaps he would, if his jaw were not mired in dust: perhaps she would, had her ribs not collapsed in on her withered heart. Run, and only echoes will pursue you through the violet dark."
↑ Speak to the Urchins, Fallen London ""Don't look like Face," says one. "Don't look like Teeth," points out the other. They peer. "We're down here," one says, "cos we wasn't going to the choir. Not for nuffink. Don't care what the Ministry was paying. You see the Gamine, you tell her. You tell her..." His voice tails off. He looks at his companion as if for the first time. His eyes are fringed with webs of skin."
↑ Speak to the masked man, Fallen London "No Snuffers. No Masters. No Constables. No Copper. I'll stay down here. Survive the next Fall. Only two more. Then the Bazaar can go and we'll live forever. Might need to eat each other. Not much to eat down here. Fish. Fungus."
↑ An Unlikely Garden, Fallen London "Black roses flourish here. Irrigo currents fill the air around them [...] A woman with a crooked leg tends them: she has the flat face, the features of the Fourth City remnants, but her eyes are long sealed-over. "In memory of the Rosers," she tells you."
↑ Rebels who will not rise, Fallen London "The revolutionaries of the Third City sleep here, fifty-five of them. They would have made their republics in the tomb-colonies. It was not permitted. Their enemies must have hated them, to lay them here to rest where they would never be remembered."
↑ Examine the altar, Fallen London "The altar is polished diorite, lighter and smoother than the basalt of the cave floor. Long-dead hands have carved it with a frieze of staring eyes. Much older than the Fourth City. First City, perhaps? But the cave is older still."
↑ But you were their enemies, were you not?, Fallen London "This place is very close to Parabola. The Rosers showed us the way. I don't know if any of them still exist. Perhaps only in the space between day and dawn."
↑ Sleep's fortress, Fallen London "This is a weak place, but you are not permitted far into Parabola: no indeed. But as a courtesy, because you are here in the Nadir, have achieved it, the messengers come with their covered platters of delight. [...] When you wake, your garment is soaked through with irrigo, but more subtly, also, with the traces of those other places."
↑ St Erzulie's Candle (Action), Fallen London
↑ St Erzulie's Candle (Action), Fallen London "The Seven Treacheries guard the Neath, but there is one place more closely guarded still: a place the Masters can't touch, a place the Bazaar can't see, a place beneath St Cerise's well. This is the wound of which Cerise's redness is only a shadow. The place where hearts go. The Nadir."
↑ Try to make sense of what you're seeing, Fallen London "All this irrigo... an unimaginable intensity. Whatever its source, the Nadir is the place where things are lost. No eye can penetrate from the wider Neath."
↑ 'What exactly is it you're looking for?', Fallen London ""The Nadir, it is called. The secret-of-secrets," the Firebrand says, suddenly earnest. "Mynsicht described it as a shield against Night's Courier – he meant the Bazaar, you know. Winstanley's patroness had visions of the place. It's been here a very long time. If I hadn't found—"
↑ Sell the location of the Cave of the Nadir (Revolutionaries), Fallen London "The things we'll build there! Oh, Iron, my sweet. You have no idea what's coming. The very liberation of night..."

[1] In the Nadir, Fallen London

[2] Try to make sense of what you're seeing, Fallen London

[3] The Catafalquerie, Fallen London "Here lie those who never reached their destination. The irrigo light is very strong here: it's too dangerous to stay long."

[4] Make the journey, Fallen London "Through the gate [...] down where the air grows thick and syrupy with the irrigo taint. Hold on to your name: keep it fast in your fist like the yarn's end in the labyrinth. If you forget your name, you will be here always, and no one will ever come to find you."

[5] Struggle for the exit, Fallen London "Violet currents sleet around you, slow your thoughts. You can feel yourself eroding like ice in raw gin. Put your hand up to your face: is the skin at the edge of your eyes growing puffier? Get out. Get out now."

[6] Eyeless Skull, Fallen London "Thick plates of bone have developed over the orbits, as if to hide or protect them. They are smooth and cold to the touch."

