The Fallen Cities

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"I saw it! Ask anyone! ...except her. Don't ask her."

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"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.


London is not the only city to have been brought down to the Neath. Four other cities came before it, all traded to the Bazaar for their own various reasons. Very few wish to consider the possibility of any coming after.

Traces of these former cities can be found throughout London. The Fourth City is the most present by far, as a remnant stands just outside the city: the Forgotten Quarter. London is also in frequent contact and rivalry with the Khanate, the floating city-state established by Fourth City refugees on the Unterzee.

The process of Falling a city is as follows: the Masters of the Bazaar arrive at a powerful and well-populated city and broker a deal with its rulers, which often involves a tale of love. After the deal is brokered, the old city is drowned in lacre,[1] killing nearly all of its inhabitants,[2] and the new one literally falls on top. The new city is then subjugated by the Bazaar, and business carries on as usual.

Extraordinary circumstances and the very impermanent nature of death in the Neath mean that certain people from the previous cities may survive long after their cities were crushed. The majority of these have left for the Tomb Colonies, however, as these cities stretch far back into antiquity. Anybody who could survive that long and still remain a part of Fifth City life is either incredibly wily, powerful, or simply useful.

The First City, date unknown

"Only two things are known to remain of the First City: the name, the Crossroads Shaded By Cedars, and the saying: even the First City was young when Babylon fell."

First City coins.

"The first taught restraint..."

More First City coins.
Ruins of the First City.

The First City, known as the Crossroads Shaded By Cedars, was located in Ancient Mesopotamia.[3] It may have been the Sumerian city of Uruk; some have debated, however, that it's the Akkadian/Hurrian city of Nagar (Tell Brak in modern Syria) in which the Eye Temple[4][5] mentioned in Fallen London is located. The remnants of the city live on in Polythreme. Ruins and artifacts of the First City can also be found in the Hinterlands, especially under the Magistracy of the Evenlode.

There are a few confirmed living survivors of the fall of the First City:

  • The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel, its priest-king.[6] He may have inspired the myth of Gilgamesh (because of the latter's relationship with Enkidu and quest for immortality, with notable differences but some common themes), or perhaps he was merely an Akkadian/Hurrian king. The Manager is responsible for the fall of the First City, as he exchanged it for the life of his dying lover.[7]
  • Polythreme's King With a Hundred Hearts. If the Manager is an allusion to Gilgamesh, then the King is Enkidu, Gilgamesh's closest friend in the epic. However, the King himself tells of originally being a merchant from China[8], rather than being a creature of clay the whole time like Enkidu, and his relationship with the Manager was explicitly romantic. The merchant was dying of "fits", so the Manager brokered a deal with the Masters of the Bazaar to save his life. They accomplished the task by shoving a large jewel from the Mountain of Light into his chest, creating his current form.
  • The Cladery Heir's mother is from the First City, and she is spoken of as if she were still alive. She was the surgeon responsible for lobotomizing the Bazaar, removing its urge to deliver messages.
  • The Yearning Custodian, who was born in the First City and initiated the Marvellous in the Third. He now resides in the Root of Need in Parabola, and is the Keeper of the Marvellous and chronicler of its history and rulings.

So-called First City coins, which apparently are recent fakes, are used in the Marvellous as a substitute for ’fragments of a primal power’. They are traditionally exchanged in sets of thirty, the number of silver coins Judas was paid for betraying Jesus.

The Second City, circa 1335 BCE

"Never mention the Second City to the Masters of the Bazaar. Mr Wines will look at you narrowly and give you its worst vintage. Mr Cups will fly into a rage. Mr Veils will harangue you for your discourtesy. Mr Iron will say nothing, only write down your name with its left hand."

"Certain of the Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Stones, Mr Apples and Mr Wines, and possibly others - seem to have a particular contempt for Egypt and the Egyptological. Perhaps they're simply reacting to the fashion for the Pharaonic that overcame London before the Descent. But it's unusual that they should care."

Relics from the Second City.

"...and the second betrayed..."

Ruins of the Second City.

The Second City was Amarna, briefly the capital of ancient Egypt under Akhenaten. The remnants of the city live on in Visage and Arbor.

A living survivor of the fall of the Second City is the Duchess, a daughter of Akhenaten who orchestrated the fall ostensibly to save her lover's life. He was transformed into the Cantigaster by the Masters, saving his life from a snake bite at a heavy price. The princesses of the Second City "chained" the Bazaar in an event called the Treachery of Sands, leaving the Second City in place for millennia. Thanks to this, the city had an extremely antagonistic relationship with the Bazaar and the Masters, and many of its denizens also ran schemes that jeopardized the Bazaar's mission. The consequences of Amarna's long stay in the Neath would be felt later.

