Saviour's Rocks

"The sound of their constant motion is like pebbles on a beach..."

Saviour's Rocks is the largest grouping of sorrow-spiders in the Neath. The few humans living in the Nativity, the only human settlement here, refuse to speak of spiders, only referring to them as their "generous neighbors of whom they will speak no ill." The sorrow-spiders here see and hear everything, and those who transgress are soundly punished. On occasion, people may venture into the pitch-dark Scuttering Reaches to gather silk in preparation for the festivities.

The inhabitants of the Rocks are divided into two groups based on gender, Weavers (women) and Widows (men), both of whom avidly worship the sorrow-spiders. Luckily for visitors, the spiders have instituted what they call the Accord of Grace, which usually lets visitors commune with the humans here unscathed. Usually. Silk traders are common here, but they're notoriously tight-lipped and artificial, arguably even robotic.

File:Blindfoldedemissary.png

The Emissary of Spiders

The main human contact in this wretched place is the rather passive-aggressive Emissary of Spiders, who, of course, lacks eyes. Despite being blind, he's well-informed and is willing to conduct business with zee-captains. He acts as the "mouth" of the spider-council here, and he also occasionally acts a tour-guide for visitors.

The Festival of Silk is the much-awaited annual event where the inhabitants of the Rocks can finally let loose and have a good time until they go back to their colorless lives.

Near the Rocks lies the wreck of the Nocturne, a ship that was webbed up and emptied by the spiders.

Webbed Secrets

"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.

"You've heard somewhere that sorrow-spiders can travel between mirrors. Did you read it in some weighty book on cryptoarachnology, or was it the rant of a beggar in the Flit? Why does the phrase 'tree of ages' come to mind?"

"Branches of webs hang in their thousands from the colossal statue of some being as far from an angel as an angel from a man. The spider-council has made its home in the chipped out eyes, surrounded by its lessers and a precious collection of ensnared unfortunates. Hundreds of these captives dangle in silk cocoons, the sane and still-living tended to just enough to serve their full measure of both use and suffering."

The Web of Stone

Sorrow-spiders have the mysterious ability to travel between mirrors, which can be useful for infiltrations and assassinations.

The spiders of Saviour's Rocks formed an alliance with an avaricious Lorn-Fluke. The Fluke would blind a zee-beast that knows the Correspondence, and the spiders would give it troves of secrets in return. The Fathomking seems to have a strong enmity with the sorrow-spiders, and Drownies who dare trade with them are promptly executed in his court.

Saviour's Rocks is guarded by the Tree of Ages, a living ship of huge spider-councils, made from a complex series of deals the spiders struck and betrayed. Eventually, they seek to become the Tree of Epochs, which will "stretch through the Neath to become the perfect geometry of sorrow".

Another spider-council on the Rocks is the Tree of Seasons, which is smaller but arguably even worse. The Tree of Seasons resides within the Web of Stone, which is also home to various eyeless cultists. It has trapped several unfortunate beings within cocoons to extract their secrets, and their only refuge is death itself.