[7] Something is missing 1, Fallen London "But since you found that skull, your memory grows unreliable. No. Parts of you are crumbling. No. No!"

[8] Make the journey, Fallen London "And you dare not return if you have any trace of irrigo still about you. A year from now, some poor fool might be using your skull to open the way."

[9] Enter the Cave of the Nadir, Fallen London "Yes. The light is irrigo: the colour of forgetfulness. We can sustain it for a little while, but only if we immunise ourselves. The Cinder carries elements of irrigo, but also violant, and other opposing colours. We'll need to, um, grind it in tea and drink it. And wait."

[10] The Third Choice: Ascend, Fallen London "The Cave of the Nadir is laid out below you. Only the intensity of the irrigo limits your view. You can see black roses, just beyond two wide-eyed urchins. There, a stone altar. Further off, card players trapped in an eternal game. And here, at the ceiling, a gap before the irrigo starts. Is it denser than air? Does it pool here? Or coalesce? And if so, from where?"

[11] Something ancient 2, Fallen London "[...] The language originates in one of the cities of the Presbyterate, but the dialect is archaic, and the script is casual and cramped [...]: '...because repeated visits to the low place (?) are difficult to record. But it seems evident that the cavity (?) was formed by a celestial conflagration/impact/war (?). Conditions in the low place likely to have extended further in the distant past. Investigate more; examine the city of sap (?) beneath the city...'"

[12] In the Nadir, Fallen London "The irrigo around you makes it difficult to judge distances, but it's big: a cathedral's extent at least before the distances are lost in violet fog. It must extend far under the Quarter. There are signs of habitation. And here and there, figures dart into the shadows as you look."

[13] An Altarful of Strangers, Fallen London "The lost ones of the Nadir gather by a stone altar. A man snuffling behind a velvet mask, two urchins scuffling half-heartedly, a Rubbery scratching something into the rock. Their eye-sockets have half-healed, giving them an unborn look: except for the Rubbery, whose tentacles have withdrawn almost into his spongy skull. They turn to look at you, with the hesitation that affects everyone in this place."

[14] Speak to the woman on the right, Fallen London "I long for far Irem. The Red Bird has taken all I knew. There was a chant that fell from the sky that will fill me with flame. I will cross the sea as a bird crosses the sky. My love awaits me. The Honey-Lord promised me."

[15] Speak to the man on the left, Fallen London "I ache for the floods to return. I am scarred and empty. Generations will remain unborn. Should I win, the zee will rise. The Khan of Dreams has promised me."

[16] Dice!, Fallen London "They shout nothing of the kind. Perhaps he would, if his jaw were not mired in dust: perhaps she would, had her ribs not collapsed in on her withered heart. Run, and only echoes will pursue you through the violet dark."

[17] Speak to the Urchins, Fallen London ""Don't look like Face," says one. "Don't look like Teeth," points out the other. They peer. "We're down here," one says, "cos we wasn't going to the choir. Not for nuffink. Don't care what the Ministry was paying. You see the Gamine, you tell her. You tell her..." His voice tails off. He looks at his companion as if for the first time. His eyes are fringed with webs of skin."

[18] Speak to the masked man, Fallen London "No Snuffers. No Masters. No Constables. No Copper. I'll stay down here. Survive the next Fall. Only two more. Then the Bazaar can go and we'll live forever. Might need to eat each other. Not much to eat down here. Fish. Fungus."

[19] An Unlikely Garden, Fallen London "Black roses flourish here. Irrigo currents fill the air around them [...] A woman with a crooked leg tends them: she has the flat face, the features of the Fourth City remnants, but her eyes are long sealed-over. "In memory of the Rosers," she tells you."

[20] Rebels who will not rise, Fallen London "The revolutionaries of the Third City sleep here, fifty-five of them. They would have made their republics in the tomb-colonies. It was not permitted. Their enemies must have hated them, to lay them here to rest where they would never be remembered."

