"Whatever you think you remember, the first step is to remember that you don't."
WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for the Discordant Studies storyline from Fallen London. Do not proceed forward.
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"Nothing is native to this desolate wasteland. Candles struggle to burn: flames have been known to freeze on their wicks. Walk a little, and you'll find a lone encampment where an old goat-demon tends a dying fire. Walk any further than that, and you may not come back."[1]
The Hurlers are two circles of standing stones overlooking a frozen wasteland in the Hinterlands. Against all common sense, they are the eighth station of the Great Hellbound Railway.
"When the Masters bought London, the Hurlers weren't part of the deal. That's why the Hurlers are here. If they are. What is and is not here isn't so easy to confirm."[2]
A Crystallised Curio.
The region surrounding the Hurlers is ruinously cold: the frost smothers flames,[3] wears down architecture,[4] and can quickly kill anyone unprepared.[5] Given these facts, the area is extremely dangerous[6][5] and has minimal infrastructure.[7] In spite of its unprofitable traits, Mr Stones has an interest in this place,[8] as it seeks stones which "unmake boundaries."[9]Goat-demons also graze nearby, both on the few plants that grow here, and on the numerous bones strewn about.[10]
Hell has an interest in studying the Hurlers and excavating the region,[11] but their attempts to do so all failed, and the surviving archeologists were left unable to recall any details.[12] Bizarrely, the few notes that remain only describe what the explorers "did not find."[13] During their latest expedition, Hell cut a deal of unknown terms with Mr Stones, but this may not have worked out well for them.[14]
Landmarks
"An 'adulterine' castle is a castle constructed without royal consent."
"No consent whatsoever. Illegal by all definitions, and in every sense. Luckily, no such castle has ever been constructed in this demesne. But there are ruins. There, past the Hurlers. Through the ice. Around the lake."[15]
Within walking distance from the station is a dilapidated encampment from Hell's most recent expedition,[16][17] inhabited by an exceptionally large goat-demon called the Caprine Vagabond.[18][19] The Vagabond claims to have "no reason" for residing here,[20] and insists it is not a spy;[21] regardless of its reasons, it directs those seeking knowledge of the Discordance to their destination: the Adulterine Ruins.[22]
The Adulterine Ruins are located near a frozen lake,[23] inhabited by a single Steward of the Discordance.[24] She claims her job is to keep wanderers away from the the Hurlers and its dangers, but she is oddly chatty and fond of card games and gossip.[25] She may ordain new Stewards herself, but the price for doing so is high.[26][27]
Beneath the frozen lake,[28] the Adulterine Castle does not exist,[29] and the lake's surface is not its gateway.[30]
The Standing Stones
"Two stone circles crowd the hilltop. You cannot say, without a doubt, how many stones are standing in each circle. It should be easier to count them. Easier to read the language carved into their faces, etched as deeply as life can carve lines in a person's face. But they are patient. They do not mind waiting. They have all the time in the world."[31]
"This is a game that never ends, just as it never began. It isn't played by two teams, and the manner in which their players are arranged, which depends on whichever team isn't winning, doesn't determine how the Hurlers are also arranged. Because these are the Hurlers. Because there is no difference between the standing stones atop the hill, and these goat-demons."[32]
The Hurlers themselves, also called the Standing Stones, are arranged in two circles atop a hill overlooking the frozen lake.[33][34] They were not part of the Masters' deal to buy London, but they may or may not be down here anyway.[35] Their number cannot be counted accurately, and their arrangement changes even if they do not actually move.[36][37] The sigils etched upon their surface entice travelers to read them,[38][39] and the stones have the airs of whispering, mischievous specters.[40][41]
A Hurler.
