Irrigo

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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."

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.

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"I is for IRRIGO. No one remembers why. Irrigo colours the forgotten corners of home."[1]

The most easily found color of the Neathbow, irrigo is the unremembered color, the light of absence.[2] Its name comes from the Latin irrigo, meaning to flood or overwhelm, or, even more suitably, to diffuse or shed.

Properties

"Violet currents sleet around you, slow your thoughts. You can feel yourself eroding like ice in raw gin. Put your hand up to your face: is the skin at the edge of your eyes growing puffier? Get out. Get out now."[3]

Exposure to irrigo causes severe memory loss, and in the worst cases, total ego death.[4] Continuous exposure to irrigo can also cause thick, bony plates to grow over one's eyes, creating unnerving eyeless skulls[5] that are still full of irrigo and able to harm whoever possesses them next.[6] The Cave of the Nadir is filled with dangerous irrigo radiation,[7] so explorers must consume something infused with violant - like tea brewed from a costly Ray-Drenched Cinder - to protect themselves even temporarily.[8]

While Neathbow colors come in many different shades,[9] irrigo is usually depicted as an intense, radioactive-looking purple.[10]

Uses

"It is carefully concealed and draped with veils of irrigo, so that you forget the hidden rites almost as soon as they are performed."[11]

Irrigo can be infused into objects,[12] and Midnighters use shrines and robes that are draped in this color to perform their rites.[13] The Irrepressible notably uses powerful irrigo weaponry.[14] Irrigo seems to internally retain the memories it steals, so Fluke-Cores often have years worth of histories and experiences stored within them.[15]

Gallery

  • A Shrine to St. Joshua
    A Shrine to St. Joshua
  • An eyeless skull
    An eyeless skull
  • The Gate of the Nadir
    The Gate of the Nadir
  • Irrigo fog. Beware.
    Irrigo fog. Beware.
  • A Nodule of Violet Amber
    A Nodule of Violet Amber
  • A Pair of Irrigo Goggles
    A Pair of Irrigo Goggles
  • A Strange-Shore Parabola Suit
    A Strange-Shore Parabola Suit
  • A Strange-Shore Parabola Frock
    A Strange-Shore Parabola Frock
  • A cobweb in the Nadir. Charming.
    A cobweb in the Nadir. Charming.
  • A stone altar in the Nadir.
    A stone altar in the Nadir.
  • A Fluke-Core
    A Fluke-Core
  • The Lady in Lilac
    The Lady in Lilac
  • Irrigo anemones on the zee-floor.
    Irrigo anemones on the zee-floor.

References

  1. ↑ A Page from 'The Neathbow': Irrigo, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ Irrigo, Fallen London "The unremembered colour. The light of absence. Over time, it soaks into you. (That's a bad thing.)"
  3. ↑ Struggle for the exit, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Struggle for the exit, Fallen London "Violet currents sleet around you, slow your thoughts. You can feel yourself eroding like ice in raw gin. Put your hand up to your face: is the skin at the edge of your eyes growing puffier? Get out. Get out now."
  5. ↑ Eyeless Skull, Fallen London "Thick plates of bone have developed over the orbits, as if to hide or protect them. They are smooth and cold to the touch."
  6. ↑ Something is missing 1, Fallen London "But since you found that skull, your memory grows unreliable. No. Parts of you are crumbling. No. No!"
  7. ↑ The Catafalquerie, Fallen London "Here lie those who never reached their destination. The irrigo light is very strong here: it's too dangerous to stay long."
  8. ↑ Enter the Cave of the Nadir, Fallen London "Yes. The light is irrigo: the colour of forgetfulness. We can sustain it for a little while, but only if we immunise ourselves. The Cinder carries elements of irrigo, but also violant, and other opposing colours. We'll need to, um, grind it in tea and drink it. And wait."
  9. ↑ Bruno (FBG), Failbetter Games Discord Server "The neathbow colors contain different shades, just like real colors"
  10. ↑ Bruno (FBG), Failbetter Games Discord Server "Irrigo is usually more of a bright violet; it has that radioactive/laser sort of connotation [r]ather than the bruised-plum tone on the [Monstrous Anatomy] icon"
  11. ↑ Shrine to Saint Joshua, Fallen London
  12. ↑ Pair of Irrigo Goggles, Fallen London "An impossible colour has settled into the glass like an ink-stain into pale wood."
  13. ↑ Shrine to Saint Joshua, Fallen London "It is carefully concealed and draped with veils of irrigo, so that you forget the hidden rites almost as soon as they are performed."
  14. ↑ Attempt to detach the Irrigo-cannon, Sunless Sea "Make yourself focus on the shifting hue. It helps if you close one eye and dwell upon a terrible regret."
  15. ↑ Fluke-Core, Fallen London "Sentiments and histories coil, prisoned by irrigo as the irrigo is prisoned by amber. Mourn the mind that has passed."
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