Starved Men

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"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.

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"The Starved Man is alone. And he is putting himself through an exquisite torture. His frame shudders with beloved pain, his joints twitch every strange way they can; his tendons stretch to breaking, his body excretes in the convulsions. The melted amber does not eat his flesh, but quickens it; the Starved Man stretches his limbs like toffee, changing himself as he wills."[1]

Starved Men are practitioners of the Shapeling Arts who inhabit the Roof of the Neath.

SO ARE WEE SHAPEDE

"Push the boundaries of flesh. Transform, rather than conform. Shatter the Chain."[2]

A many stalactites with several windows.
The Roof of the Neath

Starved Men are humanoids who dwell on the Roof of the Neath,[3] within massive citadels carved into its many stalactites.[4] They make prolific use of the Shapeling Arts to warp and twist themselves into new and unfamiliar shapes; this practice involves applying heated amber to a joint or some other part of the body, allowing them to plasticize and reshape themselves at will.[5][6] The process has a drug-like effect: it is often slow and painful, but extremely pleasurable.[7] The Starved utilize their inhuman mobility to climb "spider-like" across their environs,[8] or rely on rope bridges and makeshift blimps.[9][10]

Historically, London has had limited contact with the Starved. Some academics at the University were interested in learning of them and their arts,[11] while others simply did not believe they existed.[12] Naturally, the events of the London Horticultural Show changed this status quo significantly. The Starved living near New Newgate Prison are at war with the prison's guards, and are slowly conquering the stalactite floor by floor.[13][14]

Appearance and Biology

"No two are the same. They have many-jointed limbs (except those with appendages that are short, stubby, or altogether absent). They have eyes wherever it is convenient (except those that eschew them altogether). They cannot, or choose not to, speak (except the ones who make those noises, but they still do not seem to hear you)."[15]

"No two Starved Men respond to the onslaught in the same way. Some attempt to reshape themselves, even as your barrage tears great ragged holes in their bodies – flesh knits back together, bones unbreak with sickening jolts, cartilaginous armour-plating bubbles to the surface of their skin."[16]

Most if not all Starved are human in origin.[17][18] They generally resemble humans, but with heavily modified features: these may include elongated or altered skulls and faces,[19][20] extra[21][22] or missing limbs,[23] extra joints,[23][24] and widened maws.[25] As a consequence of their reshaping, they may also display protruding bones,[26] stretched and translucent skin,[27] or repositioned internal organs.[28] Most also lack hair and do not wear clothes.[29][30] Starved are typically larger than the average person,[31] and a few are large enough to dwarf a cargo hoist.[32][33]

A piece of amber containing an insect.
Amber

In addition to their bizarre (by London's standards) physicality, Starved Men are strong and durable to a superhuman degree, able to survive seemingly fatal attacks.[34][35] They are apparently vulnerable to head trauma, for instance a bullet to the brain,[36][37] and when they die, they have been observed visiting the Silent River.[38] The Starved can also use the Shapeling Arts to gain other superhuman abilities, and can adapt themselves on the fly given a supply of amber.[39] They may grow elongated limbs to strike targets,[24] bone and cartilage plating to serve as armor,[40][41] fins and webbed limbs for swimming (though water washes away amber, halting any reshaping),[42][43] or various modes of conditional flight, such as wings,[44][45] feathers,[46] or air sacs.[47] They are also capable of repairing their own wounds and broken bones,[48] and can even use the Shapeling Arts to reposition stalactites on the Roof.[49]

Starve-Hounds are known to exist, but it is unknown if any other Starved creatures are common.[50]

Culture and Society

"You have gone farther than all but a few into the hushed dominion of the Starved Men. To show for it, you have a handful of charts and maps: approximations and guesswork, but more accurate than most. Demarcations of territory, suggestions of division, hints of religion, schism and Red Science amidst the pale and lonely citadels."[51]

"The Starved Men cut a tremendous gallery around the whole root of the stalactite, leaving a vast central pillar to support its weight. In its day, the view must have been unrivalled. Remnants of salvaged glass and wooden eating-houses, viewing-booths, sight-temples still cling to the edges - but the root has been shattered, and the stalactite fell."[52]

The Starved Men have various communities and societies,[53] each with its own territories, conflicts, religions, and perhaps even Red Science practices.[54] The Starved can be bellicose, and violent clashes between groups of Starved seem to be quite common.[55][56] During one war, an inhabited citadel was bombed and fell to the Unterzee, creating Godfall.[57] The Starved also do not tolerate intrusions from the lands below, and attack and harass trespassers.[58] While some may volunteer to join their ranks,[11] captured prisoners from the downlands have been forced to "submit to the Shapeling Arts" and become Starved Men, their willingness notwithstanding.[59][60] These converts may retain memories from their past lives,[61] as well as possessions such as pocket watches or glasses.[62][59]

A map.
A False-Star Chart.