[21] Examine the altar, Fallen London "The altar is polished diorite, lighter and smoother than the basalt of the cave floor. Long-dead hands have carved it with a frieze of staring eyes. Much older than the Fourth City. First City, perhaps? But the cave is older still."

[22] But you were their enemies, were you not?, Fallen London "This place is very close to Parabola. The Rosers showed us the way. I don't know if any of them still exist. Perhaps only in the space between day and dawn."

[23] Sleep's fortress, Fallen London "This is a weak place, but you are not permitted far into Parabola: no indeed. But as a courtesy, because you are here in the Nadir, have achieved it, the messengers come with their covered platters of delight. [...] When you wake, your garment is soaked through with irrigo, but more subtly, also, with the traces of those other places."

[24] St Erzulie's Candle (Action), Fallen London

[25] St Erzulie's Candle (Action), Fallen London "The Seven Treacheries guard the Neath, but there is one place more closely guarded still: a place the Masters can't touch, a place the Bazaar can't see, a place beneath St Cerise's well. This is the wound of which Cerise's redness is only a shadow. The place where hearts go. The Nadir."

[26] Try to make sense of what you're seeing, Fallen London "All this irrigo... an unimaginable intensity. Whatever its source, the Nadir is the place where things are lost. No eye can penetrate from the wider Neath."

[27] 'What exactly is it you're looking for?', Fallen London ""The Nadir, it is called. The secret-of-secrets," the Firebrand says, suddenly earnest. "Mynsicht described it as a shield against Night's Courier – he meant the Bazaar, you know. Winstanley's patroness had visions of the place. It's been here a very long time. If I hadn't found—"

[28] Sell the location of the Cave of the Nadir (Revolutionaries), Fallen London "The things we'll build there! Oh, Iron, my sweet. You have no idea what's coming. The very liberation of night..."

