Gaider's Mourn

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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."

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"The Mourn is a stalagmite vast as a crag, and its foot has no safe harbours. The corsair's citadel nestles halfway up. An intricate system of winches takes the strain... and your ship rises slowly from the zee. Her hull creaks in protest. Grizzled zailors groan and cling to stanchions."[2]

Gaider's Mourn is a pirate citadel and the center of the Snares and the Unterzee overall.

Pirate's Paradise

"The pirate haven of the Snares. Step carefully."[3]

Build atop a gigantic stalagmite,[4] Gaider's Mourn teems with all sorts of pirates, smugglers, and other individuals of dubious reputation.[5] Reaching the Mourn is a challenge in of itself: the Snares are teeming with pirates and are deadly to navigate,[6][7] and the Mourn's vantage points make it impossible for authorities like the Admiralty to stage a surprise attack.[8] The Mourn's unique location means it has no safe harbors for ships, so vessels are instead "docked" by raising them far above zee-level through a system of winches before securing them in cradles.[9] The infrastructure here is functional and cleverly engineered,[10] but visitors must nonetheless watch their step lest they plummet into the zee below.[11]

Gold coins.
Pieces of Plunder Weighing Down Your Hold.

The central establishment here is a raucous tavern called the Arrant Limpet,[12] which serves a hard drink called Red Ruin.[13] Shady figures from all around the Unterzee gather for drinks and revelry, whether they be from London, the Khanate, or even places as far as Whither or the Chelonate.[14] However, spies are despised and often met with violence when discovered.[15] The Mourn has other businesses besides taverns, such as fighting rings and fish-markets.[16][17] Hijacked ships are also sent here in exchange for payment.[18] Regardless of all these amusements, the Mourn's real trade occurs in the Prophet's Call, a grotto hidden near the summit of the stalagmite. Here, corsairs trade their plunder for various treasures, and visitors are forbidden entry.[19]

Gaider's Mourn was apparently named after the Pirate-King Gaider, a legendary figure whose plunder is said to have overflowed with diamonds.[20] In the timeline of the Neon Future, Gaider's Mourn became a tourist attraction by the time of the Seventh City.[21]

Culture

"The corsairs know the value of the unspoken rule. Even here, there are laws that the lawless silently consent to follow."

"These edicts have blossomed in the darkness of the Neath, and their knowledge grows like moss in the minds of the corsairs. You trade a little treasure for a fragment of this knowledge. The black codes of mercy and revenge between thieves. The hidden rules of a soul's voyage beneath the zee. The proper manner of obeisance before a Prophet."[22]

A black candle.
A Mourning Candle.

Gaider's Mourn has those who come and go, but it is also home to a large population of locals who were born and raised on the Mourn's culture and values. They live in the higher elevations of the Mourn where visitors usually do not tread,[23] and unlike others who must watch their step, they traverse the stalagmite's infrastructure with ease and grace.[24] The Mourn notably has a population of urchins, who like their London counterparts form communities out of necessity and perform the odd job or two.[25][26] Gaider's Mourn is by no means an entirely lawless place; its people follow unspoken rules and at least try to maintain a degree of "honor among thieves."[27] Some rites are a result of the environment: as the Mourn has no room for graves, corsairs instead light Mourning Candles for the dead, including their own targets.[28] In general, life and death are viewed as cyclical and necessary counterparts at Gaider's Mourn,[29] as opposed the view that death is an unthinkable shadow that must be fled from.

The Blue Birds

"We's got 'undreds of pirate kings and captains. None of 'em are in charge – although some of 'em are less in charge than others, if you catch my drift. However. If yer a true Corsair of the Mourn then you holds the birds in high regard. Now, I ain't in charge of nuffink, but I does listen to the birds better'n anyone else. And the birds, they is in charge."[30]

"We's at the centre of it all, y'see. The 'ole Neath converges 'ere, in the waters around the Mourn. So many lives, and so many deaths, all circlin' the spire. This ain't just a tall spike o' rock; it's the omphalos. Right 'ere in the middle – this is where the zee mourns."[31]

