Moon-Misers: Difference between revisions

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{{Major spoiler}}
{{spoiler}}
{{Character|image1 = glim.png|caption1 = A shard of glim. Art from FL.|location = The roof of the Neath|allegiance = Independent
{{Character|image1 = glim.png|caption1 = A shard of glim. Art from FL.|location = The roof of the Neath|allegiance = Independent
|alias = The False-stars|relationships = [[Flukes]] (creators)
|alias = The False-stars|relationships = [[Flukes]] (creators)
[[Rubbery Men]]|notable_members = The Moon-Mother}}''"You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Open_up|Open up|Fallen London|}}</ref>
[[Rubbery Men]]|notable_members = The Moon-Mother}}''"You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."''<ref name = "open up">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Open_up|Open up|Fallen London|}}</ref>


'''Moon-misers''' are mysterious, insectoid creatures that reside on the roof of the Neath. Their colossal size and bioluminescence makes them visible from London, which has led Londoners to call them '''"false-stars."'''
'''Moon-misers''' are mysterious, insectoid creatures that reside on the roof of the Neath. Their colossal size and bioluminescence makes them visible from London, which has led Londoners to call them '''false-stars.'''__forcetoc__


== Biology ==
== Biology ==
''"A moon-miser! They live on the roof – you know, the false-stars. Shed their carapaces and glim falls. And on the roof they stay. Even the Masters understand that. Their exudations – well, the informal name is 'moon-milk'. Horribly dangerous substance. Powerful, though."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/An_authority_on_the_matter|An authority on the matter|Fallen London|}}</ref>
''"A moon-miser! They live on the roof – you know, the false-stars. Shed their carapaces and glim falls. And on the roof they stay. Even the Masters understand that. Their exudations – well, the informal name is 'moon-milk'. Horribly dangerous substance. Powerful, though."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/An_authority_on_the_matter|An authority on the matter|Fallen London|}}</ref>
[[File:Telescopeglim.png|alt=A beautiful, white telescope.|thumb|A White Glim Telescope.]]
Moon-misers appear to be insects with many pairs of legs, many eyes, and hard chitinous exoskeletons.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Talk_your_way_in|Talk your way in|Fallen London|}}</ref> They use their powerful legs to walk along the cavern's roof.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Lonely_as_a_Cloud|Light Fingers: Lonely as a Cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"A moon-miser crawls ahead, all gleaming glim, its powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."''</ref> Much like the [[Rubbery Men]] and the [[Flukes]], the moon-misers hail from the planet Axile, where they were used as mounts.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/A_fellow_spirit_recognised|A fellow spirit recognised|Fallen London|}} ''"You mount the glistening carapace of your miser and ride forth."''</ref> They were likely brought to the Neath by the [[Bazaar]] long before the time of the [[First City]], along with other Axiles, and have since colonized its roof. Their blueish glow is known as '''moonish light''', and it turns [[The Neathbow#Apocyan|apocyan]] when reflected off the crests of the waves of the [[Unterzee]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://www.facebook.com/fallenlondon/posts/apocyanic-the-tint-the-moonish-light-gives-the-unterzee-wave-caps/663677883661694/|Echo Bazaar Facebook|Facebook|}}</ref>


Moon-misers appear to be insects with many pairs of legs, many eyes, and hard chitinous exoskeletons.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Talk_your_way_in|Talk your way in|Fallen London|}}</ref> They use their powerful legs to walk along the cavern's roof.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Lonely_as_a_Cloud|Light Fingers: Lonely as a Cloud|Fallen London|}} ''"A moon-miser crawls ahead, all gleaming glim, its powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."''</ref> Much like the [[Rubbery Men]] and the [[Flukes]], the moon-misers hail from the planet Axile, where they were used as mounts.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/A_fellow_spirit_recognised|A fellow spirit recognised|Fallen London|}} ''"You mount the glistening carapace of your miser and ride forth."''</ref> They were likely brought to the Neath by [[the Bazaar]] long before the time of [[the First City]], along with other Axiles, and have since colonized its roof. Their blueish glow is known as '''moonish light''', and it turns [[The Neathbow#Apocyan|apocyan]] when reflected off the crests of the waves of the Unterzee.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://www.facebook.com/fallenlondon/posts/apocyanic-the-tint-the-moonish-light-gives-the-unterzee-wave-caps/663677883661694/|Echo Bazaar Facebook|Facebook|}}</ref>__forcetoc__
Moon-misers are a source of a few particular substances. Their shed chitinous exoskeletons fall to the Unterzee, and the pieces are called '''glim'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Glim-fall!|Glim-fall!|Fallen London|}}</ref> Glim is used in jewelry,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Keen-Eyed_Lapidary_returns|The Keen-Eyed Lapidary returns|Fallen London|}}</ref> or burned as a light source to create '''glimmering-lamps''', which unfortunately emit noxious fumes.<ref name="sidebar">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|What is a glimmering-lamp?|Fallen London|}}</ref> Glim that is sourced directly from moon-misers is called '''skyfire glim''',<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Open_up|Open up|Fallen London|}} ''"Some of it is cracked and pitted, but the quality is extraordinary – what they call 'skyfire glim'."''</ref> and is notable for its high quality, and '''white glim''' is highly sought-after and is used in telescopes to reveal strange hidden sights.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Snow in the Neath?|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/White_Glim_Telescope|White Glim Telescope|Fallen London|}}</ref>