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@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 <blockquote>
 ''"All this irrigo... Whatever its source, the Nadir is the place where things are lost. No eye can penetrate from the wider Neath. Even once you pass its gate, it is a deep labyrinth of forgetfulness. It is the finest hiding-place imaginable, and the deadliest."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Try_to_make_sense_of_what_you%27re_seeing|Try to make sense of what you're seeing|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>
-The Nadir is bathed in [[irrigo]] light,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Catafalquerie|The Catafalquerie|Fallen London|}} ''"Here lie those who never reached their destination. The irrigo light is very strong here: it's too dangerous to stay long."''</ref> which causes memory loss and ego death in exposed humans.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Make_the_journey|Make the journey|Fallen London|}} ''"Through the gate [...] down where the air grows thick and syrupy with the irrigo taint. Hold on to your name: keep it fast in your fist like the yarn's end in the labyrinth. If you forget your name, you will be here always, and no one will ever come to find you."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Struggle_for_the_exit|Struggle for the exit|Fallen London|}} ''"Violet currents sleet around you, slow your thoughts. You can feel yourself eroding like ice in raw gin. Put your hand up to your face: is the skin at the edge of your eyes growing puffier? Get out. Get out now."''</ref> Long-term exposure can result in the growth of bony plates over a person's eyes, presumably because the human body reflexively tries to shield itself from irrigo. When people die lost in the Nadir, their '''Eyeless Skulls''',<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eyeless_Skull|Eyeless Skull|Fallen London|}} ''"Thick plates of bone have developed over the orbits, as if to hide or protect them. They are smooth and cold to the touch."''</ref> still filled with irrigo and able to cause adverse effects in another's possession,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Something_is_missing_1|Something is missing 1|Fallen London|}} ''"But since you found that skull, your memory grows unreliable. No. Parts of you are crumbling. No. No!"''</ref> are left behind.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Make_the_journey|Make the journey|Fallen London|}} ''"And you dare not return if you have any trace of irrigo still about you. A year from now, some poor fool might be using your skull to open the way."''</ref> The only antidote to irrigo is to consume something infused with violant light, like a costly Ray-Drenched Cinder - and even this is temporary.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Enter_the_Cave_of_the_Nadir|Enter the Cave of the Nadir|Fallen London|}} ''"Yes. The light is irrigo: the colour of forgetfulness. We can sustain it for a little while, but only if we immunise ourselves. The Cinder carries elements of irrigo, but also violant, and other opposing colours. We'll need to, um, grind it in tea and drink it. And wait."''</ref> Interestingly, the irrigo does not reach all the way to the ceiling of the cave - as if it was pooling from somewhere, or behaving like carbon monoxide (which is heavier than air).<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Third_Choice:_Ascend|The Third Choice: Ascend|Fallen London|}} ''"The Cave of the Nadir is laid out below you. Only the intensity of the irrigo limits your view. You can see black roses, just beyond two wide-eyed urchins. There, a stone altar. Further off, card players trapped in an eternal game. And here, at the ceiling, a gap before the irrigo starts. Is it denser than air? Does it pool here? Or coalesce? And if so, from where?"''</ref>
+The Nadir is bathed in [[irrigo]] light,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Catafalquerie|The Catafalquerie|Fallen London|}} ''"Here lie those who never reached their destination. The irrigo light is very strong here: it's too dangerous to stay long."''</ref> which causes memory loss and ego death in exposed humans.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Make_the_journey|Make the journey|Fallen London|}} ''"Through the gate [...] down where the air grows thick and syrupy with the irrigo taint. Hold on to your name: keep it fast in your fist like the yarn's end in the labyrinth. If you forget your name, you will be here always, and no one will ever come to find you."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Struggle_for_the_exit|Struggle for the exit|Fallen London|}} ''"Violet currents sleet around you, slow your thoughts. You can feel yourself eroding like ice in raw gin. Put your hand up to your face: is the skin at the edge of your eyes growing puffier? Get out. Get out now."''</ref> Long-term exposure can result in the growth of bony plates over a person's eyes, presumably because the human body reflexively tries to shield itself from irrigo. When people die lost in the Nadir, their '''Eyeless Skulls''',<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eyeless_Skull|Eyeless Skull|Fallen London|}} ''"Thick plates of bone have developed over the orbits, as if to hide or protect them. They are smooth and cold to the touch."''</ref> still filled with irrigo and able to cause adverse effects in another's possession,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Something_is_missing_1|Something is missing 1|Fallen London|}} ''"But since you found that skull, your memory grows unreliable. No. Parts of you are crumbling. No. No!"''</ref> are left behind.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Make_the_journey|Make the journey|Fallen London|}} ''"And you dare not return if you have any trace of irrigo still about you. A year from now, some poor fool might be using your skull to open the way."''</ref> The only antidote to irrigo is to consume something infused with violant light, like a costly Ray-Drenched Cinder - and even this is temporary.