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"Marigold Station sits in the very shadow of Hell. The white walls of that city loom on the horizon, like stormclouds before the first crash of thunder. The station is a small splash of orange in the harsh and broken moorland before Hell."[1]
"This station is the final stop before Hell on both the Moloch St Line and, now, your own – yet, there are no facilities, not even a waiting room. There is only a single bench, at which an elderly devil sits, chewing cloves."[2]
Built by Hell as the terminus of the Moloch Line,[3][4] and now also used as the final stop of the Great Hellbound Railway,[5] Marigold Station itself is not much to behold. It is a small building with walls grown from marigold flowers, and only a single bench inside.[2]
There is an ancient Hellish amphitheater near the station;[6][7] within the amphitheater is a gate leading to an enormous chasm that contains the Mandolinist, a deposed Grand Devil.[8][9] Several other landmarks of the Hinterlands, including the Lilymire, St Trezigor's Folly, the Edict of Towers, and Hell itself, are accessible from Marigold.
Those Who Bear the Marigold
"Stationmaster here is more than a mere manager of schedules, a seller of tickets. This station serves the Bearers of the Marigold, and I patrol their work."[10]
Toward the end of Hell's Season of Revolutions, the warring factions of devils signed the Treaty of the Marigold.[11] Per this treaty, dissenters among the devils are offered a choice: they must either recant their views and accept the majority opinion, or they are exiled and "take up the Marigold."[12] Those who have chosen exile wear marigold badges, and can only be welcomed back if they succeed at a typically impossible task decided upon by Hell.[13] The Gnarled Stationmaster is tasked with keeping an eye on the progress of these Knights of the Marigold, and personally tracks them down after some time has passed to assess their status.[14]
Known Knights of the Marigold include a historian who tried to document the Season of Revolutions, when Hell demanded that its history be mutable;[15] and the Marigold Menagerie Keeper, who proposed easing the tortures of the imprisoned Grand Devils. Many of these Knights meet bitter ends,[16] and it is implied that Hell does not actually want them to succeed, cultivating false hope to watch them run themselves into the ground.[17][18]
↑ 2.02.1The Marigold Station, Fallen London"The station is a splash of vivid orange in a desolate landscape. Up close, it is apparent that the walls are formed from living marigolds forced to grow in a tight lattice [...] This station is the final stop before Hell on both the Moloch St Line and, [...] your own [...] there are no facilities, [...] only a single bench, [...]"
↑The Empty Amphitheatre, Fallen London"An ancient arena stands high upon a hill. Colossal basalt stones lean against each other to form a colosseum. [...] A gate yawns in the ground above a vast pit, [...]"
↑The Mandolinist, Fallen London"The chasm below Marigold is the size of the Vatican. No light disturbs its depths: [...] At the heart of the abyss there is a great pillar. Something stands against it, perhaps pinned or impaled. [...] Its breath is sweet as roses, perfuming the rotting of its body."
↑Accept a commission 2, Fallen London"The Season of Revolutions [...] At its end, the Treaty of the Marigold was a critical component of the peace that followed."
↑Accept a commission 2, Fallen London"The Treaty established a provision for dissenters, [...] who oppose a decision of the collective body of Hell. Such devils must acquiesce with the majority, or [...] take up the Marigold."
↑Accept a commission 2, Fallen London"A Marigold-bearer is given a badge to prove their office, and burdened with an often impossible task. With both, they must leave Hell, exiled. If they wish to return, they must complete their task."
↑The Destiny of the Marigold, Fallen London"This Knight of the Marigold earned the enmity of Hell [...] Hell rewrites its doctrine regularly: [...] This Knight, [...] was once a historian. [...] attempted to create a comprehensive analysis of the revolution. They were given to the Marigold for their trouble [...] return only when they had found Truth."
↑The Payment of Hell, Fallen London"The Gnarled Stationmaster [...] "Nasty business, the Marigolds. [...] We must always offer the possibility of redemption – even if we never mean to fulfil it."
