Curators

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Revision as of 06:34, 25 February 2025 by KestrelGirl (talk | contribs) (Eh, may as well get the rest. Also, Curators have a designated Sex Day. I don't make the rules...)

"These are real stars. They burn above the roof of the Neath, beyond the earth, in the spaces of heaven."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie extended spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or Fate-locked content, including spoilers for formerly restricted storylines such as the endings of Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. Look away now.

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"Intelligent, locomotive-sized chiroptera, able to pry an engine apart with their claws, or pummel it with their hellish shrieks. Curators accumulate hoards, which they guard violently. Each hoard collects artefacts or creatures themed to the Curator’s particular obsession."[1]

Curators are a race of space bats that hoard treasures in the High Wilderness.

An Anatomy Lesson

"The Masters wouldn't care for you saying so. But the wings, the arms and legs, all fit."[2]

While Curators have many things in common with their earthly counterparts, their wings function as arms,[3] with clawed fingers at the ends[4] that are articulated enough to hold and manipulate even delicate objects.[5] Some Curators are also known to possess horns,[6] or even semi-sentient teeth which can move independently from their owner.[7][8] While they are typically massive, Curators can shrink in size to interact more properly with humans, but may also lose control of this ability when upset.[9][10]

Curators possess something called the Dual Nature, the precise meaning of which is unclear. "Beasts" are not diminished by the lack of the Dual Nature, but "Trees" and Curators are.[11] Sometimes a clutch (litter) of Curators includes one that lacks a part of the Dual Nature, called a Runt.[11] Runts are preyed upon by other Curators,[11] who view them as weak,[12] and even the very notion of "runtery" is a crime in Curator society.[13] While it may be the case that Curator runts are physically smaller than their siblings,[14] a Curator's status as a runt does not appear to have any connection with gender or assigned sex: while Mr Candles uses he/him pronouns,[15] Mr Menagerie uses it/its pronouns.[12] According to Mr Pages, elderly Curators are more likely to bear only one child rather than a litter, and if a Curator only has one baby, that baby will be a Runt.[16] It is possible that Mr Candles was not the only Runt among the Masters, but the only source for this assertion is unreliable.[17]

Like other bats, Curators are sensitive to sound; they can even enter a state of intoxication when exposed to music.[18][19]

Merciless Pedlar-Magnates

"Once, we gathered here. We held our bargains and boasted of our chiefs. Our bands displayed the finest of goods. Our magnanimity was sharp as knives. All knew our worth. Then the light came. They made of our grounds sport. A dancing place. A laughing place. They made bargains of their own."[20]

A Curator formerly known as Mr Apples.

Each Curator possesses an inherent desire to acquire and hoard a given thing.[21] This obsession is present even before birth; in fact, an expecting parent Curator can experience its child's obsession as a unique form of pregnancy cravings.[22] Wealthy, successful Curators become band leaders and magnates amongst their comrades.[23][24]

Curators spend much of their time alone or in small groups called flocks,[25] traveling and hunting in the High Wilderness, but occasionally they congregate in large numbers to trade and socialize.[23] During these gatherings, they follow a strict calendar called the Order of Days that determines their activities.[26] Below are the known observances of Curators:

  • The Day of the Hunt, ordained for the hunting of lesser creatures, showing off trophies,[27][28] and dueling to settle past grievances.[29] Curators customarily set aside language and socialization until the end of the day.[29]
  • The Day of the Feast, a time to dine.[30]
  • The Day of Council, for discussions and debates.[31]
  • The Day of Bargain, when Curators trade.[32]
  • The Day of Slaughter, when murder between Curators is permitted.[33]
  • The Day of Terminations, a celebration of things that end: "labours, loves, lives."[34]
  • An unnamed day for procreation.[35]

Crimes and Messengers

"Charity is a crime. The punishment severe."[20]

Curator society is harsh, and there are many actions and situations which can result in ostracism of an individual.[36] Some of these include:

  • Hoarding
  • Light-bringing
  • "Impersonation, and the delivery of false testimony"
  • "Perpetration of the crimes of knife and of candle"
  • "Idleness, and the dwelling-on of dreams"
  • "Runtery, aberration"
  • Pursuit of a Treachery
  • "Failure and defeat; a fall from king to beggar"
  • Glass-whispering
  • Charity[37]
  • Truth-strangling
  • "Violation of the Order of Days, 'which determines the hour of the hunt, the feast, the council, the bargain, and the slaughter'"

