The Hurlers

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"Whatever you think you remember, the first step is to remember that you don't."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for the Discordant Studies storyline from Fallen London. Do not proceed forward.

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"When the Masters bought London, the Hurlers weren't part of the deal. That's why the Hurlers are here. If they are. What is and is not here isn't so easy to confirm."[1]

The Hurlers are a frozen wasteland deep in the Hinterlands.[2] Against all common sense, they are the eighth station of the Great Hellbound Railway.[3]

Desolation

"Nothing is out here but you, the darkness, and the cold. Close your eyes, and you can imagine you're nowhere at all. Open them, and you can see the crystals within crystals, the fractals within fractals, that radiate across the lake. Their exact delineations, their perfectly formed patterns, express a mathematical precision as frigid as it is flawless."[4]

The plain of the Hurlers is one of the coldest places in the Neath;[2] its frigid conditions can smother flames[5] and will very quickly kill anyone without a dependable source of heat.[6] As such, the region is incredibly hazardous to develop[7] and has minimal infrastructure.[8] However, Mr Stones has an interest in this place,[9] as it seeks "a stone that unmakes boundaries."[10] As a whole, there is very little life present; goat-demons graze on the myriad bones strewn across the land, as well as what little vegetation can survive in these conditions.[11]

Hell attempted to excavate the Hurlers several times; every attempt failed, and the survivors were left unable to recall the details of each expedition.[12] The only notes that remain describe what the archaeologists "did not find."[13] During their last attempt, Hell also tried to make a deal of unknown terms with Mr Stones.[14]

Landmarks

The nearest inhabited structure in the vicinity is a ruined encampment from Hell's most recent expedition.[15][16] It is inhabited by the Caprine Vagabond, an exceptionally large goat-demon.[17][18] The Vagabond claims to have "no reason" to reside here,[19] and insists it is not a spy.[20] It directs anyone seeking knowledge of the Discordance toward a nearby ruin.[21][22]

The Adulterine Ruins are located near a frozen lake.[22] The only living being here is a single Steward of the Discordance;[23] she tries to direct wanderers away from the dangers of the Hurlers,[24] but she is also chatty and fond of card games and gossip.[24] One foolhardy enough to stay a while may be ordained as a new Steward in her presence, though the price to pay is high.[25][26]

The Adulterine Castle does not exist beneath a frozen lake,[27][28] and the lake's surface does not act as a gateway.[29]

The Standing Stones

The Hurlers themselves are a set of giant standing stones atop a hill, arranged in two circles.[30] They were not part of the Masters' deal to buy London, but for some reason, they are in the Neath anyway... sort of.[31] The number of stones cannot be counted accurately,[32] and their arrangement changes even if they do not actually move.[32][33] The sigils etched upon the stones entice travelers to read them,[34] like whispering, mischievous specters.[35][36] These sigils are letters of the Discordance,[37] which are also the source of the powerful frost that has frozen the landscape around the Hurlers;[38] however, the stones were recently scrambled, so whatever is written upon them is currently unreadable.[39]

Someone who is not in the Adulterine Castle may view the Hurlers from below the lake's surface.[40] From this vantage point, the stones appear to be goat-demons - they are both circles of stones and teams of goat-demons.[40][41] The goat-demons are not playing the game of Hurly-Burly,[42][43] and their games are not spectated by Stewards of the Discordance who place bets on the game's outcome.[44] The winning team does not determine the arrangement of the Hurlers,[45][46] which can spell out three distinct Discordant Laws.[47]

The standing stones of the Hurlers were created when the Black[48] and its court[49] were erased from reality and history.[50] The Black's courtiers, who are now known as goat-demons, played Hurly-Burly to entertain the court.[51] It is implied that many of these courtiers were transformed into standing stones when the court was erased from existence, but their "shadows" still play the game.[49][52]

Someone Following You

This law becomes legible upon the standing stones when the second circle does not win.[53] It reads:

No monarch shall lack a court; no traveller shall lack a companion; no lover shall lack a lover; no solitude shall be sanctioned.[54] no single thing shall be a single thing[47]

When this law is read, the reader is typically duplicated.[55][56] The double has full autonomy, and the two cannot be distinguished.[55][57] This law does not allow anything singular to exist, so it can also duplicate memories, ideas, or any object;[58] it was also once used to duplicate goat-demons[59] and Stewards of the Discordance.[58] When this law was first read, it mandated another Discordant Law into existence, hence the two stone circles of the Hurlers.[58]