Despite their grotesque appearances, the Starved have lost none of their human intellect. They do not typically speak languages such as English, and instead communicate through vocalizations, utterances,[63][64] gestures,[65] and body language.[66] It is implied that many Starved have reshaped their vocal cords; if necessary, they may adjust their voices to speak English or other languages with perfect clarity.[67][68] The Starved also have unique forms of writing,[69] with inscriptions found on amber, rock, and bone,[70] and they can draw diagrams with immense detail, like records of the movements of the False-Stars.[71][72]

A cylindrical fortress near a sea.
Godfall

Starved Men possess social hierarchies that include rulership,[73] an understanding of deals and deception,[74] and the capacity to build complex citadels with sprawling tunnels.[75][76] Godfall was an achievement of Starved architecture before its destruction: it had a central support pillar,[77] a chapel,[78] clusters of dwellings,[79] dining halls,[80] furniture,[81] mechanical gates,[82] a viewing gallery of the citadel's surroundings,[80] and murals of the zee below.[83] Some Starved hold specific societal or military roles which may be reflected by their anatomy. Miser-myrmidons have armored forearms and a lower body specifically suited for mounting and riding Moon-Misers.[84] Spire-sappers can "splice" stalactites and drop them on the grounds below.[85] Stone-seers study the rock of the Roof of the Neath to divine the future,[86] a practice colloquially called "lithology."[87]

Starved Philosophies

"What my kin believe? You might as well ask me to mark the final resting-place of the tide. We believe in changing. Nothing is still or static; our beliefs change with our shapes."

"My separation from those above occurred long ago. But everything we do is in pursuit of transformation. Alteration is who we are. And change has texture. It has meaning. Sudden change you might call violence. Gradual change you might call growth. But after both, things are different. After both, something is communicated."[88]

Upside-down mountains.
The Hanging Mountains

The Starved, or at least those willing to communicate with Londoners, offer a unique point of view regarding life and the world around them. They express a strong belief in change and its pursuit: change is a self-justifying act, whether suddenly through violence, or slowly through growth.[89] Along these lines, some Starved revere the wind for being formless and always changing, while others despise it for this reason.[90] They also view the world through a biological lens,[91] seeing London as a large organism whose citizens are cells,[92] and the Neath itself as a living being.[93] Some Starved opine that their organs have uses beyond the "usual" purpose, such as using their stomach to store objects than solely for digestion.[94] When Starved dream, they go to the foothills of the Hanging Mountains, where they dream of amber and honey and the "looseness of forms." Conversely, their nightmares involve the unchanging.[95]

The religions and beliefs of the Starved are closely tied to the inhabitants of Axile and the Shapeling Arts.[96] Shaping is viewed with veneration and devotion,[97] and disrupting the process is a great insult.[98] The Starved also hold great respect for the Moon-Misers, with whom they coexist.[99] They venerate and tend to Moon-Mothers,[100] the broodmothers of the species,[101] and ensure the Misers are well fed by sacrificing human prisoners to satisfy their hungers.[102] The Rubbery Men, for their part, view the Starved as imitators and amateurs of the Shapeling Arts.[103][104]

The London Horticultural Show

"Through the clouds of dust and debris, you see what has befallen the rest of London. A half-dozen smaller stalactites have fallen, each spilling Starved Men into the streets. More descend in small balloons, or under their own power through patagia and air sacs. They are all over the city."[105]

A stalactite destroying a house.
Stalactite

During the London Horticultural Show of the third year of 1899 (2023), a massive stalactite fell upon the event hall,[106][107] revealing a horde of Starved Men who emerged from within.[108] Six smaller stalactites soon followed, as well as Starved descending in blimps or through their own anatomical abilities.[109] The invading Starved immediately began reshaping London by molding buildings,[110] roads,[111] and the waters of Wolfstack Docks with their palms,[112] transmuting London's infrastructure into predominantly organic substances.[113] Widespread chaos erupted throughout the city,[114] and London's populace warred with the Starved.[115] The Starved did not go out of their way to target civilians unless they were attacked or their work was disrupted,[116][117] but they fought back fiercely when confronted.[115] Some unlucky citizens found themselves in the path of the Starved and were inadvertently reshaped,[118] and Admiralty attempted to send agents to parley but they too met the same fate.[119]

An individual with distorted facial features, an eye with several lenses, and a beard.
The Starved Lithologer

Initially, the Starved held the advantage thanks to their element of surprise[120] and superhuman abilities.[121][122] However, London soon managed a counterattack,[123] and many Starved were forced to retreat. One group remained, still working furiously on their plans to reshape London,[124] but soon surrendered[125] and were taken prisoner by the Admiralty.[126] One member of this group was the Starved Lithologer, who reshaped their vocal cords to reveal the truth:[127] it was foretold by the signs of the Roof that the Sixth City was due to fall, and the Starved sought to reshape London to withstand this catastrophe.[128][129] The Lithologer expressed shame for the destruction and deaths their group had caused.[129]

Through the Roof

"We wished to prevent a painful rebirth. The city's next great change, in a long line of them. How many has it been now? Four? Some of you fought us. But there was no time – we had to act, before..."[130]

"Do the attendants whisper of sacrifice? Of the painful necessity of this? This is not an act of hate. To endure thus, to burn thus, in order to aid the transformation of another, can only be an act of terrible, misguided love. In any case, the weapons of the Starved are, as ever, themselves. They can die. They can be killed."[131]

A blimp exploring the ceiling of a cave.
An airship.