Four sisters of the Duchess also survived the Fall, but the eldest, Meritaten, sacrificed her life so that the Masters could be trapped in a tomb called the House of the Feather. Meketaten, the second of the six sisters, is the Obstinate Adoratrice, intent on finishing her older sister's work in building the Palace of the Rising in Parabola. The Mother Superior of Abbey Rock is the third; the Duchess is likely the fourth (though there is some older text mentioning that she is the youngest). The fifth, Neferneferure, became the first Roseate Queen of Arbor. The youngest sister, Setepenre, is said to have died on the Surface, as she did in real life.

Some of the Duchess's sisters still live yet, but their work will live on for much longer in Parabola, where the eldest two built the Skin of the Sun to house the Second City's refugees and shine cosmogone false-sunlight across the dream-realm.

The Third City, 800s-900s CE

"No-one talks much about the cities that preceded London. The Third City seems to have been acquired a thousand years ago. It had five wells, they say. And the weather was better."

A statue from the Third City.

"...The third taught us hunger..."

Ruins of the Third City.

The Third City was Mayan. It may have been Chichen Itza, Tikal, or Calakmul; this last city is located next to the modern settlement of Hopelchén, whose name does mean "five wells". The majority of the Tomb-Colonies are built upon Third City architecture and mythology.

There are a handful of living survivors of the fall of the Third City: the First Curator and the God-Eaters, for example. To sink this city, the Masters offered the flesh of a god to the three leaders of this city, turning them into the monstrosities they are now. As for the god, let's just say it is very, very perturbed.

The Fourth City, 1254 CE

"Who carves horse-head amulets out of bone? Whoever lived in the Fourth City. If all the Fourth City amulets on sale are real, they must really have liked horses."

A relic from the Fourth City.

"...the fourth we remade..."

The Forgotten Quarter.

As Fallen London's immediate predecessor, the Fourth City has been well-studied. On the surface it was Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire; it fell to the Neath during the reign of Mongke Khan, just over six hundred years before London.

The Khan's favorite daughter, the princess Cheren (or Shirin), sought the recipe for an immortality-granting drink made of peaches.[10] She designed an elaborate silver fountain called the Silver Tree, and constructed it with the help of a captive of the Khan, a sculptor named William.[11] Cheren and William fell in love, but the Khan would never allow them to marry.[12] Their plight and the tense relationship between Cheren and her father[13] drew the interest of the Masters,[14] and Mr Wines was sent to start the negotiation for the eventual purchase of Karakorum.[15]

In late December 1253, the missionary and explorer William of Rubruck[16] reached Karakorum and eventually was accepted into the court of Mongke Khan. There, he learned of a plot between the Khan's sons to instigate an invasion from Cathay[17] (China), which Mr Wines planned to exploit to push the Khan into selling Karakorum.[18] Several versions of the ensuing events have been passed down over the centuries, and it is not known which of these is true. Regardless, Mr Wines' deal was successful, and the city fell to the Neath. William the Sculptor spent the rest of his mortal days in the Fourth City,[19][20] Cheren still lives thanks to her peach brandy and is now known as the Gracious Widow, and William of Rubruck's soul has been discovered in a private collection.[21] Mongke Khan was not granted any sort of immortality, and several Khans ruled the Fourth City after him.

The purchase of the Fourth City was not the only tumultuous event in its history. Several factions warred with it, including:

The Fourth City also founded what would become Port Carnelian, and tried to conquer the Elder Continent.[28][29] At the advice of the Fingerkings,[30] they even tried to invade Hell, but lost.[31] A later Khan had a vision of the city's future, and left to build the Khanate across the Zee, leaving his wife the Khatun to rule over the city. She made a crown of Fingerkings to gain wisdom, but became their puppet, so the inhabitants of the city trapped her within a statue.[32]

Eventually, the Fourth City was dissolved in lacre[33] and most of it was crushed by the fall of London.[34] Its remnants live on in London's Forgotten Quarter (the only intact portion of the Fourth City), in Port Carnelian, in Arbor, and in the Khanate.

In the Sunless Skies timeline, after the gate to the High Wilderness at the Avid Horizon was opened, most of the Fourth City's survivors and descendants passed through and established a new Khanate at Eagle's Empyrean.[35]

The Fifth City, 1862 CE

"The city around the Bazaar is called the Fifth City because, they say, it's not the first the Bazaar chose as a home. You can still turn up bricks from the older cities, now and then. Look: here's one marked with an eye."

"...The fifth will live on in the heart of the Sun..."