Moon-misers are a source of a few particular substances. Their shed chitinous exoskeletons fall to the Unterzee, and the pieces are called '''glim'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Glim-fall!|Glim-fall!|Fallen London|}}</ref> Glim is used in jewelry, or burned as a light source, which makes it emit noxious fumes.<ref name="sidebar">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref> But the most valuable product from these creatures is '''moon-milk''', a substance which causes the imbiber to fall madly in love with the first thing they see, be it a person, an object, or even a color.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale."''</ref> This obsession fades over years, though, and is shallow in comparison to real love. Perhaps a hybrid between a moon-miser and a human could produce a variant more amenable to human digestion, creating an effect indistinguishable from true love... <ref name = "Ultimatum>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Draw_out_as_many_answers_as_you_can|Draw out as many answers as you can|Fallen London|}} ''"[Moon-milk] is not a convincing forgery; it creates only a shallow obsession that fades after a few years [...] [The Hybrid's] milk is more suited to human ingestion. It will be be able to create something indistinguishable in all meaningful ways from true love..."''</ref>
== Mother's Milk ==
{{Major spoiler small}}
''"A moon-miser! They live on the roof – you know, the false-stars. Shed their carapaces and glim falls. And on the roof they stay. Even the Masters understand that. Their exudations – well, the informal name is 'moon-milk'. Horribly dangerous substance. Powerful, though."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/An_authority_on_the_matter|An authority on the matter|Fallen London|}}</ref>
[[File:Neathroof.png|alt=Large stalactites in a larger cave.|thumb|The roof of the Neath.]]
The most valuable product produced from these creatures is '''moon-milk''', a substance which causes the imbiber to fall madly in love with the first thing they see, be it a person, an object, or even a color.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale."''</ref> This obsession fades over years, though, and is shallow in comparison to real love. Perhaps a hybrid between a moon-miser and a human could produce a variant more amenable to human digestion, creating an effect indistinguishable from true love... <ref name = "Ultimatum>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Draw_out_as_many_answers_as_you_can|Draw out as many answers as you can|Fallen London|}} ''"[Moon-milk] is not a convincing forgery; it creates only a shallow obsession that fades after a few years [...] [The Hybrid's] milk is more suited to human ingestion. It will be be able to create something indistinguishable in all meaningful ways from true love..."''</ref>


