The Surface
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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. |
"The Sun is dangerous to Neath-dwellers like your crew, but the Surface has its temptations."[1]
The Surface is the blanket term for the lands above the Neath, bathed in the life-giving and life-taking light of the Sun.
Nostalgic
"The trees are the dusty green of old jade: the hills, tawny as a lion. You are pale as milk, all of you. The crew splash in the canal, whenever they can, to cool themselves after the heat of the sun. "It's not right up here," your bo'sun confides. "I keep thinking I'm going to fall off up, like. But it calms the heart to look at, don't it?""[2]
The two primary connections between the Surface and the Neath are the Travertine Spiral[3] and the Cumaean Canal.[4] Traveling to the Surface can be profitable, but it is also extremely dangerous, as exposure to sunlight can be a death sentence for denizens of the Neath.[5]
Zailors who travel to the Surface often engage in the highly illegal sunlight trade, where they fill mysterious Mirrorcatch Boxes with captured sunlight, and sell them to those who can afford such a luxury.[6] Quite a few citizens of the Neath miss sunlight, even if they won't openly admit it, and peddlers of sunlight can turn in huge profits, but they also have a bad habit of succumbing to their own product.[7]
Neathy citizens struck by nostalgia for the Surface may also indulge in Surface-inspired dinners,[8] or may import food from the Surface for an extremely high price.[9] They may also import Surface-grown flowers, but these wither quickly, unless they're properly embalmed beforehand.[10]
The Canal and Beyond
"Here, the dark waters run down from the surface, from a brighter sea..."[4]
The Cumaean Canal Staging Area is a true marvel of engineering that allows for easy passage between the Neath and the Surface. The route to the Surface is constructed from giant arches supporting a series of locks. While it is a hotbed for the Great Game, it's also surprisingly well-maintained and efficient; the governments of the Surface ensure it remains so.[11] Apparently, the Cumaean Canal proper was dug by the mysterious Stone Pigs.[12]
The Canal leads to Lake Avernus, a lake in southern Italy that the Romans believed to be the entrance to Hades.
The Lamentation Lock is a stone building set into one of the giant gates which punctuate the Canal about halway between the Surface and the Neath. It and it's Warden are wrapped in many tales and mysteries. Some say the Lamentation Lock is a bank, a hospital, a prison or a summit. [13]
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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. |
The truth about Lamentation Lock is that it's a little bit of each. It is a place filled with thieves, murderers and spies and some of their ill-begotten loot. A place that attracts those running away from trouble - often of a personal, psychological character but at times from prosecution or intrique also. While everyone is free to enter - the Warden doesn't permit his inmates to escape easily. Most who enter have no reason to want to leave anyway - trying to forget their past and memories of what led them to the Lamentation Lock. The place itself is divided into three Wards (Violent Ward, Thieves' Ward and Traitors' Ward) and most visitors-turned-inmates find their home in one of them - spending their time scheming and planning, brawling with other inmates but never quite finding the right time or opportunity to leave and put their plans in motion. [14]
Naples
"Even by night, the Port of Naples is alive with shouts and laughter and work-songs, the roar of engines. Brick warehouses loom over the moon-dazzled bay. By day, you try to stay below decks. The sun hits like a hammer, and the wind always seems to come straight from the struggling sewers of the slums."[15]
Down the Tyrrhenian coast lies the city of Naples, Italy, a loud, busy, and very foreign port that's positively alive with activity and opportunities. While a grizzled zailor may feel out of place, the port is brimming with different ways to satisfy the urges of the flesh.[16] The food of the Neath is completely outclassed by the delicacies of Naples,[17] but fuel can be much harder to come by, this far from Hell.[18]
Naples and the Neath have a tenuous relationship with each other, admittedly. Due to the power of sunlight, almost all of the Neath's fantastic delights crumble into nothing when they reach the Surface,[19] causing tales of the Neath to be simply unbelievable.[20] Furthermore, even the most grizzled zailor only has minimal knowledge of the seas sailed by Surface sailors, so they're often ill-prepared for Surface weather and the ocean's waves.[21] On the bright side, however, Darkdrop coffee is beloved on the Surface.[19]
Vienna
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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. |
"The capital of the Dual Monarchy has seen better days. The palaces still glitter, but the mood is uneasy."[22] "Recall that place of white and black, so cold after its season of heat."[23]
Vienna, the capital of Austria, is on the verge of revolution. While it is a dangerous and hostile environment, brimming with political instability, Vienna is also a great place to unload caches of coffee.[24]
Vienna is also home to an ongoing conflict between the Revolutionaries (yes, this same bunch) and counterrevolutionaries. The Fidgety Agitator is an individual who conducts business with the Calendar Council, often delivering supplies to progress the Liberation of Night.[25] He's opposed by an individual known as the Gentleman of the Bureau, also called the Old Man, who fiercely works against the anarchists at all costs.[26] The Old Man is also a powerful chessmaster, though he too operates in fear of the Great Powers.[27]
There are hints that Vienna may be the location of the mysterious woods in winter, the proving ground for spies of the Great Game.[28]
The Garden Embassy
"You are invited to the grand opening of the Garden Embassy. The embassy will represent the interests of a number of Her Enduring Majesty's colonies. A ball is to be held to celebrate the occasion. The invitation is signed by the Decorated Ambassador herself."[29]
Despite Fallen London being, well, fallen, the capital of Britain still has some sway over its Empire. In order to easily facilitate relations, several colonies of the commonwealth came together and set up the magnificent Garden Embassy in Veilgarden. The Embassy is lavishly decorated with Surface flowers that attract plenty of local wildlife.[30]
