The Wax-Wind

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"On rare days, an impossible tempest sweeps out of the Elder Continent: a wild wind carrying the scent of boiling honey and a storm of molten wax. Ships that fall prey to the Wax-Wind float like filthy icebergs in the Unterzee, their crews confined in wax, mouths fixed in endless screams."[1]

The Wax-Wind is a maelstrom of molten wax that menaces the Unterzee near the Elder Continent.

Wax On

"It looks like a low-lying storm cloud, in the distance, until you can discern the milky yellow colour. "Wax-wind!" screams one of the zailors."[2]

A living statue staring at a grim city.
Polythreme

The Wax-Wind is commonly sighted in Shepherd's Wash, and appears from a distance as a pale-yellow storm cloud.[3] Ships caught in it are bombarded with gobbets of wax hot enough to melt flesh; over time, as the storm passes, the wax cools and hardens onto any surface it touches.[4][5] The Wax-Wind's threat can be mitigated by taking cover,[6] like under a roof or below decks,[4] or by diving below the Unterzee since the wax will cool before penetrating too far underwater.[7] It is also possible to find "gaps" in the Wind and reach the eye of the storm to ensure safe passage.[8] The Wax-Wind's danger is not restricted to open zee: it troubles settlements in the Elder Continent like Port Carnelian,[9] as well as those in Shepherd's Wash like Abbey Rock.[10] Oddly, it also manifests above Polythreme, where even the Clay Men take shelter to avoid it.[6][11]

A glowing mountain.
The Mountain of Light

In the Elder Continent, it is said that apples may be effective as a token of protection against the Wax-Wind.[12] It is also said that the Wax-Wind is the weeping of the Mountain of Light;[13] another passage describes the Mountain weeping tears of "flint,"[14] making it unclear if the two passages contradict each other, or if the Wax-Wind is partially composed of flint.[15] The Waxwail Knife is a blade "touched" by the Wax-Wind with the power to efficiently rend flesh. It is awarded to skilled players of Knife-and-Candle, but seems to draw some malevolent force toward its owner, making it a potential omen of permanent death.[16][17]

The Wax-Wind is said to have a "sibling,"[18] specifically a "sister,"[19] but nothing else is known of this separate phenomenon.

Wax Off

"THE PRESTER SAITH: In the Garden is the Design; in the Garden occurred the Ascents; in the Garden were selected the Shames. Therefore none shall enter it without that they be blinded with thorns and bound with the Three Oaths. And should any seek to alter the Design or repeat the Ascent or uncover the Shames, they shall be given to the Wax-Wind."[20]

"When the Youthful Naturalist said the Wax-Wind had his scent, did he mean that literally? Its bubbling rivers, coursing through the citadel, seem to know where you're going. They ooze after you. Branching as you lead them down forked corridors. Transforming stairwells into whirlpools. And crashing back into the zee – when you leap over a yawning chasm, and the wax pours through the gap."[21]

A volcano.
Molten.

The Wax-Wind is infamously used by the Presbyterate to (rather literally) liquidate their greatest enemies,[22] particularly those who violate the Design.[23][24] It is a relentless pursuer that strips its prey to the bone to make tallow, and it is implied that at least some of its wax comes from previous victims.[25] Targets may experience nightmares of being pursued by the Wax-Wind before it strikes;[26] one known example depicts a servant of the Prester summoning the Wax-Wind by ringing a silver bell.[27][28]

The Wax-Wind is far more aggressive to its prey compared to the average zailor. It concentrates itself fully above its target's location,[29] and manifests tendrils and rivers to probe gaps that may house its quarry.[30][31] These tendrils can cool and solidify to ensnare victims,[30] and can part to allow agents of the Presbyterate to pass through safely.[32] The Wind is also capable of carrying the remains of its target into Presbyterate possession.[33][34] Fighting off a targeted Wax-Wind is like battling the weather itself:[35] running or hiding merely delays the inevitable,[22] and the Prester will almost certainly receive a "new candle to burn at High Mass" once the Wax-Wind's work is done.[36][37]