The matriarch of the moon-misers is the '''Moon-Mother'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_list|The list|Fallen London|}} ''"You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."''</ref> She is so large as to be confused for a great stalactite, and her glim carapace is notably darker than usual.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Citadel|Light Fingers: The Citadel|Fallen London|}}''"The Static Star is not a natural formation of stone, but of a darker, mirror-like glim. Indeed, it is not stone at all: it is the Moon-Mother."''</ref> [[Godfall|Starved Men]] have hollowed out her insides, and practice their Shapeling Arts within her using her amber secretions.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Peer_in_the_Amber_Chamber|Peer in the Amber Chamber|Fallen London|}}</ref> The servants of the Moon-Mother have retained more sanity than most of their kind, and tend to her well-being.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Bring_the_Starved_Men_what_they_need|Bring the Starved Men what they need|Fallen London|}}</ref>
The matriarch of the moon-misers is the '''Moon-Mother'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_list|The list|Fallen London|}} ''"You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."''</ref> She is so large as to be confused for a great stalactite, and her glim carapace is notably darker than usual.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Citadel|Light Fingers: The Citadel|Fallen London|}}''"The Static Star is not a natural formation of stone, but of a darker, mirror-like glim. Indeed, it is not stone at all: it is the Moon-Mother."''</ref> [[Godfall|Starved Men]] have hollowed out her insides, and practice their Shapeling Arts within her using her amber secretions.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Peer_in_the_Amber_Chamber|Peer in the Amber Chamber|Fallen London|}}</ref> The servants of the Moon-Mother have retained more sanity than most of their kind, and tend to her well-being.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Bring_the_Starved_Men_what_they_need|Bring the Starved Men what they need|Fallen London|}}</ref>
Line 17: Line 23:
These beings' reproductive cycle is as strange as everything else about them. One is born each decade or so, and for this to happen, the false-stars must align into a particular arrangement known as the '''Counterfeit Constellation'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/What_does_she_mean_about_the_stars_aligning%3F|What does she mean about the stars aligning?|Fallen London|}}</ref> The child is coerced from the womb using the '''Song of Birthing''', customarily sung by the Moon-Mother.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Ask_about_the_Song_of_Birthing|Ask about the Song of Birthing|Fallen London|}} ''"The Moon-Mother sings the Song of Birthing to induce the larva to emerge. An otherworldly sound. I doubt a human throat could ever reproduce it."''</ref> The infant feeds on nectar extracted from stalactites by its father (the jellied remains of some burrowing ceiling creature, perhaps),<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Something_to_feed_it%3F|Something to feed it?|Fallen London|}}</ref> and must be swaddled in its mother's silk while its carapace develops.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Something_to_wrap_it_in%3F|Something to wrap it in?|Fallen London|}}</ref>
These beings' reproductive cycle is as strange as everything else about them. One is born each decade or so, and for this to happen, the false-stars must align into a particular arrangement known as the '''Counterfeit Constellation'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/What_does_she_mean_about_the_stars_aligning%3F|What does she mean about the stars aligning?|Fallen London|}}</ref> The child is coerced from the womb using the '''Song of Birthing''', customarily sung by the Moon-Mother.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Ask_about_the_Song_of_Birthing|Ask about the Song of Birthing|Fallen London|}} ''"The Moon-Mother sings the Song of Birthing to induce the larva to emerge. An otherworldly sound. I doubt a human throat could ever reproduce it."''</ref> The infant feeds on nectar extracted from stalactites by its father (the jellied remains of some burrowing ceiling creature, perhaps),<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Something_to_feed_it%3F|Something to feed it?|Fallen London|}}</ref> and must be swaddled in its mother's silk while its carapace develops.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Something_to_wrap_it_in%3F|Something to wrap it in?|Fallen London|}}</ref>


== The Masters and The Misers ==
== The Masters and the Misers ==
{{spoiler}}
''"...and Mr Stones is furious that its box has gone missing again. The Clay twins are tearing the place up looking for it. No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants. It'll just have to wait for its blessed Sixth City."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_devil_you_don%27t_know|The devil you don't know|Fallen London|}}</ref>
The value of Moon-misers and their myriad secretions has not escaped the attention of powerful parties in the Neath, including the [[The Masters of the Bazaar|Masters of the Bazaar]]. There are those among them who would use the power of moon-milk to further their own goals for London, and those who would work to oppose them.
[[File:OrphanageSmall.png|alt=A dark, scary building.|thumb|[[The Orphanage]]]]
 
The value of Moon-misers and their myriad secretions has not escaped the attention of powerful parties in the Neath, including the [[Masters of the Bazaar]]. There are those among them who would use the power of moon-milk to further their own goals for London, and those who would work to oppose them.
Among them, the Master [[The Masters of the Bazaar#Mr Fires|Mr. Fires]] has a particular use in mind for the moon-misers. As part of its many schemes to ensure that London remains in the Neath indefinitely, it plans to use moon-milk to taint London’s supplies of love stories with artificial love, so that [[The Echo Bazaar|the Bazaar]] cannot extract any more usable stories from it or future cities.<ref name="Ultimatum">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Mr_Fires%27_Ultimatum_2|Light Fingers: Mr Fires' Ultimatum 2|Fallen London|}}</ref> This behavior has frequently put it at odds with [[The Masters of the Bazaar#Mr Wines|Mr. Winess]] and [[The Masters of the Bazaar#Mr Spices|Mr. Spices]], who largely take up the responsibility of collecting love stories of all sorts for the Bazaar, and they take their job very seriously.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Fires%27_next_move|Fires' next move|Fallen London|}} ''"And [Mr. Fires]'s always messing with the love stories. Wines and Spices do most of that work, and they fair hate its guts. But Fires is subtle enough, and they can't do much against it in the open."''</ref>