Outcast Curators sometimes enter into servitude to Messengers, for protection and a chance to escape their previous misfortune.[38][39] One such group can be found serving the Echo Bazaar in the Neath.[38] A different flock once served the House of Rods and Chains, although they have been disbanded since its death.[40]

References

  1. ↑ Curator, Sunless Skies
  2. ↑ Declare your (Skeleton Type) a completed Curator, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Declare your (Skeleton Type) a completed Curator, Fallen London "The Masters wouldn't care for you saying so. But the wings, the arms and legs, all fit."
  4. ↑ Take a trophy, Sunless Skies "You settle instead for a long-fingered claw."
  5. ↑ Ask about the prize, Fallen London "Mr Pages has overwhelmed your favourite armchair, and is reading your newspaper, paying particular attention to the opinions of the salaried political columnists. When you ask your question, it folds the paper carefully, and thinks."
  6. ↑ Watch, Sunless Sea "Its wings are the sky. Its horns and vanes blaze with scars."
  7. ↑ Bite like Mr Veils, Fallen London "Are your teeth sharp like a Vake's teeth? Are they free-moving? Do they seek hearts?"
  8. ↑ Enter the compartment - with the Hideous Promissory Note, Fallen London "Mr Stones unhinges its jaws – and the bloody teeth that climb into the carriage proceed to climb into those jaws, re-inserting themselves into the Master's gums."
  9. ↑ Light Fingers: Mr Fires' Ultimatum 4, Fallen London "Mr Fires turns to you, its robes rippling as the body underneath unfolds. "Are we agreed?" It waits for your answer. Its shadow stretches up the sides of the pit, jagged and towering."
  10. ↑ Refuse its offer, Fallen London "For a moment, Mr Fires looms larger still. It twitches spasmodically. But then it masters itself."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 No map knows the place you go, Fallen London "A Tree which lacks the Dual Nature is less. A Beast which lacks the Dual Nature is no less. This kind are not Trees, nor are they Beasts. Each Clutch has sometimes its Runt, who lacketh part of the Nature. Even the Runt has uses. Consider the Owl." [Editor's note: The runt of a clutch of owl chicks may be killed and eaten by its siblings if resources are scarce. This phenomenon occurs in a variety of other birds as well as mammals.]
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Give Mr Barleycorn the Seal of Mr Menagerie, Sunless Skies "The Runt [...] "I confess, I am amazed it has survived. My master was not tolerant of its various weaknesses. Its single-mindedness; its cleaving to antiquated custom. How it chafed at its chains." Mr Barleycorn dips the seal in ink and presses it to paper. "Still. I am glad it has found new purpose. I'm pleased to hear it's doing well.""
  13. ↑ A secret about the Masters, Failbetter Games "Thirdly, we have an inkling about the reasons for their ignoble conditions, although no indication which applies to which Master. The circumstances given in A Rhyming Revelry are: [...] runtery, aberration [...]"
  14. ↑ Force the Convocation tell you how to reach the Grave of Mirrors, Fallen London "The Convocation shrink back. "LET'S NOT BE HASTY," says the smallest one (which still towers above you)." [Editor's note: It is unclear whether this Master is Candles, but we have no reason to assume it isn't.]
  15. ↑ Tell them what became of him, Fallen London "They will find each mote of Candles. He is a wound, an absence, a decay [...] They look upon the remnants of the Runt; they grieve; they will not forget."
  16. ↑ Mr Pages: Matchmaking, Mask of the Rose "I am not yet so decrepitated as to have only one. A litter of one has only the runt! [...] If there were time for such distractions, and if I were disposed, and if it were the day appointed for the forming of families, I am still polyfructant!"
  17. ↑ The Convocation of Runts, Fallen London "There are eleven; ten together, one alone. [...] Behind them, something massive looms in the dark of this high wilderness. It is too vast for you to make out its shape, this close. Spires hang in the gloom. Sigils flare on its skin." [Editor's note: This is within Mr Mirrors' dreams, showing the Masters making their deal with the Bazaar. Mirrors seems to be stepping into the shoes of Mr Candles in this dream, but the existence of more than one runt is nonetheless of interest.]
  18. ↑ Give Mr Barleycorn the Seal of Mr Pipes, Sunless Skies "I favour music, myself. A symphony is as potent to me as good wine is to you. Your kind have been bounteous in that regard."