A blue ribbon.
Corsair's Colors

Gaider's Mourn has an unusually high population of Blue Prophets,[32] vicious blue birds who menace the Unterzee. Many zailors claim the birds speak the names of those about to die, and fear them greatly. However, the locals of the Mourn treat Blue Prophets with utmost respect, allowing them to roost and act however they please.[33] The birds also play a role in the corsairs' funerals: a wrecked ship is raised high into the air and its captain's bones buried at zee,[34][35] after which the Prophets swarm the wreck before flying off to conclude the ceremony.[36] The reason for the corsairs' reverence is twofold: firstly, the birds' guano makes for powerful gunpowder and is harvested by the Mourn's urchins.[37][26] Secondly, the corsairs and birds have a symbiotic pact: the Prophets speak the name of passing ships,[38] and the corsairs hunt and plunder the ship to ensure its destruction.[39][40] The corsairs view this tradition as the highest form of piracy,[41] and identify these rarefied raiders with sky-blue ribbons.[42]

A blue parrot.
A Blue Prophet.

At the very top of Gaider's Mourn, a huge flock of Blue Prophets circle the stalagmite. The Mourn rests at the very center of the Unterzee, and the birds fly counter to the zee's rotating currents.[43][44] An urchin known as the Guano-Splattered Hierophant is the summit's role resident.[45] She has a unique ability to commune with the birds,[46] and claims they are the true authority of Gaider's Mourn.[47] She also claims all the superstitions about Blue Prophets are true,[48] and views the corsairs' work as enforcing the cycle of life and death on the birds' behalf.[49][50] Her explanation for why the Prophets' favor Gaider's Mourn is simple: the zee's lives and deaths circle the Mourn like an wheel, but here at the center is where the zee mourns.[51]

