Caution

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"Caution, the City of Beasts, the City of a Hundred Tongues. Its spires rise through the forest canopy; a hundred, one for every tongue – scarlet, dusky green, royal blue. This close, the spires are less like coloured glass, more like glossy crabshell. The Menagerie sets up in a gently sobbing meadow just north of the Pilgrim Gate."[3]

Caution is a city in the Presbyterate just north of the Bleeding Forest.

Vigilance

"Turn back, turn back. You have not lived enough. Learn Caution."[3]

A bloody forest with a growth resembling an eye.
The Bleeding Forest

Caution is a city located along the Nameless River upstream from Adam's Way,[4] bordering the Bleeding Forest to the south.[5][6] The coastal citizens of the Elder Continent stop here en route to the Mountain of Light.[7] The city has an idyllic atmosphere, with grassy streets,[8] sparkling flowers,[9] and pulsing springs of pure freshwater.[10] Its most iconic structures are its hundred spires, each of which is made of a shiny chitin-like material in the shape of "a big glass pineapple."[11][12] Each spire has a different color, and corresponds to a unique language spoken in Caution called a tongue.[11][13] Caution also has other strange sights, such as "wells that chime and gardens which rhyme."[14]

Caution is generally closed to those outside the Presbyterate.[15] Travelers who brave the journey south[16] to reach it must first pass through the Pilgrim Gate, a triple-lobed gate made from shell.[17] This gate is guarded by the Pilgrim-Wakers, bird-people with wings and beaks,[18] who only allow the long-lived to pass;[19] to qualify, one must confide in them their greatest regrets.[20][21] The Word of Caution, a tablet of secret passphrases written in Caution's various languages, provides another way to enter the city.[22] The bearer of this artifact is allowed to pass the Pilgrim Gate for free,[23] and is entitled to respect from Caution's citizens.[24] When one of the Word's phrases are spoken aloud, Caution's citizens will zealously act upon its instructions.[25] Diplomats to Caution also exist; they are instructed to never bow too low, never be more than they appear, and to know that immortality may yet be within reach, in spite of the Presbyter's laws.[26]

A green knife.
A Nicatorean relic.

The Temple of Meetings is a hollow oak tree split apart by a stalactite at the very center of Caution.[27] In ancient times, each newly appointed King of Caution would sit vigil in the Temple, wearing a crown and wielding a mirror and flint dagger. According to legend, one of these kings was none other than Nicator, though his reign ended in disaster. The era of kings has long since ended,[28] and Caution is said to be ruled by a Regent, though this may be hearsay.[29] An ancient city known as the First Caution once existed, but nothing else is known about it.[30]

The Beasts of Caution

"You pass through the triple-lobed gates. Boars, Wolves, Tortoises, Lions gather as the Pilgrim-Wakers cry your entry. Beasts line the grassy streets, press their painted snouts against the windows of their mansions as you pass."[3]

"There are the Beasts – everywhere the Beasts, watching you with human eyes."[3]

A flint knife made from banded rock.
The Knapt, made of banded flint.

Caution's citizens are called Beasts. They are described as humanoids with animalistic qualities,[31] such as forelimbs,[32] muzzles,[33] and snouts,[34] but all possess human eyes.[35] It is not clear if this is because they are transformed humans, or because they are simply humans wearing masks.[36] Beasts often wear face paint,[37] as well as jewelry made of banded flint,[38] a petrified form of light found near Caution.[39] Some Beasts use banded flint for their weapons, and one even nicked off Feducci's ear with a spear.[40] It is possible for humans to be inducted as Beasts: they must consume wine and chertapples before a gathering of Beasts, and enter the darkness below the Temple of Meetings. After an unseen process, they will emerge reborn as a young Beast, such as a Foal.[41]

A statue of a woman holding a wine glass near some grapes.
The Prison of Flint

A key part of the Beasts' culture is their lack of regrets;[42] as one of them puts it, "No regrets, in Caution."[43] They also know how to navigate the Bleeding Forest and are aware of the Prison of Flint.[44] While they are willing to host Snuffers,[45] they are deathly afraid of the Thief-of-Faces, as they fear losing their faces will leave them exposed to be "seen."[46]

Beasts are titled after specific animals which dictate their role in Caution's society:

