The White Well
"Here, a prison of the Blue Kingdom, reserved for punishment of the erroneous dead."[1]
The White Well is the frozen sky-well of the Blue Kingdom. The Well consists of two parts: the Stone-Faced Court and Wellmouth.
The Stone-Faced Court
"Half-ziggurat, half-fortress, the Court is where spirits go to face judgement before they meet their end. A meek little city has sprung up around it almost by default."[2]
The Stone-Faced Court is a massive ziggurat built near the White Well. This is where the dead are judged by Blue Kingdom's administration. Due to the large number of spirits and the slow nature of the process, the waiting line to enter the court has become so long that a town named Urd was established around it.[3][4]
Those who are judged as dead are passed on to Death's Door;[5]
those that are judged to be Failed Dead are sentenced to be thrown into the Well. Failed Dead are typically people who've dabbled in immortality, since their attempts have altered their spirits and souls.[6]
Yoked beings are not permitted to enter the Court. This is most certainly not an effort to hide corruption within...[7]
The Graven
The Court is managed by the Graven. These jewelled individuals have had all flesh above their collarbone carved out, and their exposed skulls adorned with gemstones. Their rank determines the number and size of the jewels in their skulls.[8][9][10]
Despite their deathly appearance, the Graven are not actually dead; the Sapphir'd King gave them an exemption from the law of death as a reward for their service.[11]
Just because the Graven aren't dead doesn't mean they're in great shape, though; their work is notoriously mentally taxing. Many that aren't satisfied with their position grow their faces back, then leave the Blue Kingdom to "enjoy life", much to the bafflement of the other Graven.[12]
Wellmouth
"A smattering of dark cottages at the White Well's edge. It is surrounded by endless rows of tumbled and broken statues, mere specks against the snow."[13]
Wellmouth is a small village built at the very edge of the White Well. It is infested with spiders, both Sorrow-spiders and the more common variant.[14][15]
The village is inhabited by a group of old women called the Widows. Led by the impossibly colossal Matronly Relict, their job is to throw the Failed Dead into the Well. They are known to be very fierce, to the point that even the Graven fear them. Those who seek to linger or even live at Wellmouth should ask for their permission.[16][17][18]
Because the White Well is frozen, some Failed Dead can just climb the Well's depths to escape. To prevent this, some Yoked have been assigned the task of being spider-sweepers. Spider-sweepers descend into the Well, then sweep off any Failed Dead that are climbing the walls using a broomstick. Unfortunately, more recently, the Widows and the Graven have forgotten about the existence of this necessary task...[19][20]
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The gods' grim humour. An unlikely conspiracy of wrongs. Trouble.[21]
The Widows of the Wellmouth aren't actually what they seem- their actual loyalty lies not with The Blue Kingdom, but with The Spider-Senate trapped inside The Well.[22][23] Not only that, The Widows aren't even remotely human- they simply "wear" human-like bodies to disguise themselves.[24][25] The Matronly Relict is actually an enormous spider-like creature called The Weaver of Roads and Doors, who can put on the illusory appearance of the more human-looking Relict.[26][27][28]
The imposters's collective name being "The Widows", the ancient Rite of Wedlock that one can perform here,[29] and the affectionate way The Spider-Senate refers to The Weaver[30] all seem to imply a spousal relationship between the two hiveminds- with The Widows mourning the other's imprisonment and sending The Failed Dead down the Well, so that The Spider-Senate can use their endlessly regrowing flesh and eyes to grow in strength and number.[31][32]
References
- ↑ Log Entries, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Stone-Faced Court, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Urd, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Seek entry to the Stone-Faced Court, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Watch the Trials of the Dead, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Intercede on the Failed Dead's behalf, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Enter the Stone-Faced Court, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Enter the Stone-Faced Court, Sunless Skies
- ↑ A Bit of a Wait, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Stone-Faced Court, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Buy your crew a few rounds at the tavern, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Write a Port Report, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Wellmouth, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Dressing of the Well, Sunless Skies
- ↑ A Web of Intrigue, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Watch the Widows inter one of the Failed Dead, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Speak to the Widows, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Matronly Relict, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Ask to become the Spider-Sweeper, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Fulfil your duties as the Spider-Sweeper, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Improbable Collusion of Two Unrelated Perils, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Dressing of the Well, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Forsake your current rite, Sunless Skies
- ↑ speak_widows, Sunless Skies
- ↑ speak_widows2, Sunless Skies
- ↑ relicts_cottage, Sunless Skies
- ↑ visit_relict, Sunless Skies
- ↑ wedlock_commentary2, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Enact the Rite of Wedlock, Sunless Skies
- ↑ visit_relict, Sunless Skies
- ↑ speak_widows2, Sunless Skies
- ↑ failed_dead2, Sunless Skies