References

  1. ↑ Set a course (Destination: Gaider's Mourn), Fallen London "Access to the Corsair's Citadel is restricted to those few brave and foolhardy zailors who dare navigate the Snares."
  2. ↑ Location description, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ Destination: Gaider's Mourn, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Dock at Gaider's Mourn, Fallen London "The Mourn is a stalagmite vast as a crag [...] The Corsair's Citadel nestles halfway up."
  5. ↑ Gather intelligence, Sunless Sea "Gaider's Mourn swarms with pirates, smugglers and captains of uncertain allegiance."
  6. ↑ Chart a course to more dangerous shores, Fallen London "The route you chart to reach [...] Gaider's Mourn is not so much 'safe' as it is 'slightly less deadly'. But it is a refreshing challenge of your prowess, and planning a circuitous route through the Labyrinth of Eels proves an entertaining diversion."
  7. ↑ A Pirate Steamer!, Fallen London "The Snares are a nest of pirates and cutthroats [...]"
  8. ↑ We Absolutely Meant to Go to Zee, Fallen London "No wonder the Navy gave up trying to surprise the pirates that live in Corsair's Forest – they'd need lights to navigate the Snares, and any ship showing a light would be seen from miles."
  9. ↑ Dock at Gaider's Mourn, Fallen London "The Mourn [...] its foot has no safe harbours. [...] An intricate system of winches takes the strain... and your ship rises slowly from the zee. [...] The winch slows, and you hang in a cradle next to a red-bowed pirate cutter."
  10. ↑ Survey the dock-cradles, Fallen London "For a moment it looks as though the steamer in this cradle will fall [...] but an intricate series of fall-backs and guard-ropes catch it before its tumble can truly begin."
  11. ↑ Traverse the beast-paths and urchin-roads, Fallen London "A plank of wood crumbles under your feet, and you nearly loose your footing."
  12. ↑ Drink at the Arrant Limpet, Fallen London "The Arrant Limpet is much like a Wolfstack tavern [...] A dice-game erupts in accusations of cheating. [...] Two corsairs, grasping each others' collars, crash against a flimsy wooden wall. It gives way – they plummet [...] A corsair sits at the battered piano [...] The lyrics are much filthier here than in Wolfstack."
  13. ↑ Send crew to watch them, Sunless Sea "They'll only drink too much Red Ruin and cut up someone important."
  14. ↑ Drink at the Arrant Limpet, Fallen London "Zailors from the Khanate rub shoulders with Chelonite hunters and Whithern buccaneers. [...] A Boisterous Captain bursts into the tavern, [...] she offers to buy the house a drink. Her ship, it seems, has landed a big score, and she is soon the toast of the hour. [...] For the last hour he has been sinking ales and bemoaning the state of the Admiralty [...]"
  15. ↑ Gather intelligence, Sunless Sea "A dislike of spies [...] your zailor is a little too forward with her questions. There is a scuffle, and a stabbing."
  16. ↑ We Absolutely Meant to Go to Zee, Fallen London "Most of the competitors are pirates enjoying a break from the zee. But there are professional fighters, too."
  17. ↑ We Absolutely Meant to Go to Zee, Fallen London "Step into the Fish-Market"
  18. ↑ Collect your ill-gotten gains, Sunless Sea "Have you been sending stolen ships to Corsair's Forest?"
  19. ↑ The Citadel within the Citadel, Fallen London "Far above [...] where the taper of the Mourn thins and space is more cramped [...] the tip of the stalagmite has been hollowed. This, they say, is where the true trade here is conducted. [...] Here, carved into the very face of the Mourn itself, is the sanctuary of the Prophets' Call – half funerary-temple, half market. [...] The guards acknowledge your corsair's colours, [...] You are free to do business here."
  20. ↑ Exchange a hoard of plunder for a Fabulous Diamond, Fallen London ""This was part of the hoard of Pirate-King Gaider," a One-Eyed Corsair crows. "Not many of 'em left, now.""
  21. ↑ 'That was simply how long it took to put my plan into motion.', Fallen London "You stop at Gaider's Mourn to resupply; nobody in your crew remembers when the pirate's nest at the heart of the Zee was real and not a tourist attraction."
  22. ↑ Exchange some plunder for a Cave-Aged Code of Honour, Fallen London
  23. ↑ Traverse the beast-paths and urchin-roads, Fallen London "Further up the taper of the Mourn, where visitors tread less often, is the domain of the Mourn-born."
  24. ↑ Traverse the beast-paths and urchin-roads, Fallen London "It is easy to differentiate visitors from locals. The former [...] testing their every footstep with exaggerated care, lest they tumble off [...] Natives, however, are graceful, and fearless."
  25. ↑ We Absolutely Meant to Go to Zee, Fallen London "I quite like being on Gaider's Mourn. There are lots of other children, but I don't have to look after any of them."
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Traverse the beast-paths and urchin-roads, Fallen London "A bustling industry of acrobatic urchins exists for the sole purpose of scraping the excrement from rock, [...] for distribution to the munitions manufacturers of the dock-winches."
  27. ↑ Exchange some plunder for a Cave-Aged Code of Honour, Fallen London "The corsairs know the value of the unspoken rule. Even here, there are laws that the lawless silently consent to follow. [...] The black codes of mercy and revenge between thieves."
