"Plucked from the walls of Hell. How far you'll go to win your intended's favour. Or perhaps an indication of where they ought to go."
"The flower pressed to the paper, its petals flattened like ink. Velvet to the touch and wet with unstolen nectar, the Exile's Rose is redolent of dark promises made at midnight. London's veterans returned from the war on Hell wearing them on their breasts."[1]
Exile's Rose is a mysterious black flower grown in the gardens of Hell.[2][3] It is known to appear on the Surface as well, such as in "sacred places from Pontus to Baetica."[4]Lamplighter Bees fed on this flower produce Prisoner's Honey,[5] a drug that temporarily transports imbibers to Parabola.[6] Exile's Rose itself can be consumed to enter Parabola, but those who do so "do not return."[4] According to the Order Serpentine, the Fingerkings felt lonely being trapped behind the mirror,[7] and asked the "grumpiest bee" (who might have been devils) for help. The bee retrieved Exile's Rose from a "far place,"[8] and used its "property of passage" to brew Prisoner's Honey and transport dreamers to Parabola.[9] In exchange, the Fingerkings granted the bee one-fifth of all they gained thereafter.[8]
Exile's Rose is a key ingredient in the popular dish Zzoup,[10] and it symbolizes "dark promises made at midnight." Interestingly, veterans of the Campaign of '68 returned home wearing Exile's Rose on their uniforms.[11] It can also be cross-bred with another flower from Hell[12] to produce a red variant called Lion's Rose.[13][14] When Lamplighter Bees consume the pollen from these flowers, they are driven mad and extract memories from the minds of those nearby, producing Gaoler's Honey.[15] Leopold Stamford, son of Stamford Raffles, encountered Lion's Rose and was transported into dream.[14] He would later go on to become the Pirate-King of the Isle of Cats.[16]
↑ 4.04.1What is prisoner's honey?, Fallen London"[...] the flowers called exile's rose, which are found in sacred places from Pontus to Baetica. One who consumes these flowers departs and does not return."
↑Sample prisoner's honey, Fallen London"Prisoner's Honey does not bring dreams to those who sample it. Instead, it physically transports them to dreams. Your body fades from the couch [...] As you vanish from its lair [...] When you mention your dream to the proprietor of the honey-den [...]"
↑ 8.08.1Order Serpentine, Sorrowful, Fallen London"THE LITTLE SNAKE asked the grumpiest bee in both worlds for help. And the bee said, why should I help? And the snake said, I will give you one-fifth of all I gain thereby. So the bee [...] said, in a far place there grows a rose."
↑Order Serpentine, Lachrymose, Fallen London"THE ROSE, WHICH IS CALLED EXILE'S ROSE, has a property of passage. So shall I brew a honey from its dusts and pollens, [...] and it shall bring those who taste it, here to your dwelling. And sometimes they shall stay forever. And the little snake was very pleased with all the new friends [...]"
↑Send an Unblemished Exile's Rose, Fallen London"[...] the Exile's Rose is redolent of dark promises made at midnight. London's veterans returned from the war on Hell wearing them on their breasts."
↑ 14.014.1Sidebar Snippets#Universal, Fallen London""I have, [...] at last determined the cause of our poor Leopold's [...] disappearance. You will recall that I sent by the Borneo a [...] collection of [illegible] ... identified one variety as the sinister exile's rose of the Bosphorus. Sophia had long admired their colour [illegible] ... gardens here about the Government-house [illegible] ... although here they call it 'lion's rose'. Singapura [...] many tigers. I would not mention this except that when I dream of Leopold, [...] it has always seemed to me that there is a great cat present, the colour of sunset, which is also the colour of the roses [...]"
↑The Honeyed Tongue, Sunless Sea"When lamplighter bees suck the nectar of the crimson strain of exile's rose, they are driven to madness. They enter the brains of humans and harvest their memories." [...] "Those memories are instilled in red honey. [...]"
↑Story description, Sunless Sea"What might one expect from Leopold, Pirate-King of the Isle of Cats: [...] Behind him you see a wall of what you think are wine-racks. On closer inspection, the racks hold bottle upon carefully-labelled bottle of red honey."