Frozen Thoughts

This law becomes legible upon the standing stones when the first circle does not win.[60] It reads:

No couple shall ever quarrel. No country shall secede from the kingdom. No comrades shall find themselves separated. No music shall lack harmony.[61] no bodies in disagreement shall be in disagreement[47]

When read, the reader's skull feels frozen, and they will subsequently find any action or experience agreeable.[62] They may provide services or favors to others for seemingly no reason,[63] and others may do the same for them.[62][64] This law may also cause two separate beings to merge,[65] compel nations to end conflicts,[66] or compel nations to form an alliance to prevent conflict.[66] Two things that are merged into one no longer have disparate views, so taken to its extreme, this law may merge everything into one.[66]

This law is itself considered illegal, because without conflict, kingdoms become meaningless.[66]

No Mouth Shall—

This law becomes legible upon the standing stones when neither circle wins.[67] It reads:

No poet shall compose different – No bird shall – No bird – No truth shall be spoken—[68] no mouth shall – no mouth – [47]

When read, the reader is covered in several mouths, which initially fade but may reappear at any moment.[69][70] It may also turn the reader into a compulsive liar.[71] This law is an incomplete "half-law,"[71] as it was damaged with a pickaxe[72] during Hell's last excavation of the Hurlers.[73] Prior to this, the law forbade "speaking more than one truth with the same mouth"[74] - preventing a single mouth from voicing opposing ideas, either by removing the mouth or growing a new one.[75]

During the construction of the Moloch Line, the Tracklayer's Union reached the Hurlers;[76] after some encouragement by a Supervising Deviless, union leader Cornelius read this law,[77] causing an accident that affected everyone nearby.[78] Cornelius' face was covered in numerous mouths, which build upon each other's statements;[77] he was also wounded severely enough that he temporarily died.[79] The TLU's remaining leader, Furnace Ancona, attempted to advocate for the different ideologies of her union that she did not necessarily agree with, so she grew two extra faces to speak for these views instead.[80][81][82]

Real-Life Inspirations

The Hurlers are a group of stone circles located in Cornwall, England.[83] Legend has it that the stones were once men who played the Cornish game of hurling on a Sunday, and were transformed as punishment. Some also say it is impossible to accurately count the number of stones.