The sigils written on the Standing Stones are letters of the Discordance, which are the source of the frost that glaciated the nearby landscape.[42][43] Unfortunately, the stones are currently scrambled and their writings are unreadable.[44] Someone not in the Adulterine Castle may see the Hurlers from below the frozen lake's surface. From this view, the stones appear to be goat-demons - because the "Hurlers" are two circles of stones, and two teams of goat-demons, simultaneously.[45][46] These goat-demons are not playing Hurly-Burly,[47][48] and they are not spectated by Stewards of the Discordance who place bets on the game's outcome.[49] The winning team does not determine the final positions of the Hurlers,[50][51] spelling out three possible Discordant Laws.[52]
The Hurlers were created when a binary Judgement, now called the Black,[53] was erased from history and reality along with its court.[54][55] The Black's courtiers, now known as goat-demons, were entertainers who played Hurly-Burly. It is implied many of these courtiers were transformed into stones when their court was erased from existence, but their "shadows" continue to play regardless.[56][57]
The Three Discordant Laws
Someone Following You
"No monarch shall lack a court; no traveller shall lack a companion; no lover shall lack a lover; no solitude shall be sanctioned."[58]
This law is readable when the second circle of the Hurlers does not win.[59] When read, the reader is typically duplicated,[60][61] and their double has full autonomy and is indistinguishable from the original.[60][62]
This law does not allow anything singular to exist, so it can duplicate memories, ideas, or any object or being, including goat-demons and Stewards of the Discordance. In fact, when this law was first read, it mandated another Discordant Law exist, which is why the Hurlers have two stone circles.[63][64]
Another Mouth
"No poet shall compose different – No bird shall – No bird – No truth shall be spoken – "[65]
This law becomes legible when neither circle wins.[66] When read, the reader sprouts several new mouths which initially fade away but may reappear at any moment.[67][68] Alternatively, it may turn the reader into a compulsive liar.[69] This law is actually an incomplete "half-law,"[69] as it was damaged with a pickaxe by an unknown party[70] during Hell's latest excavation of the Hurlers.[71] Before it was damaged, the law forbade "speaking more than one truth with the same mouth"[72] - either by removing the mouth or growing a new one.[73]
During the construction of the Moloch Line, the Tracklayer's Union reached the Hurlers.[74] Their Supervising Deviless demanded the tracklayers catalogue and excavate the stones, but Furnace Ancona refused due to the risks.[75] However, the Deviless goaded Cornelius into reading the stones anyway, causing an accident that impacted everyone nearby.[76] Cornelius temporarily died of frostbite,[77] and gained numerous extra mouths on his face that build upon one another's statements.[78][79] Furnace was also affected,[80] and when she tried to advocate for ideologies she did not agree with,[81] she grew extra faces to speak for those ideologies instead.[82][83]
Frozen Thoughts
"No couple shall ever quarrel. No country shall secede from the kingdom. No comrades shall find themselves separated. No music shall lack harmony."[84]
"no bodies in disagreement shall be in disagreement"[52]
Most agreeable.
This law becomes legible when the first circle does not win.[85] When read, the reader's skull feels frozen, and they will find any action or experience "agreeable."[86] This means they may provide services or favors to others for seemingly no reason,[87] and others may do the same for them.[86][88]
This law may also cause two separate beings to fuse together,[89] compel nations to end conflicts, or form alliances preventing conflicts. Two things that are now one technically have no disparate views, so at its extreme, this law may merge everything into one. Despite its unnerving effects, the law is illegal for a rather simple reason: without any conflict, a kingdom means nothing.[90]
Real-Life Inspirations
The Hurlers are a group of stone circles located in Cornwall, England. While they're depicted in Fallen London with two circles, the real Hurlers have three. Folklore has it that the stones were once men who played the Cornish game of hurling on a Sunday, and were transformed as punishment. Legends also say it is impossible to accurately count the number of stones.[91]
↑Get a look at the station, Fallen London"Tracklayers must continually patch the walls, which keep cracking [...] Doorknobs crystallise and snap off. [...] the thickest insulation is no warmer than a wide-open window."
↑The Hurlers (Storylet), Fallen London"Beyond the station's huddled warmth, there is only darkness and ice. Beyond the darkness and ice, there are the standing stones [...]"
↑Establish a trading post, Fallen London"There are practically no marketable goods [...] but rocks, crystals, and rocks with crystals [...] the most obscenely wealthy Master of the Bazaar is interested in precisely such commodities."
↑Enter the private compartment, Fallen London""Interesting, these," says Mr Stones, toying with a Crystallised Curio. [...] "What wouldst thou pay, [...] for a stone that unmakes boundaries?" [...] "More," says Mr Stones. "Find more.""
↑Grazing Goat-Demons, Fallen London"Beside the tracks, goat-demons are munching on straggling briar patches. And on numerous bones protruding from the ground, which are vastly more pervasive [...] than any plant. "
↑Discuss the Disembarked Deviless, Fallen London"Hell occasionally tries to excavate this area. They claim to have an interest in the standing stones [...] they keep forgetting to send any scholars to investigate."
↑Speak with the Disembarking Deviless, Fallen London"[...] At one point, Hell had an interest in excavating this region. But all their expeditions were called back. Those that survived couldn't even remember what they had discovered. [...]"