After explaining their group's intentions, the Starved Lithoger revealed that another group of Starved Men, who still resided on the Roof, had their own plans.[132] This faction was an advocate for "catastrophic change," and wished to accelerate London's destruction.[133] They viewed London itself as a body to be reshaped, whereas its citizens' survival was a secondary concern.[134] To this end, they began building a weapon which would bore a hole in the Roof and focus the resulting sunlight directly onto London.[132][135] Faced with this new threat, the Admiralty commissioned an airfleet to thwart the Starved weapon,[136] and the Lithologer and their group pledged their assistance.[137] The Lithologer's group helped with the airfleet's construction,[138] and a massive Starved Man even caught an aircraft that was about to float away without its crew.[139]

The Sun

Eventually, the weapon was located and the airfleet made for the Roof to destroy it.[140][141] However, Starved Men on the Roof immediately attacked the fleet, raining down debris[142] and boarding airships to attack crews and hulls with amber.[143] They even deployed an airship of their own, its hull made from Starved Men and its air envelope made from massive lungs,[144] though it was quickly destroyed by a living airship from Polythreme.[145] At last the airfleet reached the Starved weapon: a cone of shaped flesh made of fused Starved Men with an oculus to focus sunlight.[146][147] The actions of this radical group of Starved had airs of both immense sacrifice and immense mercy,[148] and the weapon would itself be destroyed upon serving its purpose.[147][149] Though the Roof was breached[150][147] and the weapon was ready to fire,[151] a lone airship sacrificed itself to blow the weapon up,[152] ending the threat for good.[153]

A grey image of a rose with red features.
The Starved Rose

With London now safe and sound, the Starved Lithologer attended the reprisal of the London Horticultural Show.[154] Initially, they were alone, but they were soon joined by another Starved Man who sought to contribute a Starved Rose made of shaped flesh to the community garden.[155][156] The Lithologer also organized the Starved Embassy to prevent future conflict between London and Starved,[157] and to facilitate cultural exchanges between the two groups.[158] The Starved in attendance educated Londoners of their perspectives and practices, and made efforts to actively engage with them.[159][160] In particular, they seemed very impressed by London's outfits, and the potential avenues of expressions through clothing.[161]

