<blockquote>''"You can see immediately that the Cantigaster was once a man. Now he is a living, shuddering sac of poison. His flesh swells green and soft like rotting fruit. Foul venoms ooze beneath his skin."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Set_forth_into_the_cellars|Set forth into the cellars|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>''"You can see immediately that the Cantigaster was once a man. Now he is a living, shuddering sac of poison. His flesh swells green and soft like rotting fruit. Foul venoms ooze beneath his skin."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Set_forth_into_the_cellars|Set forth into the cellars|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>
Revision as of 12:06, 22 April 2025
"You can see immediately that the Cantigaster was once a man. Now he is a living, shuddering sac of poison. His flesh swells green and soft like rotting fruit. Foul venoms ooze beneath his skin."[1]
The Cantigaster is a bloated and horrifying creature, which possesses and oozes the deadliest venom known to man.
"Only poison I know that's strong enough to kill for sure. And I've personal 'istory to back that up. Should be undetectable. Keeps things fair."[2]
In large enough doses, Cantigaster venom can cause permanent death, a relative rarity in the Neath.[3] It works best when applied to a blade (implying that it is most effective when it enters the bloodstream), but can also be dissolved into another liquid and remain both undetectable[3] and effective.[4] The smallest doses can cause extensive nerve damage and paralysis; the Cheery Man was poisoned with half a drop and cannot walk without assistance,[5] as well as losing... certain other faculties below the waist.[6] Even inhalation of Cantigaster venom is dangerous, and can damage or destroy a person's voice.[7] This venom has a short shelf life in open air,[8] but can be dried to retain its deadly effects.[9]
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.
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"The Duchess kisses him fondly and they embrace. You watch as the Duchess... as she milks the poison from his skin. The Cantigaster sighs with relief as his venoms trickle into a stone bucket. The Duchess looks up. Has she seen you? You flee the cellar."[11]
The Cantigaster is locked away in the Palace cellars, where it — or rather, he — is occasionally attended to by the Duchess.[12] Beneath the oozing, swollen flesh of this monster is the Duchess's father, to whom she was also betrothed in accordance with royal tradition.[13] The Duchess sent a cobra[14] to kill the Pharaoh[15] so that she could be with her lover, a scribe.[16] She regretted this action immediately,[17][18] and bargained with the Bazaar to save the Pharaoh's life in exchange for what became known as the Second City.[19][20] The Masters' methods worked, but left him in this tormented state for millennia to come.[21]
The Duchess still visits her father at midnight each Sunday, in the third wine cellar under the Shuttered Palace,[12] to milk venom out of his skin and bring him relief. What she takes away, presumably, is Cantigaster venom.[22] Rumor has it that the Duchess sends him to Parabola sometimes, perhaps to give him a moment of relief in dream.[23]
While the Duchess was the one to sign the contract, the Pharaoh, for unknown reasons, was most likely the one responsible[15][24] for summoning the Bazaar to the Second City in the first place.[25] The Bazaar may already have been present by the time the Duchess attempted to kill her betrothed, and the act simply changed the terms of a bargain that was already being written.
Historical Inspirations
It can be safely deduced that the Cantigaster is the Pharaoh Akhenaten, originally called Amenhotep IV. After he ascended the throne, he implemented his own state religion, casting aside the traditional pantheon in favor of monotheistic worship of the sun disk Aten. To centralize his power and beliefs, he abandoned the capital of Thebes and established a new capital, which he called Akhetaten but is now known as Amarna. While it was to be short-lived, his reign marked perhaps the most dramatic religious shift in Egyptian history.
Akhenaten’s family life has long been a subject of fascination and debate. His Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti, was renowned for her beauty, influence, and possible co-regency. Together they had six daughters: Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten (later Ankhesenamun), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre. Akhenaten also had a less-well-documented wife, Kiya, whose exact role in his court remains unknown. More famously, Akhenaten's son later became the pharaoh Tutankhamun, who restored Egypt's previous religion (changing his name from Tutankhaten in the process) and moved the capital from Amarna to Memphis.
Genetic evidence indicates that Tutankhamun was the child of two full siblings, ostensibly Akhenaten and his sister (not Nefertiti). That said, it is not known for certain whether Akhenaten married one or more of his daughters. The latter practice was known among Egyptian royalty, including Akhenaten's father, and Akhenaten's eldest daughter Meritaten is recorded in different sources as a Great Royal Wife (to both her known husband and Akhenaten) and as "mistress of the house." However, there remains no definitive proof, and the subject is still debated among Egyptologists.