  28. ↑ Exchange some plunder for five Mourning Candles, Fallen London "It is common practice among the corsairs to light candles in memory of successful encounters. Many here are solemn; some even cry in front of personal memorials for the lost and sunken. [...] "Pay your respects to the souls you've helped along.""
  29. ↑ Join the congregation, Fallen London ""Our brother has come home!" [...] "As all things do, in time." [...] "We deliver him now to the zee, as he delivered so many others before him." [...] an utterance repeated so often as to become song. "From death, life. From life, death.""
  30. ↑ Inquire about her identity, Fallen London
  31. ↑ Ask about the Mourn's significance, Fallen London
  32. ↑ Ask about the Mourn's significance, Fallen London " Blue Prophets are a rare sight on the waters. Why do so many of them roost here [...]"
  33. ↑ Observe the Blue Prophets, Fallen London "It is ancient zailor superstition that Blue Prophets shriek the names of those doomed to die, and so even grizzled old salts make a great show of staying out of earshot. But native Corsairs exhibit an entirely different flavour of superstition. They treat the Prophets with what, [...] counts as reverence, allowing them to roost where they may, and touching finger to forelock whenever passing close by."
  34. ↑ The Grave-Winches, Fallen London "When the winches finally haul their burden into view, [...] It is not a ship, but a wreck [...]"
  35. ↑ Join the congregation, Fallen London "Bone by yellowed bone, the deceased captain is delivered from the grave-winch and into the waters below."
  36. ↑ The Grave-Winches, Fallen London "As the final fragment of bone is loosed from the corsair's hand, the flock overhead [...] comes to rest upon the wreckage. The whole warped mess becomes a [...] befeathered crowd [...] Their scratched cries join the corsairs' own – a joyous, grieving ululation. [...] And then all the birds take flight as one, [...] With their departure, whatever ritual was occurring here is over; [...]"
  37. ↑ Procure some weaponry from one of the Mourn's 'shipyards', Fallen London "The black gunpowder of the Mourn, painstakingly refined from the saltpetre-rich guano of the Blue Prophets, is especially potent. [...] the Mourn powder's what sets us apart.""
  38. ↑ Hear the name of (Admiralty vessel), Fallen London "Your Prophet lands on your shoulder [...] Its cries are quieter now, and less varied. [Admiralty vessel] ka-kaw, it creaks like an antique wardrobe. Ka-kaw!"
  39. ↑ Indulge her – ask what she means, Fallen London "So some of us corsairs, when we 'ear the Prophets call a name, we goes out to zee and makes sure that they sink. [...] And if they 'appens to 'ave any treasure when we sink 'em, well. Payment for a job well done, I say."
  40. ↑ The Prophet's Call, Fallen London "Your compact with your Blue Prophet obliges you to act upon its cries."
  41. ↑ Approach the corsair-officiant, Fallen London "Maybe you've got what it takes. To be something more than a pirate." [...] There is more here than drinking and fighting, stranger. If you want to know what that is – if you're ready – then climb.""
  42. ↑ Receive your corsair's colours, Fallen London "The little urchin [...] with great ceremony, produces a bolt of startlingly-blue cloth. [...] the colour of the feathers on your Prophet's wing. It is, of course, a flag."
  43. ↑ Stand atop the Mourn and reach out to the Prophets, Fallen London "The flock wheels overhead, a sapphire gyre circling the stalagmite. Far below and far away, the zee circles the Mourn. The two motions are equal and opposite; the birds above, and the current beneath."
  44. ↑ Ask about the Mourn's significance, Fallen London "The 'ole Neath converges 'ere, in the waters around the Mourn."
  45. ↑ Speak with the Guano-Splattered Hierophant, Fallen London "A small urchin is the only other presence here, standing fearless and alone, looking out across the zee."
  46. ↑ Inquire about her identity, Fallen London "Now, I ain't in charge of nuffink," [...] "but I does listen to the birds better'n anyone else."
  47. ↑ Inquire about her identity, Fallen London ""We's got 'undreds of pirate kings and captains. None of 'em are in charge [...] "If yer a true Corsair of the Mourn then you holds the birds in high regard. Now, I ain't in charge of nuffink," [...] "but I does listen to the birds better'n anyone else. And the birds, they is in charge.""
  48. ↑ Indulge her – ask what she means, Fallen London ""You've 'eard the superstitions, I bet. About how Blue Prophets shriek the names of those doomed to die?" She is suddenly showmanlike. "Well, it's true.""
  49. ↑ Indulge her – ask what she means, Fallen London "Sacred cycle. If nothin' properly dies, eventually we'll run out o' life, right? So some of us corsairs, when we 'ear the Prophets call a name, we goes out to zee and makes sure that they sink."
  50. ↑ The Guano-Splattered Hierophant, Fallen London "And we tend to the Prophets. We listen to their call, and we makes their futures 'appen." [...] "You could be one of us, if you wanted. You could be a hand of prophecy."
  51. ↑ Ask about the Mourn's significance, Fallen London ""We's at the centre of it all, y'see." [...] "The 'ole Neath converges 'ere, in the waters around the Mourn. So many lives, and so many deaths, all circlin' the spire. [...] "Right 'ere in the middle – this is where the zee mourns.""
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