Clay Men
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"The Clay Men are cheap, strong, contented immigrant labour imported en masse across the Unterzee. Are they really clay? Well, that's a very personal question. They don't ask you if you're really meat."
"IN POLYTHREME THE BED I SLEPT ON WAS A SLAVE. THE ROOM WHERE I SLEPT WAS HACKED FROM SCREAMING STONE. THE WATER I DRANK BEGGED ME TO STOP. THEY PAID ME IN COIN THAT PLOTTED MY DOWNFALL. THE MEMORIES ARE TROUBLING. THIS PLACE IS BETTER."
Clay Men are living statues from the far-off land of Polythreme.
Are You Really Meat?
They come to London as workers, and you’ll often find them among the Docks hauling cargo. Though they have their own language, called Loamsprach, Clay Men can speak English. If you don’t recognize them by their grey countenances, you can instantly recognize one by his DISTINCT AND PECULIAR SPEECH PATTERN.
Many Clay Men reside in the Clay Warrens, which can be found under Ladybones Road. Though most Londoners treat these humanoids as second-class citizens, they are diligent and obedient workers who wouldn’t dare hurt anyone. So the next time you see your local Clay Coalman walking around, maybe smile and greet him. Or lend a hand. You see, he's very knowledgeable in all things Dangerous, and that kind of friendship can come in handy when navigating the city.
Clay Men are among the mistrusted and oppressed factions of Fallen London, rivaled only by the Rubbery Men. Many unionized dock workers are rather irked that the Clay Men are replacing their jobs, leading to strikers destroying Clay Man shipments and occasionally smashing the poor things themselves.
Unfinished Men
"Unfinished Men are Clay Men who lack something - sight, a voice, a hand, conscience, obedience. You can't really tell a crippled Clay Man from an Unfinished Man, except that ordinary Clay Men are never criminals. The distinction, unfortunately, often evades Constables and citizens alike."
"Some say that the essential thing all Unfinished Men lack is compassion. That it is the first thing to go. That's why their limbs begin to fall off, their senses to decay. 'That compassion is part of every Clay Man's fabric, that it is London that wrings it out of them."
Unfinished Men are exactly what they sound like - Clay Men who are missing something, as described before. Many are seen as rebellious,[1] but not all are evil, and some may even be helpful.
Jasper and Frank are two notorious Unfinished Men who work as enforcers for the Masters of the Bazaar; Frank is missing a hand, but it is not obvious what Jasper's Unfinished trait is.
What Births Them
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Clay Men are born from the dreams of the King with a Hundred Hearts.[2] When that dream is a nightmare, a Clay Man may be born Unfinished.[3] The King is made of clay himself, though he was once a traveler from China, before a shard of the Mountain of Light was implanted in his chest to revive him. Each Clay Man has a tiny shard of the Mountain within their chest, which keeps them alive; each is a fragment of the larger shard within the King's heart.
Polythreme has an arrangement with the Bazaar to provide Clay Men for its Fallen Cities, a tithe provided in exchange for protection from invaders.[4][5] Consequently, most of Polythreme's Clay Men are shipped off soon after birth, and the majority now reside in London.[6] The individual in charge of managing this tithe is called the Clay Broker;[7] he is a Clay Man himself, who dresses, acts, and speaks more like a human, and looks down on his kin.[8]
Historical Inspirations
The Clay Men are inspired by golems, which have featured in Jewish folklore since medieval times.
References
- ↑ Gather intelligence, Sunless Sea "The King with a Hundred Hearts rules from his palace above the city. He is never seen. He makes no treaties with other lands. But there's unrest in the air. The Clay Men you speak to are obedient and humble, but they speak nervously of those who are not: the maimed, the rebellious, the Unfinished..."
- ↑ Go looking, Fallen London "THE KING WITH A HUNDRED HEARTS IS OUR MAKER AND OUR SOUL. HE DREAMS US TO BEING. BUT NOT ALL HIS DREAMS ARE PLEASING."
- ↑ But where?, Fallen London "You race over to the street of crumbling white walls. One shatters into dust and stone shards and a Clay Man. He screams, "NO! THE MOTHS ARE EATING ME! GET THEM OFF!" You can see that the Clay Man is Unfinished – he is missing tiny chunks from myriad places, all over his stony body."
- ↑ So that's who he is, Fallen London "You! Another meddler from London, no doubt. You know nothing! The tithe of my lumpen brethren to the Masters of the Bazaar is a necessary and accepted practice! Of course the Masters require recompense for their protection and guidance. The Hundreds knows that this must be done."
- ↑ Find out who's here, Fallen London "Did you know that the Iron Republic's fleet of infernal corsairs landed here a few years ago to pillage the place? It went badly for them. Let's just say that the land rose up in its own defence. [...] There aren't any official treaties that I've seen, but Polythreme is less independent than it looks. The tithe of Clay Men keeps the Masters of the Bazaar happy, though [...]"
- ↑ "The thing that strikes visitors first is how few Clay Men walk the streets. There must be many more Clay Men in London than there are here. Your guide, an expatriate from Spite wrapped in dozens of scarves, tells you that most of them troop dejectedly into a steamer for London not long after they split off from whichever wall or flagstone gave birth to them. It's called the tithe, and it pays for the protection and favour of the Masters of the Bazaar."
- ↑ So that's who he is, Fallen London "Everyone in Polythreme knows the Clay Broker. He organises the tithe of Clay Men to the Masters of the Bazaar. Collar him for a chat."
- ↑ So that's who he is, Fallen London "The Clay Broker waves his weighty copper rod in salute. His voice sounds more human than Clay. "Another visitor from London! Marvellous! How are you? You'll have to excuse me doing a little work as we speak. I've just sent off the latest shipment of the tithe to the Masters in London. And a fine shipment it was – all strong and obedient, just how the Masters like them. Come – we must drink coffee together! It's so lovely to speak to a civilised person.""