References

  1. ↑ Peer in the Amber Chamber, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Advise Dr Vaughan to become one of the Starved Men, Fallen London
  3. ↑ State of Emergence, Fallen London "Starved Men. You've seen them enough times, on your expeditions to the roof."
  4. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London ""Moon-misers are not the only creatures that dwell on the cavern roof," [...] the Starved Men? They live within citadels carved into the stalactites. [...]"
  5. ↑ Ask a Rubbery Man about amber from the Roof, Fallen London "[...] the Rubbery Man [...] drops a nodule of amber [...] a passable charade of boiling. [...] So amber is most useful when heated up? [...] The Rubbery Man takes your hand [...] guiding you through the act of plunging your arm into the imaginary melting-pool."
  6. ↑ Peer in the Amber Chamber, Fallen London "The Shapeling Art [...] The melted amber does not eat his flesh, but quickens it; the Starved Man stretches his limbs like toffee, changing himself as he wills."
  7. ↑ Peer in the Amber Chamber, Fallen London "The Starved Man is [...] putting himself through an exquisite torture. [...] His frame shudders with beloved pain [...] his body excretes in the convulsions. The melted amber does not eat his flesh, but quickens it [...] it is not a swift process. It is thorough, deliberate [...] It ends in an ecstasy [...]"
  8. ↑ Wander as lonely as a cloud, Fallen London "A lone wandering Starved Man crawls 'spider-like' along the roof with you for some way."
  9. ↑ Wander as lonely as a cloud, Fallen London "You have seen such ropes elsewhere, used as bridges by the Starved Men."
  10. ↑ Wander as lonely as a cloud, Fallen London "The Starved Men have their own method of flight. Two oblong sacks [...] inflated with God knows what. These are affixed with six slim rods [...] form a kind of cage the Starved Men fit into; they then propel themselves from stalactite to stalactite, floating across."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Show her the daguerreotype, Fallen London ""I remember [...] We went up together to the Roof [...] But only I came down. He joined the Starved Men to learn their Arts. He insisted it was the logical conclusion of our research.""
  12. ↑ The Chimney Pot Wars, Fallen London ""It is a little-accepted fact," he begins, his old academic manner surfacing, "that a nation of men lives in the cavern's roof. [...]"
  13. ↑ A Stretch in the Sky, Fallen London ""The prison is under attack by the men that live on the roof. The guards – and thus the prisoners – are losing, and ceding ground. [...]"
  14. ↑ A Stretch in the Sky, Fallen London "The guards fight a battle for this stalactite, and they are losing." [...] "A slow defeat, retreating a floor at a time over months. And there are hundreds of floors here. It might take years.""
  15. ↑ Watch and learn (So Are They Shaped), Fallen London
  16. ↑ Engage the starved 'vessel', Fallen London
  17. ↑ Ask about the invasion of the Starved Men (Ophidian Gentleman), Fallen London ""But for some ill-advised baths in shaping vats, they are the same beings as you. And I, perhaps, once. [...]"
  18. ↑ How do the Starved Men operate?, Fallen London "[...] it seems they were human, once." [...]"
  19. ↑ Light Fingers: The Citadel, Fallen London "Two Starved Men stand guard [...] their heads have been elongated, yes, so the distance between mouth and nose, nose and eyes [...]"
  20. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The tallest lopes forward [...] one eye squeezed almost completely out of its compacted skull, the other buried deep within a crumpled socket."
  21. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "It might have been human, once [...] It has what resembles a head, and is worryingly nimble for something consisting almost entirely of limbs. If this is one of the Starved Men [...]"
  22. ↑ Build on the Five-Pointed Frame, Fallen London "A ribcage that had [...] altered itself to permit five limbs and five skulls."
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Watch and learn (So Are They Shaped) , Fallen London "They have many-jointed limbs (except those with appendages that are short, stubby, or altogether absent)."
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Tackle the (Starved Men) head on, Fallen London "The Starved Men ignore you [...] Your target knocks it aside, then lashes out with seven-jointed limb [...]"
  25. ↑ Light Fingers: A Second Coming, Fallen London "It opens its mouth; its jaw drops a foot [...]"
  26. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "With every bend of their over-jointed limbs, serrated bones threaten to pierce their [...] skin."
  27. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "[...] you can see their organs pulsing through membranes of translucent skin, mammalian physiology straining to function within uncanny frames."
  28. ↑ Educate fighters on Starved anatomy, Fallen London "Fighting the Starved Men requires a certain amount of recalibration – their organs are often not where humans expect."
  29. ↑ Give the order, Fallen London "The one at the front looks strange, for one of the Starved. [...] They even have hair [...]"
  30. ↑ Wander as lonely as a cloud, Fallen London "A procession passes. [...] Yes; though they wear no garb [...]"
  31. ↑ Study the Starved prisoner, Fallen London "This one is smaller than most you have encountered – its anatomy close to the average Londoner."
  32. ↑ Put to Zee: Hazardous Materials, Fallen London "A Starved Man bigger than a cargo hoist wades through the waters [...]"
  33. ↑ Join the Commodore, Fallen London "Somewhere, a hawser snaps, and a dirigible threatens to drift away without its crew, until a titanic Starved Man catches the bow in one hand."
  34. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "Though their bodies are held together by mere strings of bone, they are ferociously strong."
  35. ↑ Call in gunnery support, Fallen London "The Starved Men do not enjoy cannon fire. It seems regrettably possible for them to recover from even direct hits, but it invokes significant distress [...]"
  36. ↑ Educate fighters on Starved anatomy, Fallen London "[...] destroying their brain is very likely to bring down a Starved Man, and they don't usually hide these very far from their heads."
  37. ↑ Recall your experience fighting Starved Men, Fallen London "[...] the killing shot. A bullet, right into the cranium [...] They can be killed."
  38. ↑ Greet the Starved Lithologer, Fallen London ""I cannot speak for London. I arrived here slightly before you." [...] The Boatman rattles a laugh."