References

  1. ↑ Discuss the Hurlers, Fallen London
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Plan for an icy route to the Hurlers 2, Fallen London "The land out there is grim and surprisingly cold for a place so close to Hell."
  3. ↑ Build the station at The Hurlers, Fallen London
  4. ↑ On the Ice, Fallen London
  5. ↑ The Hurlers (Storylet), Fallen London "[...] this desolate wasteland. Candles struggle to burn: flames have been known to freeze on their wicks."
  6. ↑ Travel to the encampment (Foxfire Candle Stubs), Fallen London "It isn't too far. If you freeze to death on the way, it should be simple to turn around. "
  7. ↑ Illuminate the road you've built, Fallen London "[...] why do the Tracklayers installing the lanterns suffer so many accidents?"
  8. ↑ The Hurlers (Storylet), Fallen London "Beyond the station's huddled warmth, there is only darkness and ice. Beyond the darkness and ice, there are the standing stones [...]"
  9. ↑ Establish a trading post, Fallen London "There are practically no marketable goods [...] but rocks, crystals, and rocks with crystals [...] the most obscenely wealthy Master of the Bazaar is interested in precisely such commodities."
  10. ↑ Enter the private compartment, Fallen London ""Interesting, these," says Mr Stones, toying with a Crystallised Curio. [...] "What wouldst thou pay, [...] for a stone that unmakes boundaries?" [...] "More," says Mr Stones. "Find more.""
  11. ↑ Grazing Goat-Demons, Fallen London "Beside the tracks, goat-demons are munching on straggling briar patches. And on numerous bones protruding from the ground, which are vastly more pervasive [...] than any plant. "
  12. ↑ Speak with the Disembarking Deviless, Fallen London "[...] At one point, Hell had an interest in excavating this region. But all their expeditions were called back. Those that survived couldn't even remember what they had discovered. [...] "
  13. ↑ Speak with the Disembarked Deviless (Breaking 2), Fallen London ""I've managed to acquire a few notes from previous excavations [...] the Deviless tells [...] "They aren't terribly informative. Rather than writing about what they found, the archaeologists seemed to write more about what they did not find. [...]"
  14. ↑ Find the Caprine Vagabond in the herd 4, Fallen London "It's probably to do with Hell's last excavation. They did more damage than anyone else [...] Whatever deal they tried to cut with Mr Stones, I'm not sure it's worked out to their advantage. [...]"
  15. ↑ Travel to the encampment (Foxfire Candle Stubs), Fallen London "You arrive [...] Only ramshackle walls provide any shelter. Years ago, when certain infernal archaeologists established a base here [...]"
  16. ↑ Provide funding for the Disembarked Deviless, Fallen London "Do you know where the last expedition established a base? That's where we'll camp too. [...]"
  17. ↑ Around the Embers, Fallen London "Shattered bricks enclose a shallow fire-pit, [...] an enormous goat-demon rakes the ashes with a cloven hoof."
  18. ↑ The Caprine Vagabond, Fallen London "Even the goatiest goat-demons aren't this gargantuan. It's as if the Caprine Vagabond has grown as mountains grow [...]"
  19. ↑ Discuss the encampment, Fallen London "There must be a reason that the Vagabond is camped alone out here. [...] "No reason," it finally says. "Nothing has a reason in this place. [...]"
  20. ↑ Find the Caprine Vagabond in the herd 4, Fallen London ""You didn't hear that from me. Besides, it's not like I'm at the Hurlers to inform anyone about anything. I'm not a spy. [...]"
  21. ↑ Discuss the Stewards of the Discordance, Fallen London ""Pilgrims seek the Stewards of the Discordance for knowledge, for power, to change what can never be changed. I tell them the way: [...] toward the ruins.""
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Discuss the Adulterine Castle, Fallen London "[...] there are ruins. There," [...] Around the lake.""
  23. ↑ The Adulterine Ruins, Fallen London "The Adulterine Ruins [...] someone lives here amongst the rubble. In a room less collapsed than the rest, [...] you find a single woman in monastic robes."
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Approach the Steward, Fallen London "A Steward of the Discordance [...] This area is dangerous. It's my job to keep people away. [...] tell me everything. It's been so long since I've heard any news! Then I'll have to drive you out, [...] Unless you'd care to play cards?"
  25. ↑ Discuss the Disembarked Deviless' research, Fallen London "[...] you're not a Steward of the Discordance." [...] "You wouldn't like to be one, I suppose?" [...] "It might be possible, although the cost would be steep.""
  26. ↑ Swear the oath, Fallen London ""Repeat these words," says the Steward [...] You cannot think. [...] Welcome to the Stewardship.""
  27. ↑ Step onto the frozen lake, Fallen London "Beneath your feet, the lake's frozen surface is as solid as marble."
  28. ↑ Discuss the Adulterine Castle (The Steward) , Fallen London "[...] some people do claim there's a castle in the lake, under the ice. [...] When something doesn't exist, it's difficult to comprehend. [...]"
  29. ↑ Open your eyes, Fallen London "Stare into the lake's frozen surface. [...] You don't pass through the ice, and the ice doesn't lock overhead. [...] You haven't opened a doorway that cannot be closed. You haven't entered a castle that hasn't been built."
  30. ↑ Amongst the Standing Stones, Fallen London "Amongst the Standing Stones [...] Two stone circles crowd the hilltop."
  31. ↑ Discuss the Hurlers, Fallen London "When the Masters bought London, the Hurlers weren't part of the deal. That's why the Hurlers are here. If they are. What is and is not here isn't so easy to confirm."
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Discuss the Hurlers again 2, Fallen London "[...] "it's impossible to count those standing stones. From one perspective, they're always moving. But they never move at all."