Nevertheless, its plan is doomed to failure, as the effect of moon-milk is more akin to a shallow obsession than to real love. For its plans to work, it requires a more potent version, so it has set up [[the Orphanage|the Orphanage]] as a testing ground for the effects of the milk, and has attempted to breed a human with the moon-miser it has locked up in the basement.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sneak_your_way_in|Sneak your way in|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Charm_offensive|Charm offensive|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Ambition:_Light_Fingers!_-_Meeting_Doctor_Vaughan|Ambition: Light Fingers! - Meeting Doctor Vaughan|Fallen London|}}</ref> Hopefully, the resulting hybrid will produce a more potent milk, with an effect indistinguishable from true love.<ref name = "Ultimatum>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Draw_out_as_many_answers_as_you_can|Draw out as many answers as you can|Fallen London|}}</ref>
Among them, the [[Mr Fires]] has a particular use in mind for the moon-misers. As part of its many schemes to ensure that London remains in the Neath indefinitely, it plans to use moon-milk to taint London’s supplies of love stories with artificial love, so that the [[Bazaar]] cannot extract any more usable stories from it or future cities.<ref name="Ultimatum">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Mr_Fires%27_Ultimatum_2|Light Fingers: Mr Fires' Ultimatum 2|Fallen London|}}</ref> This behavior has frequently put it at odds with [[Mr Wines]] and [[Mr Spices]], who largely take up the responsibility of collecting love stories of all sorts for the Bazaar, and they take their job very seriously.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Fires%27_next_move|Fires' next move|Fallen London|}} ''"And [Mr. Fires]'s always messing with the love stories. Wines and Spices do most of that work, and they fair hate its guts. But Fires is subtle enough, and they can't do much against it in the open."''</ref>


Another Master, however, has seen a different potential use for the substance. An Exiled Captain of [[Devils|Hell’s Aristocracy]] is willing to trade use of their army in exchange for a sample.<ref name="devils">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_devil_you_don%27t_know|The devil you don't know|Fallen London|}} ''"No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants."''</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Fires%27_next_move|Fires' next move|Fallen London|}} ''"So. Box is opened. Our box. No more. Disappointed. Didn't need glim. Needed moon-milk. Devils interested. Valuable trade opportunity lost."''</ref> So [[The Masters of the Bazaar#Mr Stones|Mr. Stones]] has abducted a small moon-miser from the roof and locked it inside a heavy iron box, along with a collection of [[The Fallen Cities#The Fourth City, 1254 CE|Fourth City]] [[The Gracious Widow|love letters]] it stole from Mr. Fires.<ref name="devils">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_devil_you_don%27t_know|The devil you don't know|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Open_up|Open up|Fallen London|}} ''"You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Fires%27_next_move|Fires' next move|Fallen London|}}</ref> If this scheme comes to fruition, London will be razed to the ground by devils, forcing the Bazaar to steal a sixth city ahead of time, and leaving Stones one step closer to its ultimate objective: returning to the [[The High Wilderness|High Wilderness]].
Nevertheless, its plan is doomed to failure, as the effect of moon-milk is more akin to a shallow obsession than to real love. For its plans to work, it requires a more potent version, so it has set up the [[Orphanage]] as a testing ground for the effects of the milk, and has attempted to breed a human with the moon-miser it has locked up in the basement.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sneak_your_way_in|Sneak your way in|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Charm_offensive|Charm offensive|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Ambition:_Light_Fingers!_-_Meeting_Doctor_Vaughan|Ambition: Light Fingers! - Meeting Doctor Vaughan|Fallen London|}}</ref> Hopefully, the resulting hybrid will produce a more potent milk, with an effect indistinguishable from true love.<ref name = "Ultimatum>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Draw_out_as_many_answers_as_you_can|Draw out as many answers as you can|Fallen London|}}</ref>
[[File:Box2.png|alt=A tightly locked metal box.|thumb|A Heavy Iron Box.]]
Another Master, however, has seen a different potential use for the substance. An Exiled Captain of [[Devils|Hell’s Aristocracy]] is willing to trade use of their army in exchange for a sample.<ref name="devils">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_devil_you_don%27t_know|The devil you don't know|Fallen London|}} ''"No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants."''</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Fires%27_next_move|Fires' next move|Fallen London|}} ''"So. Box is opened. Our box. No more. Disappointed. Didn't need glim. Needed moon-milk. Devils interested. Valuable trade opportunity lost."''</ref> So [[Mr Stones]] has abducted a small moon-miser from the roof and locked it inside a heavy iron box, along with a collection of the [[Fourth City]] love letters from the [[Gracious Widow]] it stole from Mr Fires.<ref name="devils">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_devil_you_don%27t_know|The devil you don't know|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Open_up|Open up|Fallen London|}} ''"You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Fires%27_next_move|Fires' next move|Fallen London|}}</ref> If this scheme comes to fruition, London will be razed to the ground by devils, forcing the Bazaar to steal a sixth city ahead of time, and leaving Stones one step closer to its ultimate objective: returning to the [[High Wilderness]].