  • Lions boast of their skills and deeds in the aptly-named Boasting Ring. The strongest Lion in the ring wins the weakest Lion's name.[47]
  • Apes act as scouts, watchmen, and poets, and study the Elder Continent's many mysteries.[48]
  • Wolves act as healers and guides. They possess (or produce?) a beverage called Wolf-milk, which heals the state of chertiness induced by the Bleeding Forest.[49]
  • Panthers are not permitted to enter water. Hence they are interested in water-borne stories, such as those of the Unterzee.[50]
  • Striped Horses provide manual labor and build the Tongues and spires of Caution. Before they construct a new spire, they first consume water with the "appropriate assonance" from Caution's rhyming wells, which they use to compose poetry.[51]
  • Tortoises reside in a pit and claim to be from none other than London. However, their knowledge of the city seems jumbled, placing doubt upon their claims.[52]
  • Salamanders are Caution's soldiers and wear armor and crested helmets. They speak in hisses, and are interested in detailed reports of the Surface, most assuredly not to prepare for an invasion.[53][54]
  • Boars write the histories of Caution on the spires' roots, using blood to ensure the spires are well-nourished. They typically use blood from the Bleeding Forest, but also add a bit of human and Beast blood. Apparently, if the mixture is just perfect, the spires will produce eggs, though this has never been seen yet.[55]
  • The Old Hound runs a stall for wares, including goods imported from London at great expense. She claims she liked when she was "ugly," but it matters not as she shed her regrets in Caution.[56]
  • Parakeets act as Caution's journalists and gossipers.[57]
  • Leopards drink blood, but are otherwise not expanded upon.[58]
  • The Host of Hyenas are an army of laughing warriors who caught the Seven Against Nidah off-guard,[59] leading to the group's defeat.[60][61]
  • Serpents and Owls are mentioned but not expanded upon.[62][63]
  • Mice are described as small, noisy, and populous, but no one knows what role they serve. They like hearing scary stories of the lands beyond the Elder Continent, but they claim the Zee is warm and calm, and is where "good dreams" come from. They consider tales of the Zee to be lies intended to confine them, based on the words of "the Holiness."[64]