  39. ↑ Engage the starved 'vessel', Fallen London "No two Starved Men respond to the onslaught in the same way. Some attempt to reshape themselves, even as your barrage tears [...] their bodies [...] transformations [...] halted by the zee, as it washes away their coatings of quickening amber."
  40. ↑ Peer into the pool, Fallen London "You might have been a miser-myrmidon, thick bone plates shielding your forearms [...]"
  41. ↑ Engage the starved 'vessel', Fallen London "No two Starved Men respond to the onslaught in the same way [...] cartilaginous armour-plating bubbles to the surface of their skin."
  42. ↑ Engage the starved 'vessel', Fallen London "[...] their transformations into finned and web-toed shapes halted by the zee, as it washes away their coatings of quickening amber."
  43. ↑ Claim an assortment of Starved remains, Fallen London "Not all of the falling stalactites land on London, and the Starved Men are not good swimmers."
  44. ↑ Attempt an emergency retreat!, Fallen London "A vast Starved, replete with sclerotic wings, dives onto the deck."
  45. ↑ Nose on through, Fallen London "[...] the Starved Man impacts the hull. He glides down at speed on patagial flaps [...]"
  46. ↑ Bring your guns to bear, Fallen London "You pick off several approaching balloons, plus a winged, feathered attacker rushing down in a swooping dive."
  47. ↑ Spilling Out, Fallen London "More descend in small balloons, or under their own power through patagia and air sacs."
  48. ↑ Engage the starved 'vessel', Fallen London "No two Starved Men respond to the onslaught in the same way. [...] flesh knits back together, bones unbreak with sickening jolts [...]"
  49. ↑ Perform above and beyond in the field of duty, Fallen London "The Starved have, by some uncanny shapeling process, moved one of their citadels to trap the craft between two of their dwellings."
  50. ↑ The War in London 2, Fallen London "People, crushed by masonry or caught by the jaws of Starve-Hounds."
  51. ↑ Return to base, Fallen London
  52. ↑ The Root-Gallery, Sunless Sea
  53. ↑ Share the insights of the Light-in-Exile, Fallen London "It indicated that the Starved Men have their own communities and societies [...]"
  54. ↑ Return to base, Fallen London "[...] you have a handful of charts and maps: approximations and guesswork, but more accurate than most. Demarcations of territory, suggestions of division, hints of religion, schism and Red Science [...]"
  55. ↑ Light Fingers: The Thick of It, Fallen London "You've come into a war zone. [...] Starved Men climb with strong horrid hands along the ceiling, rushing at each other in an incomprehensible melee. [...] you can see their wrestling and tearing each other's flesh with teeth."
  56. ↑ Wander as lonely as a cloud, Fallen London "Some of them have even affixed long, sharp rods around their heads; presumably to take others out of the sky."
  57. ↑ The Root-Gallery, Sunless Sea "A dozen corpses, [...] lie at the stalagmite's root. You think there was a barricade here, but the fall has smashed it [...] Were they defending the root? [...] "Gunpowder," [...] "Blew it up themselves. Killed the whole city. Starved Men, eh? Allus heard they fight each other. [...]"
  58. ↑ Upwards (Story), Fallen London "[...] protect workers from roof-drips. Your hard-work is undermined, [...] when three Starved Men drop from the roof and haul away one poor miner. Your crew listen in silence [...] as they drag him into the dark. Third one this week."
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Upwards (Story), Fallen London ""I was hoping we could discuss a change of leadersh—" [...] She is gone. The Starved Men are less aggressive for a time; [...] their scouts seem more organised. Once, you spot one of them wearing spectacles [...]"
  60. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London ""There ish but one alternative. Shubmit to the Shapeling Arts. Become—" [...] "—one of ush.""
  61. ↑ Light Fingers: A Second Coming, Fallen London "The nightmare thing [...] runs its fingers [...] over Dr Vaughan's cheek. Its eyes, as human as your own, bulge. Something flickers behind them; regret, fury, agony? It opens its mouth; [...] it wheezes"
  62. ↑ Shoot it dead, Fallen London "[...] Dr Vaughan requests a private word with you. [...] she produces a dented golden pocket watch; the very same you saw in the Starved Man's hand. [...] the name inscribed within: Vaughan."
  63. ↑ Bid for entry , Fallen London "One of the Starved Men hops toward you [...] The other whistles through its broken teeth; its companion stops and turns."
  64. ↑ Watch and learn (So Are They Shaped) , Fallen London "They cannot, or choose not to, speak (except the ones who make those noises [...]"
  65. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The Starved Men bow [...] whether the gesture is prompted by awe of the moon-misers or respect for their meal, it is impossible to tell."
  66. ↑ Light Fingers: The Starved Men's Requirements, Fallen London ""I've tried my best to communicate with the Starved Men [...] "They don't have much of a vocabulary, but they've got a surprising grasp of body language and they understand my pictures [...]"
  67. ↑ Pick up the thread of the argument, Fallen London "After a lengthy span [...] plus some smuggled amber, this particular Starved individual has reshaped their vocal organs enough to speak."
  68. ↑ Hear them out, warily, Fallen London ""I dig nock... intengd thish. [...] They clear their throat. [...] The longer they talk, the clearer their voice becomes – a gargling glissando. "From the beginning.""
  69. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The surface of the amber is covered in carvings in the Starved Men's incomprehensible script."
  70. ↑ Help to decode the scratchy script of the Roof, Fallen London "[...] some bring artefacts from the ruins – shards of engraved rock, tablets of amber, melted lengths of inlaid bone. Many of the Starved Men's writings [...]"
  71. ↑ False-Star Chart, Fallen London "The Starved Men's script is inscrutable, but the paths of the false-stars are clearly marked on the parchment."
  72. ↑ Consider what you learned from the Starved Men, Fallen London "You have a false-star chart of exceeding detail and precision to aid you."
  73. ↑ Wander as lonely as a cloud, Fallen London "A procession passes. A king crawls proudly before the rest; [...] there is an understood order."
  74. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The Starved Man encloses the amber [...] It signals to two of its compatriots, who [...] return with a large crate of false-star charts. They load it onto the balloon. Everything is going according to plan until [...] something collides with the back of your head, and everything goes dark."
