"A hole in the sky! Torrents of celestial mist pour into it. Shelves of black ice poke from its throat. One of the shelves extends over the well-mouth in a narrow spur. At its end stands a pitted, cast-iron bandstand."[1]
The Well of the Wolf is a sky-well located in the region of Albion.
The Well of the Wolf is a vortex of wind surrounded by platforms of black ice.[3] A congregation of devils live near the well's rim in a system of hexagonal caves.[4] Unlike most devils, they are disheveled and poorly dressed, and are incapable of speaking.[5] This is because the well is a place where devils "retire;"[6] they may also come here out of disillusionment for their kind's habits,[7] or due to being outcast.[8][9]
Each of the devils here has a Chorister Bee burrowed in their chest cavity,[10] which replaces their speaking voice with plainsong produced by the bee.[11][12] Atop a platform above the well is a bandstand built right after London crossed the Avid Horizon.[13][14] When the well's winds whip wildly, the devils convene at the bandstand and calm the storm by performing hymns about the well's inhabitant,[15][16] using song and dance to spell sigils of the Correspondence.[17]
Above the well is a stone idol engraved with many whistling mouths.[18] A ritual can be performed here called the Rite of the Rack, where initiates must "hang and give voice" by dangling themselves from the idol and screaming for hours, until their voice gives out completely and their throat has been run ragged. This sacrifice will alter their identity and ensure they are "no longer only themself."[19] This rite can be reversed by whipping oneself with a scourge while the well consumes their cries, nullifying the bargain.[20]
The King of Carols
"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."
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"The Choir-in-One (who was, you are now certain, an ur-devil) was – elaborated? Stretched? Hung? – above the well, from the spur of ice on which the bandstand now rests. The stars 'made a message of him,' (this part is unusually clear). In defiance, he gave away his voices, bestowing 'all but one of them upon his—' The next part might be 'creations' or 'aberrations' or 'amalgamies'. Apparently, this was not well received by 'those who judged'."[21]
"The hymn is an ending-hymn. The Many-Mouthed was judged by the Regents in Gold, and cast into the well. His voices, all but the one he kept, 'were scattered to the hives'. His followers – 'the horned and brazen' – grieved, then raged, then rebelled. The Chain was broken."[22]
The King of Carols, also known as the Many-Mouthed and the Choir-in-One, is a Grand Devil and the prisoner within the Well of the Wolf.[23][24] The devils here sing and dance in honor of him, and recount his deeds and tragic fate through their hymns.[25]
Long ago, the King protested against the Judgements by refusing to sing for them.[26] In retaliation, the Judgements hung him above the well as a warning against rebellion. In a final act of defiance, the King gave away all but one of his many voices to his creations, the Chorister Bees, infuriating the Judgements even further.[27][28] For this, he was imprisoned in the well forever. His followers, the devils, initially grieved, then rebelled against the Judgements with the King as a martyr. Unfortunately, the devils were defeated, and were forced to flee to Parabola via Caduceus to escape their oppressors' sight.[29][30]
↑The Well of the Wolf, Sunless Skies"Away from the edge, a cluster of hexagonal cave-mouths perforate an icy cliff-face. The yellow eyes of devils gleam inside them."
↑Speak to the congregation of devils, Sunless Skies"They emerge, curious, from the caves. Once, they were dapper in pinstripe or delicate in brocade. Now, they wear rags. [...] You ask about their lives here. Silence. When you persist, one steps forward and opens his mouth as wide as he can. Plainsong emerges: [...] sonorous drone. The devil's lips and tongue aren't moving – the song is coming from deeper in his throat."
↑Visit the isolated office of an Abstemious Devil, Sunless Skies""I have forsaken the interests of my kind, and the activities here are a continual temptation. I hope to book passage to the Well of the Wolf, to spend the rest of my time in austere service.""
↑Enquire about her relationship with other devils, Sunless Skies""Devils are judgemental creatures, [...] I have had enough of being looked on with disgust by devils and with reverence by lunatics. It is tiring. I wish to go somewhere where I won't be looked on at all.""