Historical and Cultural Inspirations

The spires of Caution may be inspired by the Gherkin, a building in London opened in 2004. This is supported by the spires of Caution being described as having a shiny, icy finish,[65] as well as one character describing a spire as a "big glass pineapple."[12] A gherkin is a pickle, so perhaps the line about the pineapple is a purposely obfuscated reference, or an inside joke about a conversation the writer may have had.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Flint, Fallen London "Caution, the City of Beasts, the City of a Hundred Tongues."
  2. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "You are seeking the Hundred-Tongued City"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Flint, Fallen London
  4. ↑ The Mountain's Blood, Sunless Sea "Upstream, up the red river into the Continent's heart. [...] You are almost alone when you arrive at Caution, that hundred-tongued city. [...] The Pilgrim-Wakers condescend to meet with you."
  5. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Caution? It's just this side of the Bleeding Forest."
  6. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Bleeding Forest [...] It is well-named, that jungle south of Caution."
  7. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "[...] the Pilgrim Gate. Here the coastal peoples of the Presbyterate enter when they make their journey to the Mountain."
  8. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Beasts line the grassy streets [...]"
  9. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Twining roses of quartz and sardonyx shine like ice."
  10. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Springs of purest water pulse in rhythm with your heart."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Flint, Fallen London "Caution, [...] the City of a Hundred Tongues. Its spires rise through the forest canopy; a hundred, one for every tongue – scarlet, dusky green, royal blue. This close, the spires are less like coloured glass, more like glossy crabshell."
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Flint, Fallen London "And look there! That thing like a big glass pineapple! Is that Caution?"
  13. ↑ The Word of Caution, Fallen London "Secret phrases in the hundred tongues of the City of Caution."
  14. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "There are wells that chime and gardens which rhyme."
  15. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "It won't be easy to reach Caution. It's in the Presbyterate, and foreigners do not enter the Presbyterate."
  16. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "A poster declares that no free foreigners may travel South. The Music-Hall Singer hums a tune. [...] There's a woman travels South, in disguise and in chains. If you're not free, the restriction doesn't apply [...]"
  17. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Entering Caution [...] This triple-lobed portal of shell is the Pilgrim Gate."
  18. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "[...] the Pilgrim-Wakers [...] They lower their beaks, raise their wings [...]"
  19. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Pilgrim-Wakers rear to greet you. "Have you lived enough?" they cry."
  20. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Caution next, yes? The Pilgrim-Wakers will not let us pass without regrets."
  21. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Share your regrets, and enter. [...] What passes between you and the Pilgrim-Wakers will remain between them and you [...]"
  22. ↑ The Word of Caution, Fallen London "Secret phrases in the hundred tongues of the City of Caution."
  23. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""Stand aside. Let me pass." [...] Make them aware that you could speak one of the secret phrases aloud. [...] "That which you carry is regret." [...] The Pilgrim-Wakers step back, subdued. [...] They nod [...] You pass through the triple-lobed gates."
  24. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Beasts throng around you. They will happily share the secrets of the Prison with the Word's bearer."
  25. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Tablet carries a phrase identified as 'Safe-Conduct for One who is Incarcerated.' Try it. [...] The Beasts surge forwards. A Wolf smashes the lock from the cage; Striped Horses bear you from the tent. [...] But you are free!"
  26. ↑ Infiltrate a gathering of retired diplomats, Fallen London "A bandaged tomb-colonist [...] tells you of the lessons of Caution. To bow low, but never too low. To never be more than one seems. To know that to live forever is always a question. He does not need to mention how these lessons may come into conflict with the Presbyter's will."
  27. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "At the core of Caution, a falling stalagmite has riven an old oak. A dark space waits at its roots."
  28. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Now in those days, when there were Kings in Caution, a new King would sit vigil in the Temple of Meetings, with his appointed regalia: a mirror, a crown, and a dagger of flint. So Nicator waited in the dark under the fallen stone: [...] In the dark [...] echoed the laments of Huz and the pleas of Skite. Nicator's hands tightened, [...] "When the fire was lit in the morning, he was already dead."
  29. ↑ Cautionary Orchids, Fallen London "Taken, at great expense, from the very gardens of the Regent of Caution."
  30. ↑ Convince the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem to train you, Fallen London "[...] you relate the glories of ancient cities. Of Alexandria and Antioch. Of the First Caution."
  31. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""I've seen something like that. Round the neck of a Beast, from Caution. They walk on two legs, they drink wine, but they're Beasts, and don't you forget it."
  32. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Old Hound waits in her stall, forelimbs folded [...]"
  33. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Beasts bow low, and their muzzles sweep the ground."
  34. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Beasts line the grassy streets, press their painted snouts against the windows [...]"
  35. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "There are the Beasts – everywhere the Beasts, watching you with human eyes."
  36. ↑ Isidora, Fallen London "(e.g., it's never clear whether the Beasts are masked or transformed humans);"
  37. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The painted faces of the Beasts begun to blur one into another [...]"
  38. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""Banded flint..." [...] The citizens of Caution use it to ornament themselves."