  33. ↑ Count the stones in the First Circle, Fallen London "Whenever you look at them, their arrangement feels slightly different."
  34. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Neither Circle), Fallen London "Sigils pull your attention closer."
  35. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Active Discordant Law), Fallen London "Now that you have read the stones, you understand why they can never move. Their shadows seem to whisper in your ear [...] Fear no smile behind that whisper. These stones wouldn't lie to their sovereign."
  36. ↑ Speak with the Steward, Fallen London "[...] the stones will keep calling, even if they're not making a peep. They think it's funny."
  37. ↑ Amongst the Standing Stones, Fallen London "Two stone circles crowd the hilltop. [...] It should be easier to [...] read the language carved into their faces, etched [...]"
  38. ↑ Locate a spot to dig around the hill, Fallen London "Frost emanates from the stones. It spreads [...] down the hill and through the wastes. [...] More ice will always encroach. "
  39. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Neither Circle), Fallen London "Sigils pull your attention closer. [...] How can you read a sentence when the words have been scrambled? [...] Arrange us, the stones [...] plead [...] Rearrange us."
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Beneath the Standing Stones, Fallen London "Beneath the Standing Stones [...] When you aren't in the castle, you can gaze upward and study the lake's underside. You can see the Hurlers, [...] they aren't stone circles. Each stone is a goat-demon. [...] their game has been frozen, their two teams locked mid-play beneath the ice."
  41. ↑ Don't talk about the game, Fallen London "[...] these are the Hurlers. Because there is no difference between the standing stones atop the hill, and these goat-demons."
  42. ↑ Hurlyburly, Fallen London "Hurlyburly [...] Fair is foul, and foul is fair."
  43. ↑ Bet on the First Circle to lose, Fallen London "A horn doesn't blow to announce the next match, [...] A little ball called a sliotar doesn't rise [...] where goat-demons don't bristle with hurling sticks at the ready. [...] When the game doesn't begin, [...]"
  44. ↑ Beneath the Standing Stones, Fallen London "Stewards aren't watching the match from below, placing bets on which team hasn't currently taken the lead."
  45. ↑ Discuss the Hurlers again 2, Fallen London "It's a game that they're playing with us. Whoever is winning the game, that changes where they're standing, and that changes how an observer might interpret their meaning."
  46. ↑ Don't talk about the game, Fallen London "[...] the manner in which their players are arranged, which depends on whichever team isn't winning, doesn't determine how the Hurlers are also arranged. Because these are the Hurlers."
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 Discordant Law, Fallen London
  48. ↑ Build the station at The Hurlers, Fallen London "January asks you a number of questions about the Hurlers. [...] she's looking to find out how much you know, rather than filling in her own information. "A light was quenched," [...] "Or the Hurlers wouldn't be out there now. [...]"
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London ""This court is all departed," says the Anchoress. "It never was a court." [...] Two holes, pricked close together, are a double star. No light twinkles through them. [...] "I saw the absence. Now you see it too.""
  50. ↑ Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London "no monarch screams [...] two crowns whose laws are void, stricken from life, stricken from death, [...] banished, forgotten [...]"
  51. ↑ Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London "Shadows trail you down the corridors, [...] they might have horns. They might have hooves. [...] "Not every courtier suffered the same fate," the Anchoress explains. "Some are different now, yet still the same. They entertained the court. They played a game." [...] Their shadows still play on the walls, passing a round silhouette back and forth. They move ahead, leave you behind, chasing the silhouette."
  52. ↑ Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London "[...] the Anchoress does come closer, walking toward the standing stones [...] They tower in the courtyard, on the playing field, atop the hill."
  53. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Victorious First Circle), Fallen London "You've gained 1 x Someone Following You"
  54. ↑ Encourage her to read the stones, Fallen London
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Read the language on the stones (Victorious First Circle), Fallen London "You're not here anymore when you cobble yourself back together. You have your own life to live [...] you won't just sit around waiting to live it. But maybe one day you'll catch up with yourself [...]"
  56. ↑ Encourage her to read the stones, Fallen London ""But I don't understand," [...] "I've already read this. [...] Even after she leaves, the Deviless isn't gone. [...] You've gained 1 x Doubled Deviless"
  57. ↑ Discordant Ripples (Following) 4, Fallen London "Every Law has its consequences. [...] reward you for the contract you recently killed. Nonsense! Of course you killed it! Everyone saw what you did [...]"
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London "[...] the one that started this nonsense," [...] "Doesn't allow anything singular to exist. Sometimes that means duplicating memories or ideas. [...] duplicating animals, minerals, vegetables. The first time someone read this Discordant Law, it meant that another Discordant Law needed to exist. That's why the Hurlers have multiple stone circles. [...] it has some benefits: when you need more Stewards, for instance.""