== Astrology? ==
== Astrology? ==

Revision as of 02:17, 10 February 2021

"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.


"You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."[1]

Moon-misers are mysterious, insectoid creatures that reside on the roof of the Neath. Their colossal size and bioluminescence makes them visible from London, which has led Londoners to call them false-stars.

Biology

"A moon-miser! They live on the roof – you know, the false-stars. Shed their carapaces and glim falls. And on the roof they stay. Even the Masters understand that. Their exudations – well, the informal name is 'moon-milk'. Horribly dangerous substance. Powerful, though."[2]

A beautiful, white telescope.
A White Glim Telescope.

Moon-misers appear to be insects with many pairs of legs, many eyes, and hard chitinous exoskeletons.[3] They use their powerful legs to walk along the cavern's roof.[4] Much like the Rubbery Men and the Flukes, the moon-misers hail from the planet Axile, where they were used as mounts.[5] They were likely brought to the Neath by the Bazaar long before the time of the First City, along with other Axiles, and have since colonized its roof. Their blueish glow is known as moonish light, and it turns apocyan when reflected off the crests of the waves of the Unterzee.[6]

Moon-misers are a source of a few particular substances. Their shed chitinous exoskeletons fall to the Unterzee, and the pieces are called glim.[7] Glim is used in jewelry,[8] or burned as a light source to create glimmering-lamps, which unfortunately emit noxious fumes.[9] Glim that is sourced directly from moon-misers is called skyfire glim,[10] and is notable for its high quality, and white glim is highly sought-after and is used in telescopes to reveal strange hidden sights.[11][12]

Mother's Milk

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

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.


"A moon-miser! They live on the roof – you know, the false-stars. Shed their carapaces and glim falls. And on the roof they stay. Even the Masters understand that. Their exudations – well, the informal name is 'moon-milk'. Horribly dangerous substance. Powerful, though."[13]

Large stalactites in a larger cave.
The roof of the Neath.

The most valuable product produced from these creatures is moon-milk, a substance which causes the imbiber to fall madly in love with the first thing they see, be it a person, an object, or even a color.[14] This obsession fades over years, though, and is shallow in comparison to real love. Perhaps a hybrid between a moon-miser and a human could produce a variant more amenable to human digestion, creating an effect indistinguishable from true love... [15]

The matriarch of the moon-misers is the Moon-Mother.[16] She is so large as to be confused for a great stalactite, and her glim carapace is notably darker than usual.[17] Starved Men have hollowed out her insides, and practice their Shapeling Arts within her using her amber secretions.[18] The servants of the Moon-Mother have retained more sanity than most of their kind, and tend to her well-being.[19]

These beings' reproductive cycle is as strange as everything else about them. One is born each decade or so, and for this to happen, the false-stars must align into a particular arrangement known as the Counterfeit Constellation.[20] The child is coerced from the womb using the Song of Birthing, customarily sung by the Moon-Mother.[21] The infant feeds on nectar extracted from stalactites by its father (the jellied remains of some burrowing ceiling creature, perhaps),[22] and must be swaddled in its mother's silk while its carapace develops.[23]

The Masters and the Misers

"...and Mr Stones is furious that its box has gone missing again. The Clay twins are tearing the place up looking for it. No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants. It'll just have to wait for its blessed Sixth City."[24]

A dark, scary building.
The Orphanage

The value of Moon-misers and their myriad secretions has not escaped the attention of powerful parties in the Neath, including the Masters of the Bazaar. There are those among them who would use the power of moon-milk to further their own goals for London, and those who would work to oppose them.

