Virginia

"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.

"Virginia is a deviless of particularly refined tastes, and particularly elaborate cunning."

Virginia is a fashionable, knowledgeable, and high-ranking deviless, and a former Lord Mayor of London.

Infernal Archaeology

"You sweat in the fierce heat and plush chairs of Dante's Grill. Before you is a plate of chops, drowned in white gravy. Virginia is laughing. "I'm afraid you're out of luck. My country is free, our oppressors are buried, and I have endless diversions. I am a problem for you: I am content."

Virginia has a taste for the souls of scholars; she has an interest in the Correspondence, and can often be found conducting research in the Forgotten Quarter. This puts her in frequent rivalry with other archaeologists, including Dr. Orthos, a scholar who has headed many expeditions.

Virginia is a player of the Marvellous, and her heart's desire is laconic: "sanctuary." Long ago, she was a heroine of Hell's Season of Revolutions, helping overthrow a Prince of Hell after having an affair with him. The exiled prince, who still has an interest in Virginia, is imprisoned in solitary confinement on Corpsecage Island.

Mayoral Campaign

"Virginia's followers don't preach abstinence, nor even restraint. They advocate exercises, physical and spiritual, and spread the twin practices of penitence and callisthenics wherever they go."

Virginia successfully ran for Mayor of London in 1897, under the slogan "Good for the Soul." Despite her status in Hell, the Brass Embassy quickly disavowed any involvement with her candidacy and stated to the press that she had "Nothing to do with us" and "She's your problem now." Virginia's platform promoted the concept of a "Clean Bill of Health," and promised to nourish the collective soul of London with the help of innovative treatments and the opening of a public spa for the "honing of the self."

Despite their archaeological rivalry, Dr. Orthos supported Virginia's campaign as a spokesman; while he supported her policies, he knew that if Virginia won, he would encounter less interference in his work. Virginia gained a motley crew of support from society figures, doctors, goat-demons (even though the Embassy had snubbed her), and even some members of the clergy — but much of her funding came from an even more surprising source. While advocates for the temperance movement were nervous about her strategies, they found that their views aligned with her agenda of well-being. Some of Virginia's more fervent allies put up posters depicting her as a new Queen Elizabeth, emblazoned with the caption "Rex Virginia;" these posters were quickly confiscated by the Ministry.

After Virginia won the election, the Jovial Contrarian, in his final act as Mayor, stated that his own office was "corrupt, shambolic and altogether unfit for purpose," and declared that he had abolished it. In its place, he created the new title of Lord Mayor, and announced that Virginia would be the first person to hold it.

"Rex Virginia"

"Is this what London does to its mayors? Jenny's term was only three years ago. Did anything last? […] It doesn't matter. I refuse to be measured by the work of my predecessors. What I shall do will stand so high above them that it will not be necessary."

Virginia immediately started working on her spa; she bought and renovated a townhouse for the purpose and made an agreement with the Dynamite, a revolutionary faction of devils, to hire a group of devil "physicians" of sorts. Visitors were often surprised by the odd treatments offered; they might be asked to "read a range of dreadful 'improving' works of literature," or "lie still and think of anything – anything at all – other than a Rubbery Man." Needless to say, these novel ideas were ineffectual.

Months later, as it became clear to all that Virginia's spa was a failure, she made an announcement out of the blue that overshadowed her prior goals: a deal had been struck with Hell. Regardless of the efficacy of her original plan, electing a devil as Lord Mayor had made Hell's attitude toward London more relaxed, allowing Virginia to negotiate the opening of the Hinterlands between the two cities to Londoners. She created the Ministry of Upper River Development, leading to the foundation of the Great Hellbound Railway, which constructed a second rail line between London and Hell.