References

  1. ↑ Sidebar Snippets#Wolfstack Docks, Fallen London
  2. ↑ The Wax-Wind, Fallen London
  3. ↑ The Wax-Wind, Fallen London "It looks like a low-lying storm cloud, in the distance, until you can discern the milky yellow colour. "Wax-wind!" screams one of the zailors."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Shut off the engines and hide belowdecks, Fallen London "You disappear below-decks; close portholes and hatches. The crew listens in the dark as the wax-wind pelts the ship – a rhythmic tapping growing into a violent roar. You emerge with trowels to scrape the hardened wax from the deck and the hull."
  5. ↑ Waxwail Knife, Fallen London "The Wax-Wind blows from the Elder Continent, shredding flesh and boiling blood, transforming ships to ghastly candles."
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Wax Wind Comes, Fallen London "Get inside! Get inside!"
  7. ↑ Dive!, Fallen London "You can safely cross the wax-wind beneath the waves. [...] Through the portholes on the ship, you can see the globs of wax hitting the water [...] turning into solid streaks that float and break apart on the surface of the Zee."
  8. ↑ Zail into the eye of the storm, Fallen London "There are gaps in the wax-wind, which an experienced and imaginative zailor may find. [...] You cleave through a gap in the storm, [...] But though the wax-wind is all around, you carefully steer through it, keeping the crew safe. [...] above, a single false-star, lined up to the storm's eye."
  9. ↑ A shortage of workers, Fallen London "Production in the mines has fallen further. (The last Wax-Wind ate a number of our miners.)"
  10. ↑ Friday 2, Fallen London "The Wax-Wind visits. You huddle in the chapel with the sisters while sediment climbs the leaded windows. [...] When the wind dies, you emerge to find the abbey caked in rivulets of bright wax."
  11. ↑ Crouching in a low stone building, Fallen London "It's cramped in here with all the Clay Men from the dockside. You're not even sure that the wax wind will hurt them, but they're not budging."
  12. ↑ The Exile's Chalice, Fallen London "A potent symbol on the Continent. Apples are said to keep the Wax-Wind away."
  13. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""Two things which are not Mysteries, precisely. [...] I have heard that the Wax-Wind is her weeping.""
  14. ↑ Flint, Fallen London ""Let me tell you of the Garden." He leans forward and whispers to you, gazing into your eyes. And you see [...] You see how a far-flung Mountain-limb underlies the Vineyard, and you understand that the Lesser Wound leaks life. For a moment only, you see the Mountain's face, and she is weeping tears of flint."
  15. ↑ Friday 2, Fallen London "The Wax-Wind visits. You huddle in the chapel with the sisters while sediment climbs the leaded windows."
  16. ↑ Waxwail Knife, Fallen London "The Wax-Wind blows from the Elder Continent, [...] This knife is touched with that wind. It scourges and devours flesh. Bury it, walk away, and do not look back."
  17. ↑ Purchase a Waxwail Knife, Fallen London "Some foolhardy soul recovered these [...] and stripped them of their warning seals. Now they await one foolhardier still. [...] "Wield it with care," he hisses. "Many died to bring it to you, and they will not rise again. Know this before you wield it.""
  18. ↑ Go fishing for a riddle, Fallen London "What is the wax-wind's sibling?"
  19. ↑ The Hanged Man (All the Cards on the Table), Fallen London "[...] the Wax-Wind's sister will rise [...]"
  20. ↑ Order Vespertine, Irresistible, Fallen London
  21. ↑ Divert the wax through different passages, Fallen London
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Why is she here?, Sunless Sea ""As punishment for our attempt on their city, the Nidaheen promised me to the Wax-Wind. I sought sanctuary in the Fathomking's Hold, and made an arrangement with His Complexity. He changed me," [...] "Here among the other lost histories, I am hidden from the Presbyterate's agents and oracles. But were I to venture above the waves, the Wax-Wind would find me, and I'd end my days a candle.""