  19. ↑ A loyalty worthy of praise, The Silver Tree "[...] Behind a curtain, a servant was playing a pipe of some sort, as was customary at these dinners. The Emissary was swaying, very gently, in time to the music. [...] He lurched, suddenly, and stumbled off. I would have believed him intoxicated, but that night, as usual, he had not had even a sip of airag."
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Listen to a story of things past, Sunless Skies
  21. ↑ Curator, Sunless Skies "Curators accumulate hoards, which they guard violently. Each hoard collects artifacts or creatures themed to the Curator’s particular obsession."
  22. ↑ Offer Mr Spices your medical opinion on its peculiar health, Fallen London "I've filled a warehouse with wagons and landaus. The other Masters would know what was wrong if they knew I was collecting."
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Listen to a story of things past, Sunless Skies "Once, we gathered here. We held our bargains and boasted of our chiefs. Our bands displayed the finest of goods. Our magnanimity was sharp as knives. All knew our worth."
  24. ↑ A secret about the Masters, Failbetter Games "Occasionally, some instinct draws them together to boast of their recent bargains, trade secrets, and battle to establish primacy. Their chiefs are victorious, merciless pedlar-magnates."
  25. ↑ Show it the seal of Mr Barleycorn, Sunless Skies "I would talk with Mr Barleycorn and dig his knowledge of the stars from his heart. But I am not the one he wants, not from its flock. It will only be more morose from our meeting."
  26. ↑ The Counting of Days, Fallen London "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose, under heaven. The days in the sky are marked with observances, holidays, feasts, fasts. Your traveling companions pass the time by closely observing it, slicing it into choice cuts."
  27. ↑ Observe the Day of the Hunt, Fallen London "Present your Trophies and declare yourself a hunter."
  28. ↑ Observe the Day of the Feast, Fallen London "Before you go to sleep, the Curator goes away and returns with another kill, though it is not the Day assigned."
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Observe the Day of the Hunt (Irem), Fallen London "A day for pursuing, and fighting, and hopefully catching. [...] You assemble into pairs of hunter and hunted based on past grievances. And then, you let loose and chase one another in aerial duels – letting go of your habitual names, speaking only in piercing screams [...] Your victory will be celebrated – after the day ends, and such things as laughter and language are once again allowed."
  30. ↑ Observe the Day of the Feast, Fallen London "Observe the Feast with a meal."
  31. ↑ Observe the Day of Council, Fallen London "You take the third place in the Council, dressed in Veils-Velvet robes."
  32. ↑ Observe the Day of Bargain, Fallen London "Offer the Curator the gift of a weapon. [...] The Curator makes you a gift in exchange – chosen, perhaps, to suit what it imagines your tastes to be."
  33. ↑ Observe the Day of Slaughter, Fallen London "Kill the Curator. [...] It tries to kill you first, of course. The Day of Slaughter is the only day it observes as intended."
  34. ↑ Observe the Day of Terminations, Fallen London "A day for celebrating things that end: labours, loves, lives. [...] 'The cessation of something that has overstayed its welcome' [...] The observances are simple. You share a meal – and then you stop."
  35. ↑ Mr Pages#Matchmaking, Mask of the Rose "My hesitance is a question of timing, effort, and the proper forms. If there were time for such distractions, and if I were disposed, and if it were the day appointed for the forming of families, I am still polyfructant!"
  36. ↑ A secret about the Masters, Failbetter Games "One rhyme concerns eleven pilgrims who travelled from a cold and windy waste. It enumerates each of the reasons the pilgrims were unwelcome in their homeland."
  37. ↑ Listen to a story of things past, Sunless Skies "Charity is a crime. The punishment severe."
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 A secret about the Masters, Failbetter Games "...the Masters were not Masters in the High Wilderness. Indeed, they accepted the position as emissaries of the Bazaar in order to escape misfortune, failure, and fruitlessness."
  39. ↑ Show Mr Barleycorn's seal, Sunless Skies "Mr Pennies pounces on the seal. "The seneschal," it wheezes. "One of seven. Still loyal? Yes. Always loyal. Always waiting for reward. No reward for those who serve the Messengers. Always outcasts. Always disappointed.""
  40. ↑ Talk with Mr Barleycorn, Sunless Skies "There were seven of us, once. Outcasts, bound to this Messenger's service. But the Messenger defied the Halved's command, and the Halved slew it. We were free. My colleagues, fled. But I remained to serve the Halved."
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