  75. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "[...] the endlessly branching warren of the citadel as you dart down corridor after corridor [...]"
  76. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The Starved Men haul you [...] through [...] tunnels that squirm through the citadel like entrails."
  77. ↑ The Root-Gallery, Sunless Sea "The Starved Men cut a tremendous gallery around the whole root of the stalactite, leaving a vast central pillar to support its weight."
  78. ↑ Search the Church of the Starved Men, Sunless Sea "A cruciform chamber with a great altar, rows of [...] pews."
  79. ↑ A labyrinth of dwelling-galleries, Sunless Sea "The passage branches and opens into a tangle of galleries [...] There are doorways to dwelling-places [...] like cells of a honeycomb."
  80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 The Root-Gallery, Sunless Sea "In its day, the view must have been unrivalled. Remnants of salvaged glass and wooden eating-houses, viewing-booths, sight-temples still cling to the edges - but the root has been shattered, and the stalactite fell."
  81. ↑ A labyrinth of dwelling-galleries, Sunless Sea "Broken furniture carved in eye-twisting knots."
  82. ↑ The Gate of Forms, Sunless Sea "Perhaps, once, hidden machineries would have roared at the touch of the Eolith, and the gate would have swung open [...] Now, the Eolith only triggers the unlocking mechanism."
  83. ↑ A labyrinth of dwelling-galleries, Sunless Sea "[...] faded frescos of the sea seen from above [...]"
  84. ↑ Peer into the pool, Fallen London "You might have been a miser-myrmidon [...] bone plates shielding your forearms [...] joints of your hindquarters fitting around the carapace of your mount like you were born to it."
  85. ↑ Peer into the pool, Fallen London "You might have been a spire-sapper, splicing stalactites to drop upon the downlands [...]"
  86. ↑ Peer into the pool, Fallen London "You might have been a stone-seer, portending dooms in the slow migrations of rock and fire below."
  87. ↑ The Starved Summit, Fallen London ""Wouldn't these be lithologers, though?" chuckles his Lordship."
  88. ↑ Ask Saint Stalactite what the Starved Men believe, Fallen London
  89. ↑ Ask Saint Stalactite what the Starved Men believe, Fallen London ""What my kin believe? [...] "We believe in changing. Nothing is still or static; our beliefs change with our shapes." [...] everything we do is in pursuit of transformation. [...] And change has [...] meaning. Sudden change you might call violence. Gradual change you might call growth. [...] after both, things are different."
  90. ↑ Give the gift of a conversation, Fallen London ""A lot of us revere the wind, formless and ever-changing," [...] "Of course, many of us revile it for the same reason.""
  91. ↑ Inquire about the state of the Roof, Fallen London ""It is like a body." Many of their analogies are biological."
  92. ↑ Press for more details of the plan, Fallen London ""They do not deal with you. They deal with the city and its change, as we did. It does not occur to them to negotiate with the blood in its veins, the cells that make it up. [...]"
  93. ↑ Inquire about the state of the Roof, Fallen London ""The Neath lives. This is one of the things we know that you, perhaps, do not.""
  94. ↑ Give the gift of a conversation, Fallen London "The Starved Man steps forward and vomits a series of jewels from his mouth. [...] "Some of us believe that the stomach is more than simply a receptacle for sustenance. [...]"
  95. ↑ Ask about the invasion of the Starved Men (Viscountess), Fallen London "[...] the distant dreamings of the Starved Men, high up in the foothills of the Hanging Mountains [...] Dripping warrens of amber and honey, and the looseness of forms. Nightmares of immobility, of static flesh and unyielding bone."
  96. ↑ Let the Nacreous Outcast approach the altar, Sunless Sea ""Imitatorsh," the Outcast burbles. "They shtole our Axile artsh. [...] It [...] collapses before the altar. [...] It remains motionless in prayer [...] An inscription on the altar reads SO ARE WEE SHAPEDE."
  97. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London ""The Shapeling Artsh are—" [...] "—exshquishite. [...]"
  98. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The Starved Men's [...] rage is now unmistakable as they yank you towards the vat of amber. Disrupting the Shapeling Arts was sacrilege."
  99. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London "But perhaps shubmitting to the moon-misersh ish an even greater privilege.""
  100. ↑ Bring the Starved Men what they need, Fallen London "The Starved Men receive your bounty [...] Clambering over the surface of the moon-mother [...] they baptise it with the brandy and rub the wax into its glim-shell until it is polished to a gleam."
  101. ↑ The list, Fallen London ""You need to go up to the roof. [...] find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."
  102. ↑ Written in the Glim, Fallen London ""The Moon-misersh draw closhe," [...] "They musht be fed. You have the honour of shlaking their lust for flesh.""
  103. ↑ Let the Nacreous Outcast approach the altar, Sunless Sea ""Imitatorsh," the Outcast burbles. "They shtole our Axile artsh. [...] They would be ush." [...] "Shtill, the change remainsh. The change remainsh!""
  104. ↑ Flute Street, Fallen London "The Rubbery Man becomes animated, gesticulating erratically [...] "He feels.... sorry for them, I think?" An affirmative burble. [...] "It's like they're painting, but can't see colour. Messy.""
  105. ↑ Spilling Out, Fallen London
  106. ↑ Stalactite, Fallen London "Stalactite [...] A plunging eclipse. [...] Piercing pillar of rock. [...] A vast knife to pierce London's skin."
  107. ↑ Rise, Fallen London "The stalactite has torn through the great glasshouse and now stands [...] stabbed deep into the earth. [...] cathedrals wish they could command such stature."
  108. ↑ State of Emergence, Fallen London "The inside of the stalactite drips with amber. A hand emerges [...] Another hand [...] A gangly figure [...] Another follows, then another [...] more figures extrude themselves from fissures in the rock. [...] Starved Men. You've seen them [...] on your expeditions to the roof."
  109. ↑ Spilling Out, Fallen London "[...] you see what has befallen the rest of London. A half-dozen smaller stalactites have fallen, each spilling Starved Men [...] More descend in small balloons, or [...] through patagia and air sacs. They are all over the city."