↑Speak with the Disembarked Deviless (Breaking 2), Fallen London""I've managed to acquire a few notes from previous excavations [...] the Deviless tells [...] "They aren't terribly informative. Rather than writing about what they found, the archaeologists seemed to write more about what they did not find. [...]"
↑Find the Caprine Vagabond in the herd 4, Fallen London"It's probably to do with Hell's last excavation. They did more damage than anyone else [...] Whatever deal they tried to cut with Mr Stones, I'm not sure it's worked out to their advantage. [...]"
↑Around the Embers, Fallen London"Shattered bricks enclose a shallow fire-pit, [...] an enormous goat-demon rakes the ashes with a cloven hoof."
↑The Caprine Vagabond, Fallen London"Even the goatiest goat-demons aren't this gargantuan. It's as if the Caprine Vagabond has grown as mountains grow [...]"
↑Discuss the encampment, Fallen London"There must be a reason that the Vagabond is camped alone out here. [...] "No reason," it finally says. "Nothing has a reason in this place. [...]"
↑The Adulterine Ruins, Fallen London"The Adulterine Ruins [...] someone lives here amongst the rubble. In a room less collapsed than the rest, [...] you find a single woman in monastic robes."
↑Approach the Steward, Fallen London"A Steward of the Discordance [...] This area is dangerous. It's my job to keep people away. [...] tell me everything. It's been so long since I've heard any news! Then I'll have to drive you out, [...] Unless you'd care to play cards?"
↑Open your eyes, Fallen London"Stare into the lake's frozen surface. [...] You don't pass through the ice, and the ice doesn't lock overhead. [...] You haven't opened a doorway that cannot be closed. You haven't entered a castle that hasn't been built."
↑Discuss the Hurlers, Fallen London"When the Masters bought London, the Hurlers weren't part of the deal. That's why the Hurlers are here. If they are. What is and is not here isn't so easy to confirm."
↑Discuss the Hurlers again 2, Fallen London"[...] "it's impossible to count those standing stones. From one perspective, they're always moving. But they never move at all."
↑Amongst the Standing Stones, Fallen London"Two stone circles crowd the hilltop. [...] It should be easier to [...] read the language carved into their faces, etched [...]"
↑Beneath the Standing Stones, Fallen London"Beneath the Standing Stones [...] When you aren't in the castle, you can gaze upward and study the lake's underside. You can see the Hurlers, [...] they aren't stone circles. Each stone is a goat-demon. [...] their game has been frozen, their two teams locked mid-play beneath the ice."
↑Don't talk about the game, Fallen London"[...] these are the Hurlers. Because there is no difference between the standing stones atop the hill, and these goat-demons."
↑Bet on the First Circle to lose, Fallen London"A horn doesn't blow to announce the next match, [...] A little ball called a sliotar doesn't rise [...] where goat-demons don't bristle with hurling sticks at the ready. [...] When the game doesn't begin, [...]"
↑Discuss the Hurlers again 2, Fallen London"It's a game that they're playing with us. Whoever is winning the game, that changes where they're standing, and that changes how an observer might interpret their meaning."
↑Don't talk about the game, Fallen London"[...] the manner in which their players are arranged, which depends on whichever team isn't winning, doesn't determine how the Hurlers are also arranged. Because these are the Hurlers."
↑Build the station at The Hurlers, Fallen London"January asks you a number of questions about the Hurlers. [...] she's looking to find out how much you know, rather than filling in her own information. "A light was quenched," [...] "Or the Hurlers wouldn't be out there now. [...]"
↑Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London""This court is all departed," says the Anchoress. "It never was a court." [...] Two holes, pricked close together, are a double star. No light twinkles through them. [...] "I saw the absence. Now you see it too.""
↑Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London"Shadows trail you down the corridors, [...] they might have horns. They might have hooves. [...] "Not every courtier suffered the same fate," the Anchoress explains. "Some are different now, yet still the same. They entertained the court. They played a game." [...] Their shadows still play on the walls, passing a round silhouette back and forth. They move ahead, leave you behind, chasing the silhouette."
↑Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London"[...] the Anchoress does come closer, walking toward the standing stones [...] They tower in the courtyard, on the playing field, atop the hill."
↑Encourage her to read the stones, Fallen London""But I don't understand," [...] "I've already read this. [...] Even after she leaves, the Deviless isn't gone. [...] You've gained 1 x Doubled Deviless"
↑Discordant Ripples (Following) 4, Fallen London"Every Law has its consequences. [...] reward you for the contract you recently killed. Nonsense! Of course you killed it! Everyone saw what you did [...]"