↑Speak to the congregation of devils, Sunless Skies"When you persist, one steps forward and opens his mouth as wide as he can. Plainsong emerges: [...] the song is coming from deeper in his throat. [...] see a large compound eye – insectoid, [...] peering back at you from his chest cavity."
↑Deposit the Infernal Philatelist, Sunless Skies"He takes the bee from the cage and you watch as his jaw [...] opening wider and wider and wider. The curious bee crawls inside, [...] the Philatelist sings with the bee's sweet, wordless voice."
↑Give the Patchwork Devil her bee, Sunless Skies"You open the bee's cage. "Thank you," the Devil breathes. They are the last words she ever speaks. Her mouth opens [...] The bee crawls [...] down her throat, and nestles in her chest cavity. The Devil's mouth returns to its usual size, then emits a single seraphic note."
↑Investigate the bandstand, Sunless Skies"The bandstand [...] You find the manufacturer's mark and date: the components were wrought in the Promised Days, just after London arrived in the heavens."
↑Listen to the fourth and final hymn, Sunless Skies"Today, the well's howl is frenzied. [...] The hymn is an ending-hymn. The Many-Mouthed was judged by the Regents in Gold, and cast into the well. [...] By the time the well is soothed, the devils are drained. They lean on each other as they stagger away."
↑Enact the Rite of the Rack, Sunless Skies"[...] someone has cut the words 'HANG AND GIVE VOICE' into the ice. [...] The strap knots around your wrists. You put your back to the idol, [...] and leap. [...] you hang there, [...] you scream and scream and scream. Your voice grows hoarse, then ragged. When it is gone, and your screams are marked only by the blood they spray from your ravaged throat, the devils emerge [...] They lift you off the idol, [...] The rite is complete. You have sacrificed, and are no longer only yourself."
↑Forsake your current rite, Sunless Skies"[...] you apply the knout. [...] Your blood flows. Your cries are snatched away by the wind. The hooks dig deeper than skin, [...] They catch on an old bargain, dragging it out from your core. When you drop the knout, your well-rite is gone. You are only yourself again."
↑Listen to the first hymn, Sunless Skies"The Singular Choir? No – the Choir-in-One. The Many-Mouthed. The Master of— no. The King of Celebrants? No, the King of Carols. These are the names of the thing in the Well."
↑Listen to the fourth and final hymn, Sunless Skies"The choir has grown enough to attempt its most sacred hymn. [...] The Hymn of the Martyr [...] The hymn is an ending-hymn. The Many-Mouthed was judged by the Regents in Gold, and cast into the well. His voices, all but the one he kept, 'were scattered to the hives'. [...] The fate of the uprising is unstated, but the sigils are melancholy. [...]"
↑Listen to the fourth and final hymn, Sunless Skies"[...] the hymn's plainsong denotes a time long ago: [...] a tale of the Many-Mouthed. He... [...] campaigned, perhaps, or protested – against [...] 'the Golden Rule'? [...] The King of Carols 'objected through the withdrawal of his voice'. Because of this, 'the eyes were angry'."
↑Listen to the third hymn, Sunless Skies"This hymn is a hymn of suffering. [...] a period of punishment. The Choir-in-One [...] was – elaborated? Stretched? Hung? – above the well, from the spur of ice on which the bandstand now rests. The stars 'made a message of him,' [...] In defiance, he gave away his voices, bestowing 'all but one of them upon his—' The next part might be 'creations' or 'aberrations' or 'amalgamies'. Apparently, this was not well received by 'those who judged'."
↑Listen to the fourth and final hymn, Sunless Skies"The Hymn of the Martyr [...] The hymn is an ending-hymn. The Many-Mouthed was judged by the Regents in Gold, and cast into the well. His voices, all but the one he kept, 'were scattered to the hives'. His followers – 'the horned and brazen' – grieved, then raged, then rebelled. The Chain was broken. The fate of the uprising is unstated, but the sigils are melancholy. There is reference to an exodus, to 'a time of serpents'."
↑Ask him about his memories of Caduceus, Sunless Skies""After the Well of the Wolf," [...] "the Devils could no longer remain in the sight of the Judgements: not if we intended to live. We escaped through Caduceus into Parabola, the place that is not; and from there onward. We were a people in exile."