  110. ↑ State of Emergence, Fallen London "The first to hit the ground make for the main house, laying their hands [...] upon its walls. Stone warps and shifts, and the building bows in on itself [...]"
  111. ↑ Sinuous Streets, Fallen London "A scissure severs the street ahead – a wound in the fabric of the city. Viscous strands of sinew span the two halves, [...] something liquid flows, a [...] river of stone rendered to fat."
  112. ↑ Put to Zee: Hazardous Materials, Fallen London "A Starved Man bigger than a cargo hoist wades through the waters of the harbour. [...] The harbour is littered with his experiments. Water turned to ice. Water turned to stone. Water turned to acrid, bilious slime. Water turned to basalt, [...] Water turned to caesium – although not for very long. [...]"
  113. ↑ Marbled Flank, Fallen London "The streetside wall [...] an umbra of flesh spreading from its centre. [...] You've seen sand, mud, and salt, but flesh seems to be their favoured transubstantiation."
  114. ↑ Go alone and by night, Fallen London "The Starved Men have not taken particular interest in Moloch Street station. [...] traversing the streets around the station requires running a gauntlet of falling masonry, scared citizens, and opportunistic robbers."
  115. ↑ 115.0 115.1 Unfolding Violence, Fallen London "Two Londoners [...] the Starved Man pays them no attention as they shout obscenities at it. Until one of them takes a cricket bat and brings it down over its head [...] The Starved Man blinks as blood runs into its eyes. [...] The woman hefts the bat again. The Starved Man catches her arms and flings her bodily into the wall."
  116. ↑ Trail of Destruction, Fallen London "They do not like to be slowed, and they do not take kindly to attempts to slow them down. But nor is the aggression directed towards the citizenry. The wounded are mostly those swept up in the Starved Men's path – or those who tried to impede them."
  117. ↑ The Tenderising Ministrations of the Starved, Fallen London "The Starved Men pay no attention as the wounded are carted away. But when Jenny's crew lays hands to the buildings, their heads snap up. [...] they turn and converge on the gathered helpers."
  118. ↑ Watch and learn (So Are They Shaped), Fallen London "Their motives are unclear, but they are not mindless, and this is not random. They are intent on reaching certain places [...] They are slow to harm Londoners – though the people left with wooden skin and liquid bones would disagree."
  119. ↑ What do the Starved Men want?, Fallen London "[...] any attempts to parley result in my men coming back without tongues, or with fingers where their eyes should be.""
  120. ↑ Plead with the Admiralty for aid, Fallen London ""Themselves are inside, figuring what to do. We weren't exactly prepared for a threat of this nature." [...] "It's going to take some time for orders to come down the line, and until they do, no one is getting inside. No one.""
  121. ↑ Relay the results of your experiments into flesh and bone, Fallen London ""So their bodies are not infinitely reconfigurable. This is reassuring, [...] "Although the shapes they can take are threatening enough.""
  122. ↑ Educate fighters on Starved anatomy, Fallen London "Fighting the Starved Men requires a certain amount of recalibration – their organs are often not where humans expect. [...] Certainties are difficult with flesh this malleable."
  123. ↑ The Amber Tide, Turned, Fallen London "Victory is a matter of degrees. London has proven itself adaptable [...] amber supply is tightly controlled. Guns are trained roofwards to intercept any descending stalactites or balloons. [...] the Starved Men have been made [...] to bleed in ways they cannot endure. [...] London has tended her wounds – has protected her people as best it can."
  124. ↑ Contemplate the disposition of the Starved forces, Fallen London "The Starved Men are scattered. Half of them have abandoned the attack, either vanishing off into the fringes of the Neath, or ascending once more [...] Those that remain are clustered [...] still desperately engaged in their work. Fervid, like they know that their time is running out."
  125. ↑ Give the order, Fallen London "There. Walking out of the shadows. Six of them, [...] "Hold," says your gruff second. "I think... I think they're surrendering." [...] They cooperate as the monks of Godfall bind their many hands at the wrists. [...] they do their best to show willing, the hairy one generally guiding the others."
  126. ↑ Carnate, Incarcerate, Fallen London "The Starved Men prisoners are enjoying a stint in the belly of the HMS Vaunted, chained and weighted, and with the whole ship lined with charges. They have offered no further resistance."
  127. ↑ Pick up the thread of the argument, Fallen London "After a lengthy span with an overcurious academic, plus some smuggled amber, this particular Starved individual has reshaped their vocal organs enough to speak."
  128. ↑ Hear them out, warily, Fallen London ""I dig nock... intengd thish. We saw the signs, and thott to acht. [...] They clear their throat. [...] The longer they talk, the clearer their voice becomes [...] "We watch. I watch. The rock. The lights. Patterns and signs and warnings. [...] Patterns reveal. What shape things will be. What shape things might be." [...] You are hearing the tale of the Starved Lithologer."
  129. ↑ 129.0 129.1 Ask why the Starved Men attacked, Fallen London " "What is seen can be changed. All things can be changed. [...] this body, it has fared ill with past changes." [...] "This is not a body, it's a city," blusters the Commodore. [...] "Yes. We sought to reshape the city, to help it avert a greater change which it could not endure. [...] We were helping—" [...] "You were tearing down our homes and tearing up our people." [...] a flash of a very human expression. Shame. "We wished to prevent [...] The city's next great change, [...] How many has it been now? Four?" [...] there was no time – we had to act, before..." [...]"
  130. ↑ Ask why the Starved Men attacked, Fallen London
  131. ↑ Assess the eye for weaknesses, Fallen London
  132. ↑ 132.0 132.1 Look up (What Lies Above), Fallen London ""They are preparing," says the Starved Lithologer. "We were not fast enough. We did not do enough." [...] "They have been digging upwards. They mean to... assist the city in a thorough metamorphosis." [...] "The sun," says the Commodore. "The b____y sun.""
  133. ↑ What Lies Above, Fallen London ""Our way was the kinder way," says the Starved Lithologer. "We saw the signs, and sought to change them. [...] Others among us believe in catastrophic change. They saw the signs, and seek to hasten it.""