There are numerous living survivors of the fall of London. It is widely known that Queen Victoria arranged the Fall to save her Prince Consort, as poor Albert was dying of typhoid fever. The Consort seems rather wan, however, and something else has already befallen the rest of the royal family...

The Sixth City, and the Seventh?

"The Masters have always been fond of Paris."

"...and the sixth..."

We'll always have Paris.

Paris will probably, assuming no one derails the Masters' plans, be the Sixth City. No wonder, for Paris is the City of Love.

As for the Seventh City, nothing is really known for sure - but rumors fly about Moscow...

Some content from NiteBrite; most information from http://community.failbettergames.com/topic23-fallen-cities-a-great-many-spoilers.aspx.

References

  1. ↑ Look down into the depths, Fallen London "Space is cleared as buildings crumble beneath the weight of the lacre, brick and stone and marble breaking into dust, churned up into the lacre and swallowed away."
  2. ↑ Look out across the zee, Fallen London "A group of desperate survivors throng once-grand docks. (...) The lacre tide rises and soon all is washed away."
  3. ↑ Crouching in a low stone building, Fallen London "the land between the Caspian and Mediterranean seas"
  4. ↑ Interview the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem, Fallen London "He used to be a king, ruling from a temple made of eyes"
  5. ↑ Looking for the manager, Fallen London "I received him in the temple of eyes"
  6. ↑ Looking in the garden, Fallen London "The priest-king wears white linen, and many layers of shining copper and brass jewellery. He is unmistakably the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel."
  7. ↑ Meeting the King, Fallen London
  8. ↑ Looking in the garden, Fallen London
  9. ↑ Hand over a roomful of scraps for a Coruscating Soul, Fallen London
  10. ↑ The Lore of the Peaches, The Silver Tree ’’[…] and a reference to peaches that gave ‘vita sine finem’-Life without end…’’
  11. ↑ William the sculptor , The Silver Tree ’’I was introduced to William the Pars after I had seen his masterpiece, the Silver Tree.’’
  12. ↑ The Story of the Fountain, The Silver Tree ’’The Princess had designed the Silver Tree. She and the Sculptor were in love. The Khan would never allow them to marry.’’
  13. ↑ The Ending for the Khan and his daughter, The Silver Tree ’’ "Cheren is wilful, but I do love her above all else," said the Khan. "My father is flawed, but I do love him very dearly," said the Princess.’’
  14. ↑ Karakorum was too powerful, The Silver Tree ’’ "Love - love is the key. It overcomes religion, politics, self-preservation. It is the end of all things. Let us discuss the city's loves, and how we may use them…"’’
  15. ↑ I Confronted the Emissary, The Silver Tree ’’ "[…] In fact, you may call me by my true name, now: Mr Wines, at your service! […]"’’
  16. ↑ William of Rubruck, Wikipedia
  17. ↑ I Confronted the Emissary, The Silver Tree ’’The invading forces must have come from Cathay, from the most belligerent branch of the Khan's family.’’
  18. ↑ 'This city will betray you...' , The Silver Tree ’’ He told me that letting him buy the city was the only way to save it - armies from Cathay and Persia marched on it even now. ’’
  19. ↑ Mix it with an old wine, Fallen London
  20. ↑ Aid the Widow (12 FATE), Fallen London ’’"A poet once told me that only two things are eternal: love and sorrow. It is the purpose of poets to make nonsense sound like wisdom. He was demonstrably incorrect about love.’’
  21. ↑ Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy, Fallen London ’’A few of them have labels. Byzantine merchant – murderer. Zoroastrian heretic. Papal Emissary – see special file 14.’’
  22. ↑ The Chalcocite Pagoda 2, Fallen London
  23. ↑ The Sanctuary of the Crimson Petals 1, Fallen London
  24. ↑ Solve the Mystery of the Rosers (The Waswood), Fallen London
  25. ↑ The Tomb of the Silken Thread 2, Fallen London
  26. ↑ A strand of the web , Sunless Skies
  27. ↑ The Tomb of the Silken Thread 1, Fallen London
  28. ↑ Write a history of the Khanate's failed invasion of the Elder Continent, Fallen London
  29. ↑ The aegis of aesthetics, Fallen London
  30. ↑ Examine a Relic of the Fourth City, Fallen London ’’It is undeniable that the Many-Fingered Kings drove the Fourth City to war with Hell.’’
  31. ↑ Investigate the Fourth City's War against Hell, Fallen London
  32. ↑ What is the object of your campaign?, Fallen London
  33. ↑ Look down into the depths, Fallen London
  34. ↑ Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy, Fallen London ’’This must be the Fourth City, Karakorum. Or what remains after it was crushed under the 'surface' of the Neath when London fell.’’
  35. ↑ London's Enclave, Sunless Skies
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