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Enter_the_Cave_of_the_Nadir|Enter the Cave of the Nadir|Fallen London|}} ''"Yes. The light is irrigo: the colour of forgetfulness. We can sustain it for a little while, but only if we immunise ourselves. The Cinder carries elements of irrigo, but also violant, and other opposing colours. We'll need to, um, grind it in tea and drink it. And wait."''</ref> Interestingly, the irrigo does not reach all the way to the ceiling of the cave - as if it was pooling from somewhere, or behaving like carbon monoxide (which is heavier than air).<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Third_Choice:_Ascend|The Third Choice: Ascend|Fallen London|}} ''"The Cave of the Nadir is laid out below you. Only the intensity of the irrigo limits your view. You can see black roses, just beyond two wide-eyed urchins. There, a stone altar. Further off, card players trapped in an eternal game. And here, at the ceiling, a gap before the irrigo starts. Is it denser than air? Does it pool here? Or coalesce? And if so, from where?"''</ref> The Nadir was formed by a celestial impact, and once, irrigo spread far beyond the Cave, reaching far out across the Neath.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Something_ancient_2 Something ancient 2, ''Fallen London''] ''"[...] The language originates in one of the cities of the Presbyterate, but the dialect is archaic, and the script is casual and cramped [...]:'' '...because repeated visits to the low place (?) are difficult to record. But it seems evident that the cavity (?) was formed by a celestial conflagration/impact/war (?). Conditions in the low place likely to have extended further in the distant past. Investigate more; examine the city of sap (?) beneath the city...'''"''</ref>
 Despite the effects of irrigo, the Cave of the Nadir is large enough to host a surprising number of residents.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/In_the_Nadir|In the Nadir|Fallen London|}} ''"The irrigo around you makes it difficult to judge distances, but it's big: a cathedral's extent at least before the distances are lost in violet fog. It must extend far under the Quarter. There are signs of habitation. And here and there, figures dart into the shadows as you look."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Altarful_of_Strangers|An Altarful of Strangers|Fallen London|}} ''"The lost ones of the Nadir gather by a stone altar. A man snuffling behind a velvet mask, two urchins scuffling half-heartedly, a Rubbery scratching something into the rock. Their eye-sockets have half-healed, giving them an unborn look: except for the Rubbery, whose tentacles have withdrawn almost into his spongy skull. They turn to look at you, with the hesitation that affects everyone in this place."''</ref> Over the centuries, many people have fled here from past [[Fallen Cities]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_the_woman_on_the_right|Speak to the woman on the right|Fallen London|}} ''"I long for far Irem. The Red Bird has taken all I knew. There was a chant that fell from the sky that will fill me with flame. I will cross the sea as a bird crosses the sky. My love awaits me. The Honey-Lord promised me."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_the_man_on_the_left|Speak to the man on the left|Fallen London|}} ''"I ache for the floods to return. I am scarred and empty. Generations will remain unborn. Should I win, the zee will rise. The Khan of Dreams has promised me."''</ref> only to die and leave their memories swirling in the irrigo fog.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dice!|Dice!|Fallen London|}} ''"They shout nothing of the kind. Perhaps he would, if his jaw were not mired in dust: perhaps she would, had her ribs not collapsed in on her withered heart. Run, and only echoes will pursue you through the violet dark."''</ref> Some wandered away from London and found themselves here, with potentially dire consequences.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_the_Urchins|Speak to the Urchins|Fallen London|}} ''""Don't look like Face," says one. "Don't look like Teeth," points out the other. They peer. "We're down here," one says, "cos we wasn't going to the choir. Not for nuffink. Don't care what the Ministry was paying. You see the Gamine, you tell her. You tell her..." His voice tails off. He looks at his companion as if for the first time. His eyes are fringed with webs of skin."''</ref> The luckiest ones, or perhaps the best-prepared, have already survived for decades or more.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_the_masked_man|Speak to the masked man|Fallen London|}} ''"No Snuffers. No Masters. No Constables. No Copper. I'll stay down here. Survive the next Fall. Only two more. Then the Bazaar can go and we'll live forever. Might need to eat each other. Not much to eat down here. Fish. Fungus."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Unlikely_Garden|An Unlikely Garden|Fallen London|}} ''"Black roses flourish here. Irrigo currents fill the air around them [...] A woman with a crooked leg tends them: she has the flat face, the features of the Fourth City remnants, but her eyes are long sealed-over. "In memory of the Rosers," she tells you."''</ref> The Nadir was also used as a burial ground for the enemies of the [[Third City]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Rebels_who_will_not_rise|Rebels who will not rise|Fallen London|}} ''"The revolutionaries of the Third City sleep here, fifty-five of them. They would have made their republics in the tomb-colonies. It was not permitted. Their enemies must have hated them, to lay them here to rest where they would never be remembered."''</ref> and remnants within may date back as far as the [[First City]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Examine_the_altar|Examine the altar|Fallen London|}} ''"The altar is polished diorite, lighter and smoother than the basalt of the cave floor. Long-dead hands have carved it with a frieze of staring eyes. Much older than the Fourth City. First City, perhaps? But the cave is older still."''</ref>

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