↑Find the Caprine Vagabond in the herd, Fallen London"[...] You can see for yourself, can't you?" [...] You can certainly see the Vagabond nodding at the other goat-demons [...] "Nowadays [...] more goat-demons are just made in the normal way.""
↑Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London"[...] the one that started this nonsense," [...] "Doesn't allow anything singular to exist. Sometimes that means duplicating memories or ideas. [...] duplicating animals, minerals, vegetables. The first time someone read this Discordant Law, it meant that another Discordant Law needed to exist. That's why the Hurlers have multiple stone circles. [...] it has some benefits: when you need more Stewards, for instance.""
↑Read the language on the stones (Tied), Fallen London"You stagger away from the stones, covering your eyes (which are mouths) with your palms (which are teeming with mouths). [...] Soon they are all sealed again [...] For now."
↑Discordant Ripples (Mouth) 4, Fallen London"Every Law has its consequences. [...] when you're browsing antiques, another mouth on your body yawns. Then a few hundred more [...] You don't hear the shopkeeper scream, [...] throw an antique [...] when your mouths are shut again, you still have the antique, and this bump on your head [...]"
↑ 69.069.1Encourage her to read the stones 3, Fallen London"[...] a half-law has been enacted: [...] No truth shall be spoken— [...] the Deviless collapses [...] "I'd never trade you for a penny and call it a deal." [...] You now have 1 x Dishonest Deviless"
↑Claim curiosity, Fallen London"[...] Cornelius' experiment [...] invoked a power against speaking 'more than one truth with the same mouth.'"
↑Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London"[...] one Discordant Law had its grammar damaged. It used to prevent a single mouth from voicing opposing ideas. Typically by removing a speaker's mouth entirely, or by spawning additional mouths."
↑Ask how she first learned about stones like the one you found, Fallen London"[...] when we worked on the devils' line [...] The Hurlers? A circle of standing stones [...] I had a partner then [...] Our Supervising Deviless would tease him that he couldn't read the stones. [...] "When he did read the words –" [...] "It was bad. Bad for him, bad for everyone nearby. He didn't survive. [...]"
↑Hear him out 2 , Fallen London"The mouths speak: "This is what the Masters made of us." "Of Furnace and me." "Not because they have such power. [...] because in opposing them, we unmade ourselves." [...] "It was my fault. I called on the Discordance, [...]"
↑Ask what he thinks of the Creditor's offer for Furnace, Fallen London"[...] Make me into a city. Trade me for Furnace." Other voices join in. "Trade me." "I beg you." "If you don't, I'll make your life a hell." "The Masters won't mind." "The Board won't notice." "The Creditor can't tell us apart.""
↑Claim curiosity, Fallen London"This is what Cornelius' experiment did," [...] "He invoked a power against speaking 'more than one truth with the same mouth.' [...]"
↑Claim curiosity, Fallen London"Furnace's other two faces [...] "This is what Cornelius' experiment did," [...] "He invoked a power against speaking 'more than one truth with the same mouth.' So when I needed to speak for one of my constituents that I don't personally agree with, this happened. Didn't silence me, though.""
↑ 86.086.1Read the language on the stones (Victorious Second Circle), Fallen London"Your skull is chilled [...] It is the most agreeable sensation in the world. Other things are agreeable too. [...] Things that repulsed you, [...] You're much more agreeable yourself. [...] people might give you anything, simply because. And you might give them anything too, [...]"
↑Discordant Ripples (Frozen) 3, Fallen London"Every Law has its consequences. [...] the fine you're required to pay after confessing [...] to a crime that you didn't commit. [...] you can't help agreeing to every point the Prosecution raises. You confess to committing a few other crimes too [...]"
↑Discordant Ripples (Frozen) 2, Fallen London"Every Law has its consequences. Just because you don't have reservations [...] doesn't mean you won't be seated [...] just because the prices on the menu are so high [...] doesn't mean you'll be forced to pay them. The manager [...] presents you with two complimentary bottles, and only wonders why after you're gone."
↑Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London""Doesn't permit disagreements. [...] it might compel two nations to end a conflict. Or it might generate an alliance to prevent conflict. [...] people usually have different views? If they become the same person, they'll have the same views. Follow the logic [...] you'll combine everything with everything. [...] you can see why this Discordant Law is forbidden. If kings can't fight, why have kingdoms?""