  39. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""Banded flint!" [...] Down here it all comes from the Presbyterate – Caution. See those paler bands? That's not true stone – it's a petriform allotrope of light."
  40. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "I used to duel with a gentleman from Caution, down by the Bleeding Forest. He used a spear with a banded flint tip. Lost an ear to him."
  41. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Attend a Ceremony at the Temple of Meetings [...] Here Men come, and Beasts are born. [...] The celebrant is a river-pilot from upriver. [...] She drinks the wine and eats the chert-apples. The Panthers and Owls and Apes watch, [...] The celebrant undresses and passes into the unlit bark-cave at the roots. There is a pause; and a scream. The assembled Beasts all roar. [...] The newborn Foal emerges tottering from the tree-cave."
  42. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""Welcome back," the Wolf growls. "No regrets.""
  43. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Hound watches you. "I liked," she sighs. "When I was ugly. But regrets, gone. No regrets, in Caution.""
  44. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Question the citizens of Caution about the Prison of Flint [...] "You must pass through the Bleeding Forest." "We will teach you the signs: then the road will be hard, but not impossible."
  45. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Seared Snuffer [...] you both must tread cautiously. They are not over-fond of snuffers in Caution. But some Beasts can be bribed into helpfulness."
  46. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Thief-of-Faces follows. Leave us. [...] We must have our faces. [...] We cannot be seen."
  47. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Lions have entered their Boasting Ring. The strongest will take the weakest's name. [...] I raised the Umber Spire." "I taught the gardens to rhyme." "I slew the Tigers of Wrath." "I chased the Thief-of-Faces from our door." [...] The least Lion slinks nameless from the ring, and the greatest roars the stolen name."
  48. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Apes are the scouts, the watchmen, and the poets of Caution. Give them a passphrase, and they will teach you mysteries. [...] "Two things which are not Mysteries, [...] I have heard the Wound in the Prison of Flint [...] the Wax-Wind [...]"
  49. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Wolves of Caution give guidance and comfort. If you have grown cherty, drinking Wolf-milk will return you to the world of warmth."
  50. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Offer stories of the Unterzee to the Panthers [...] Panthers are not permitted by the laws of Caution to swim. Consequently, water-born tales fascinate them."
  51. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Perform manual labour for the Striped Horses "Of course we could do it ourselves," the Striped Stallion explains. [...] they send you to the rhyming wells. It takes a long while to find water with the appropriate assonance. "We drink it while we're making poetry," the Stallion tells you. "For when we build the next Tongue, and its spire.""
  52. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Tortoises, in their pit, all claim they were men and women of London before they came here. You doubt it, [...] "Yes, very good," the eldest Tortoise says. "I remember it exactly thus, when I used to walk the gardens of Wolfstack. How is the dear Empress? Give her my regards, when next you see her in her church."
  53. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "[...] the Salamanders in their burnished armour and crested helmets."
  54. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Offer stories of the Surface to the Salamanders [...] The Salamanders are Caution's soldiers. They assure you that they do not intend to leave their homeland, much less invade the Surface world. [...] How sincere they are! [...] "Ssss..." [...] the Salamanders dissect your vague report with eery insight. One suggests a political interpretation; another agrees. "Thank you," a third hisses."
  55. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Boars write the histories of Caution on the roots of Caution's glossy spires. They always use blood, to ensure the spires are healthily nourished. Most of it comes from the Bleeding Forest, but they like to tincture it with the blood of Men and Beasts. "When we get the mixture right," one Boar confides, "the spires give us eggs. They say. I've never seen it happen.""
  56. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Old Hound waits in her stall, [...] "Best," she groans. "Best wares." [...] You purchase edible seeds; scented coals [...] a precious imported packet of Murgatroyd’s Fungal Crackers. The Hound watches you. "I liked," she sighs. "When I was ugly. But regrets, gone. No regrets, in Caution.""
  57. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Parakeets serve Caution as journalists, gossips, urchins and salonnières serve London."
  58. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Give your blood to the Boars [...] "We won't drink it," the Matriarch chuckles. "We're Boars, not Leopards! [...]"
  59. ↑ Read the apology letter to Nook, Sunless Sea "The Almost Dead Man was a scout, who failed to detect the approach of 'the Hyenas' - enemy reinforcements? The outcome, [...] was catastrophic."
  60. ↑ Deliver the Almost Dead Man's letter, Sunless Sea "And tell him the rout was never his d_mn fault. I took the decision to charge the gate. I missed the Hyenas' approach."
  61. ↑ Offer a preposterous price, Sunless Sea "You remember panic, disaster! [...] Behind you came the Host of Hyenas, fresh from the city of Caution, laughing as they slew. [...] You remember the desperate journey back down the scarlet river, [...] A man leans on the rail: black shirt, a church dog-collar. Your employer, Lytton. He turns to look at you, and he is bereft."
  62. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "[...] it is hard to tell the Lions from the Striped Horses, or the Serpents from the Wolves."
  63. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "The Panthers and Owls and Apes watch [...]"
  64. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "It's not clear what the Mice are for, but they're small, noisy and everywhere. And they love scary stories. [...] "Is it true?" one of them pipes up. His neighbour elbows him savagely. "No!" she shrills. "The Zee is the place where good dreams come from! It's outside the Mountain's light! It's warm and calm! They invent the stories to keep us here! Remember what the Holiness said!""
  65. ↑ Flint, Fallen London "Is that Caution? The spires of ice?"
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