  59. ↑ Find the Caprine Vagabond in the herd, Fallen London "[...] You can see for yourself, can't you?" [...] You can certainly see the Vagabond nodding at the other goat-demons [...] "Nowadays [...] more goat-demons are just made in the normal way.""
  60. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Victorious Second Circle), Fallen London "You've gained 1 x Frozen Thoughts"
  61. ↑ Encourage her to read the stones 2, Fallen London
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Read the language on the stones (Victorious Second Circle), Fallen London "Your skull is chilled [...] It is the most agreeable sensation in the world. Other things are agreeable too. [...] Things that repulsed you, [...] You're much more agreeable yourself. [...] people might give you anything, simply because. And you might give them anything too, [...]"
  63. ↑ Discordant Ripples (Frozen) 3, Fallen London "Every Law has its consequences. [...] the fine you're required to pay after confessing [...] to a crime that you didn't commit. [...] you can't help agreeing to every point the Prosecution raises. You confess to committing a few other crimes too [...]"
  64. ↑ Discordant Ripples (Frozen) 2, Fallen London "Every Law has its consequences. Just because you don't have reservations [...] doesn't mean you won't be seated [...] just because the prices on the menu are so high [...] doesn't mean you'll be forced to pay them. The manager [...] presents you with two complimentary bottles, and only wonders why after you're gone."
  65. ↑ Encourage her to read the stones 2, Fallen London "[...] a Deviless and Imp [...] you might be leaving with them both, but you're only leaving with one companion. [...] You now have 1 x Imp-Deviless"
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 66.3 Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London ""Doesn't permit disagreements. [...] it might compel two nations to end a conflict. Or it might generate an alliance to prevent conflict. [...] people usually have different views? If they become the same person, they'll have the same views. Follow the logic [...] you'll combine everything with everything. [...] you can see why this Discordant Law is forbidden. If kings can't fight, why have kingdoms?""
  67. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Tied), Fallen London "You've gained 1 x Another Mouth"
  68. ↑ Encourage her to read the stones 3, Fallen London
  69. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Tied), Fallen London "You stagger away from the stones, covering your eyes (which are mouths) with your palms (which are teeming with mouths). [...] Soon they are all sealed again [...] For now."
  70. ↑ Discordant Ripples (Mouth) 4, Fallen London "Every Law has its consequences. [...] when you're browsing antiques, another mouth on your body yawns. Then a few hundred more [...] You don't hear the shopkeeper scream, [...] throw an antique [...] when your mouths are shut again, you still have the antique, and this bump on your head [...]"
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 Encourage her to read the stones 3, Fallen London "[...] a half-law has been enacted: [...] No truth shall be spoken— [...] the Deviless collapses [...] "I'd never trade you for a penny and call it a deal." [...] You now have 1 x Dishonest Deviless"
  72. ↑ Read the language on the stones (Tied), Fallen London "Something is wrong. You can't read these stones. Someone has defaced the sigils with a pickaxe."
  73. ↑ Find the Caprine Vagabond in the herd 4, Fallen London "[...] I've never seen a Discordant Law do that before. [...] It's probably to do with Hell's last excavation. They did more damage than anyone else [...]"
  74. ↑ Claim curiosity, Fallen London "[...] Cornelius' experiment [...] invoked a power against speaking 'more than one truth with the same mouth.'"
  75. ↑ Discordant Studies (Storylet), Fallen London "[...] one Discordant Law had its grammar damaged. It used to prevent a single mouth from voicing opposing ideas. Typically by removing a speaker's mouth entirely, or by spawning additional mouths."
  76. ↑ Ask how she first learned about stones like the one you found, Fallen London ""It was when we worked on the devils' line," Furnace says. "Have you heard of The Hurlers?"
  77. ↑ 77.0 77.1 Hear him out 2 , Fallen London "The mouths speak: "This is what the Masters made of us." [...] "Of Furnace and me." [...] "Not because they have such power. [...] because in opposing them, we unmade ourselves." [...] a litany of thoughts from all the little mouths. At the end, Cornelius' central mouth says, "It was my fault. I called on the Discordance, I read the law of ice, I tried to enter the Adulterine Castle.""
  78. ↑ Ask how she first learned about stones like the one you found, Fallen London ""Have you heard of The Hurlers? [...] I had a partner then [...] Our Supervising Deviless would tease him that he couldn't read the stones. [...] When he did read the words –" [...] bad for everyone nearby. [...]"
  79. ↑ Ask how she first learned about stones like the one you found, Fallen London ""It was when we worked on the devils' line," Furnace says. "Have you heard of The Hurlers? [...] "Afterward – he didn't live long."
  80. ↑ Claim curiosity, Fallen London "Her other faces do still look like her [...] Cornelius' experiment [...] invoked a power against speaking 'more than one truth with the same mouth.' So when I needed to speak for one of my constituents that I don't personally agree with, this happened. [...]"
  81. ↑ Ask her about the Liberationists 1, Fallen London ""Feeble defence of the status quo," comments the Liberationist mouth. [...]"
  82. ↑ Ask her about the Liberationists 1, Fallen London ""Disorder," says the Prehistoricist mouth. "It's possible to have some ambition without making a mess.""
  83. ↑ The Hurlers (stone circles), Wikipedia
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