  23. ↑ Ask about the College of Mortality, Fallen London "In the Garden is the Design; in the Garden occurred the Ascents; in the Garden were selected the Shames. Therefore none shall enter it without that they be blinded with thorns and bound with the Three Oaths. And should any seek to alter the Design or repeat the Ascent or uncover the Shames, they shall be given to the Wax-Wind."
  24. ↑ The Exile's Chalice, Fallen London "These grounds are forsaken for crimes against the Design, and entry prohibited by the Prester's Decree." His voice is that of an angel speaking to a child. "Intruders, by His grace you shall be returned to the zee. Otherwise you will be given to the Wax-Wind."
  25. ↑ Speak with the Youthful Naturalist (Battling the Wax-Wind), Fallen London ""It has my scent," [...] "I've seen it hunt before. Across the Listening Desert outside Nidah. It won't stop until it strips my bones. Until it renders me into tallow! Where do you think all that wax comes from?""
  26. ↑ Arriving with the Youthful Naturalist, Fallen London "And do you smell that? Wax. At Port Cecil, I had the most horrible dreams. The wind wouldn't stop chasing me. We ought to get inside before it realises I'm here."
  27. ↑ Observe the enemy ship, Fallen London "The Sacristan raises a limb [...] and rings a small silver bell. [...] Something spatters your cheek, like a raindrop but boiling hot: wax."
  28. ↑ Steer through the storm, Fallen London "On every side, wax thunders down, splattering your crew with drops that can and do melt living flesh. [...] Spin it again, and again, as the molten deluge closes, like curtains after a play, around your ship – just before your bo'sun shakes you awake. [...] The zee is clear. You must've dozed off at the helm. Bad dreams again? Your lookout swears the Delight has been nowhere in sight recently. But the silver bell still echoes in your memory."
  29. ↑ Into the captain's cabin (Aeschaven), Fallen London "From a distance, it's clear why: the Wax-Wind is concentrated above Godfall, leaving the surrounding waters untouched."
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Fight back against the wax, Fallen London "There are shapes in the wax: thicker tendrils tapering into thinner appendages. And the thinner they become, the more quickly they cool, until they have grown solid enough to seize unwary victims in their hardened grasp."
  31. ↑ Divert the wax through different passages, Fallen London "Its bubbling rivers, coursing through the citadel, seem to know where you're going. They ooze after you. Branching as you lead them down forked corridors. Transforming stairwells into whirlpools. And crashing back into the zee – when you leap over a yawning chasm, and the wax pours through the gap."
  32. ↑ Duelling the Masked Corsair (On Godfall), Fallen London "She comes through a rift in the cavern wall that opens to the zee. The Wax-Wind's torrents part to let her pass."
  33. ↑ Advise him to flee, Fallen London "But his stretched skin [...] the Wax-Wind snatches it away."
  34. ↑ Worship with the Devoted Deckhands, Fallen London "[...] you discover the Youthful Naturalist. You discover his skin, anyway, turned inside-out. [...] Now you know where the Wax-Wind took his cast-off body."
  35. ↑ Fight back against the wax, Fallen London "What techniques could challenge the weather in close-quarters combat?"
  36. ↑ The Eye of the Wax-Wind, Fallen London ""I could run. I could hide. Others have," says the Youthful Naturalist. "But it won't stop hunting. Never. Once the Wax-Wind is invoked, that's the end. Whether today or tomorrow, [...] even ten lifetimes – the Prester will get a new candle to burn at High Mass. No matter how long it takes, the road always leads to His altar.""
  37. ↑ Follow the Youthful Naturalist's pilgrimage (St Stalactite of the Utmost Aven), Fallen London ""It's here," says the Youthful Naturalist. "St Stalactite is saying I won't get away. But I don't need a saint to tell me that.""
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