Among them, the Mr Fires has a particular use in mind for the moon-misers. As part of its many schemes to ensure that London remains in the Neath indefinitely, it plans to use moon-milk to taint London’s supplies of love stories with artificial love, so that the Bazaar cannot extract any more usable stories from it or future cities.[15] This behavior has frequently put it at odds with Mr Wines and Mr Spices, who largely take up the responsibility of collecting love stories of all sorts for the Bazaar, and they take their job very seriously.[25]

Nevertheless, its plan is doomed to failure, as the effect of moon-milk is more akin to a shallow obsession than to real love. For its plans to work, it requires a more potent version, so it has set up the Orphanage as a testing ground for the effects of the milk, and has attempted to breed a human with the moon-miser it has locked up in the basement.[26][27][28] Hopefully, the resulting hybrid will produce a more potent milk, with an effect indistinguishable from true love.[15]

A tightly locked metal box.
A Heavy Iron Box.

Another Master, however, has seen a different potential use for the substance. An Exiled Captain of Hell’s Aristocracy is willing to trade use of their army in exchange for a sample.[29][30] So Mr Stones has abducted a small moon-miser from the roof and locked it inside a heavy iron box, along with a collection of the Fourth City love letters from the Gracious Widow it stole from Mr Fires.[29][31][32] If this scheme comes to fruition, London will be razed to the ground by devils, forcing the Bazaar to steal a sixth city ahead of time, and leaving Stones one step closer to its ultimate objective: returning to the High Wilderness.

Astrology?

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

References

  1. Open up, Fallen London
  2. An authority on the matter, Fallen London
  3. Talk your way in, Fallen London
  4. Light Fingers: Lonely as a Cloud, Fallen London "A moon-miser crawls ahead, all gleaming glim, its powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."
  5. A fellow spirit recognised, Fallen London "You mount the glistening carapace of your miser and ride forth."
  6. Echo Bazaar Facebook, Facebook
  7. Glim-fall!, Fallen London
  8. The Keen-Eyed Lapidary returns, Fallen London
  9. What is a glimmering-lamp?, Fallen London
  10. Open up, Fallen London "Some of it is cracked and pitted, but the quality is extraordinary – what they call 'skyfire glim'."
  11. Snow in the Neath?, Fallen London
  12. White Glim Telescope, Fallen London
  13. An authority on the matter, Fallen London
  14. Eminently respectable?, Fallen London "Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale."
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Draw out as many answers as you can, Fallen London "[Moon-milk] is not a convincing forgery; it creates only a shallow obsession that fades after a few years [...] [The Hybrid's] milk is more suited to human ingestion. It will be be able to create something indistinguishable in all meaningful ways from true love..." Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Ultimatum" defined multiple times with different content
  16. The list, Fallen London "You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."
  17. Light Fingers: The Citadel, Fallen London "The Static Star is not a natural formation of stone, but of a darker, mirror-like glim. Indeed, it is not stone at all: it is the Moon-Mother."
  18. Peer in the Amber Chamber, Fallen London
  19. Bring the Starved Men what they need, Fallen London
  20. What does she mean about the stars aligning?, Fallen London
  21. Ask about the Song of Birthing, Fallen London "The Moon-Mother sings the Song of Birthing to induce the larva to emerge. An otherworldly sound. I doubt a human throat could ever reproduce it."
  22. Something to feed it?, Fallen London
  23. Something to wrap it in?, Fallen London
  24. The devil you don't know, Fallen London
  25. Fires' next move, Fallen London "And [Mr. Fires]'s always messing with the love stories. Wines and Spices do most of that work, and they fair hate its guts. But Fires is subtle enough, and they can't do much against it in the open."
  26. Sneak your way in, Fallen London
  27. Charm offensive, Fallen London
  28. Ambition: Light Fingers! - Meeting Doctor Vaughan, Fallen London
  29. 29.0 29.1 The devil you don't know, Fallen London "No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants." Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "devils" defined multiple times with different content
  30. Fires' next move, Fallen London "So. Box is opened. Our box. No more. Disappointed. Didn't need glim. Needed moon-milk. Devils interested. Valuable trade opportunity lost."
  31. Open up, Fallen London "You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."
  32. Fires' next move, Fallen London