  134. ↑ Press for more details of the plan, Fallen London ""We expect the Starved to mount heavy resistance. They've seen how London can fight." [...] "They truly do not understand why you resist," rasps the Lithologer, "as we did not. Resisting a change that is already happening leads to..." [...] "Misshaping. They are used to overcoming that resistance. They will do so [...] "God forbid that they take our lives into account." [...] "They do not deal with you. They deal with the city and its change [...] It does not occur to them to negotiate with the blood in its veins, the cells [...]"
  135. ↑ Plan of Attack, Fallen London "The Overworked Commodore stands. [...] A faction of the Starved Men have a weapon through which they mean to direct the sun on London. [...]"
  136. ↑ Consider who might help in London's hour of need, Fallen London ""So unless London is to become the target of an unknown weapon of the Roof, we need airships. And allies.""
  137. ↑ Rapprochement, Fallen London "The Starved Lithologer raises their arms [...] "We will help. Those of my faction who remain. We can sculpt away the error.""
  138. ↑ Station IX (Provisional), Fallen London "The Starved Lithologer directs long-limbed compatriots around to help with construction."
  139. ↑ Join the Commodore, Fallen London "[...] a hawser snaps, and a dirigible threatens to drift away without its crew, until a titanic Starved Man catches the bow in one hand. A team of dockers scramble to secure it."
  140. ↑ The Board is Set, Fallen London "Word is spreading: the Starved weapon has been located."
  141. ↑ Give the order (Into the Cold, Black Yonder), Fallen London "Lines are cast off, ballast loosed. The [airship] drifts Roofwards. [...] You join the steady throng of air ships threading their way upwards."
  142. ↑ Roof, Rocks, Ruin, Fallen London "[...] the first stalactite falls. [...] even those vessels quick enough to break up the larger rocks with cannon fire must contend with the resulting stony rain."
  143. ↑ Opening Salvoes, Fallen London "A shout goes up [...] Starved Men are descending, in balloons and under their own power. They strike at the hulls and the crew, or hurl handfuls of amber that dissolve or remake."
  144. ↑ Reach and Grasp, Fallen London "A large mass [...] you could mistake it for an errant member of the fleet – it has the size and approximate shape of an airship. [...] you see the knots of flesh that make up its hull. The great lungs that form its air envelope. The [...] Starved that have formed themselves into this thing."
  145. ↑ Proceed, unmolested, Fallen London "The Lifeship has been lying in wait. [...] it drags it down. The Starved craft, at least, talks back. The Lifeship rumbles happily as it ploughs towards the earth."
  146. ↑ Also Into You, Fallen London "The stalactite citadel sheds rock like a snake sheds its skin. And within [...] A great ocular mass. A distended cornea [...] Helping these things hold their strained shape as they prepare to channel inimical sunlight."
  147. ↑ 147.0 147.1 147.2 Last Orders, Fallen London "The skin on the ceiling parts, [...] a core of stone – falls from the roof. And what follows [...] Sunlight. A tiny beam [...] The light touches the rock [...] From being magnified and projected down, even as it burns out its channel."
  148. ↑ Assess the eye for weaknesses, Fallen London "Do the attendants whisper of sacrifice? Of the painful necessity of this? This is not an act of hate. To endure [...] to burn [...] to aid the transformation of another, can only be an act of [...] misguided love."
  149. ↑ Contemplate the viability of the eye, Fallen London "Something formed from the Shapeling Arts cannot stand before the light of the sun [...] These Starved weapons only need last moments to accomplish that which they intend. Then they will be gone."
  150. ↑ In Sight, Fallen London "Something moves upon the Roof above the oculus. [...] The sound of stone on stone. Above the eye, the Roof is coming apart."
  151. ↑ In Sight, Fallen London "Ahead, the eye turns, slowly, haltingly, out to gaze upon London."
  152. ↑ Fly the (Airship) straight into the Starved weapon, Fallen London "You hold the course. You make yourself a dart. A missile of wood and flesh and fabric. A spear, thrown from London, to put one in the eye of those who would unmake it."
  153. ↑ An End, at Last, Fallen London ""I know what it looks like when a city ends. It looks worse than this from here." A rictus is neither a smile nor a leer. "And better.""
  154. ↑ Approach the Starved Lithologer, Fallen London "They're the only one of their number that dared to come here. [...]"
  155. ↑ The Peace Garden, Fallen London "A commotion goes up from the entrance – a Starved Man [...] is walking in. [...] He sweeps clear a knot of soil, places something inside, and steps back. [...] The 'rose' is grey [...] The folds of its petals put you more in mind of skin than leaves. [...] the Starved Man bows to the assembled Londoners. Some return the gesture. Others mutter ungraciously [...] Still others tighten their grip on their makeshift weapons."
  156. ↑ A Scion of a Starved Rose, Fallen London "A Scion of a Starved Rose"
  157. ↑ Inveigle your way onto the delegation, Fallen London "You are called [...] to attend the meeting at the 'Starved Embassy' – the stubby remains of a fallen stalactite in Lady ______'s Watchmaker's Hill estate."
  158. ↑ A Cultural Exchange, Fallen London "[...] the events of that summer arose from a poor understanding of each others' existential idiom. In a bid to ensure that it cannot happen again, the Starved Lithologer has facilitated a cultural program where the two sides exchange gifts."
  159. ↑ Give the gift of a conversation, Fallen London "A Starved Woman flops forward. "She has made a gift of her skeleton," [...] "Both to enable anatomical study and to show our own rather flexible attitude towards its containment." [...]"
  160. ↑ Give the gift of a conversation, Fallen London "A Starved Man steps forward and [...] offers you his hand. "He has spent some considerable time learning your language [...] The surface of his hand, though, buzzes with quietly chattering mouths. [...] "He wishes to explain some of our recent cultural fixations over the course of a long handshake." [...] The Starved Man is sensitive and respectful, and maintains eye contact throughout."
  161. ↑ Give the gift of fine fabrics, Fallen London "The Starved Lithologer is an early convert to the domain of clothing, and shows one of the delegates how to wear the cloth around their waist. They begin to sing the praises of London's diversity of outfits and their many possibilities [...]"
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