↑ 3.03.1Procuring Cantigaster Venom, Fallen London"Only poison I know that's strong enough to kill for sure. And I've personal 'istory to back that up. Should be undetectable. Keeps things fair."
↑A careful sort, Fallen London"Cantigaster's venom works best on a blade, but it does the job handily in coffee. You slip away as the screaming and thrashing begins."
↑Blind Bruiser, Sunless Sea"My employer is a gentleman of considerable vitality and also humour. However, and as much as it pains me to say, he is not the man he was. Years ago, an ingrate of no current importance poisoned him with Cantigaster venom, and he hasn't been right since. Can't walk, most days. I have made what may yet transpire to be a rash promise to restore him, and I am hereby solicitin' your assistance."
↑Hint that you might want to stay the night, Fallen London"You're out of luck, my friend," he slurs. "Time was... but it's Cantigaster venom, y'see. Not even a drop. Half a drop. But I can't hardly stir from this chair. And I can't hardly stir, if you take my meaning. So off home with you. Sleep well."
↑Arrange a major betrayal, Fallen London"[…] you remembered to wear gloves, but one must also not absentmindedly handle one's lunch right after touching dried cantigaster venom. Finding the right antidotes keeps you from the game for an afternoon. And you've lost your taste for tinned ham […]"
↑Breed the Plated Seal 2, Fallen London"A cobra! It must be twenty feet long. The venom dripping from its fangs leaves smoking holes in the stone roof the size of grapes. Its hood bears the Correspondence symbol for ‘A gift to remind a woman of something best forgotten.'"
↑The Calendar Code, Fallen London"She kills her betrothed. She kills him with a snake. To be with her lover, the scribe." The translator shakes his head. "The scribe knows it can never be. He knows they will find out, and they will come for him. He writes that he is already dead. And the betrothed doesn't even die. He becomes—"
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"Dart, little snake, dart. Bite, little snake, bite. Sink your fangs until your venom wells from welts as red as treachery. Come, little snake, come. I'll stroke your head. Now my betrothed is dead. What, little snake, have I done? What, little snake, have I done?"
↑The Calendar Code, Fallen London "'Love is intoxicating, overwhelming. Age, status, rank – they offer no immunity. In the grip of love I did something I will always regret. I will never be free from the consequences, and suffer deeply for my actions then. Yet I still cherish the moments that led me there. I can never forget, and I do not want to."
↑'...look forward so very much to your next visit...', Fallen London"A long time ago... three cities ago in fact... when I was more than a Duchess, but still a friend to cats... I was betrothed. I loved him a great deal, and when a serpent stung him, I was distraught. I would have done anything to save him. The Bazaar knew as much. [...]"
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"You had to do it, didn't you? But now you have a choice. High on the palace balcony, above the purple riverbank, they wait until the glyphs have dried – a disc; a tool embedded in a block – to collect the contract. Remember, above all, the sun will always rise somewhere."
↑Set forth into the cellars, Fallen London"You can see immediately that the Cantigaster was once a man. Now he is a living, shuddering sac of poison. His flesh swells green and soft like rotting fruit. Foul venoms ooze beneath his skin."
↑Set forth into the cellars, Fallen London"[...] You watch as the Duchess... as she milks the poison from his skin. The Cantigaster sighs with relief as his venoms trickle into a stone bucket. [...]"
↑Untapped wealth, Fallen London"[...] But a deep pond comes up with something startling. It claims to remember when the Cantigaster was 'his real self, before the asp bit and the pact was sealed. That's why they won't abide talk of that place, you know. She's still there, though, isn't she? Sending him to Parabola when she wants, no doubt." [Editor's note: Historically the Greek name "aspis" (which means "viper") was used for a variety of venomous snakes found around the Nile. It is believed that the most likely or common species referenced by the modernized name "asp" was the Egyptian cobra, as reflected in other text.]
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"He will open his mouth to the stars. He will scream until his voice is gone, until his lungs are filled with blood, until the void between the stars opens between his teeth. And his daughters will bow, and his priests and attendants will pray, and the horizon will part like a sleeper's eyelids at sunrise."
↑Listen, Sunless Sea"There is an air of celebration. As with many languages spoken in dreams, you understand the meaning without understanding the words: a great disaster has been averted, the King's folly is ended by the Princess' cunning, the heralds of night are bound. [...]"
