The Courtesy

From The Fifth City Wiki
Revision as of 06:40, 16 October 2024 by KestrelGirl (talk | contribs) (Removed redirect to Judgements#The Courtesy)

"Once, the stars went to war with themselves. The Courtesy was the agreement that ended it: thereafter, the stars were permitted to kill each other so long as they adhered to the formalities and procedures set out in the Courtesy."[1]

The Courtesy is the set of rules that govern warfare between the Judgements.

A Cold War?

"Even the suns indulge in spite and pettiness and murder. There is no state of grace."[2]

Once upon a time, there was a great war between the Judgements. The Courtesy was the agreement that ended this war, after the death of only one sun.[3] It allowed the stars to continue to kill each other, so long as they adhered to its list of regulations. In the words of the Piper, "they exchanged war for murder."[4] While any hints are vague at best, the war in question may have been the rise of the Solonacean Conjunction, which led to the assassination of the King Who Speaks.[5]

Compared to the war that caused its implementation, the death toll of the Courtesy is staggering. A single annex of the Roll of Ash,[6] located in the Lyceum of the Forge of Souls, lists hundreds of murdered stars.[7] That is just one annex out of two hundred and seventy-eight.[8] And these are just the names of the stars; how many lesser beings have been obliterated by their whims?[9]

The Courtesy is not always followed, either; the Halved broke it when it slew the Garden-King.[10]

The Fire That Follows

The Fire That Follows

"Some secrets – like the Courtesy – are dangerous for those of us lower on the chain even to speak of. You must learn them from something higher."[11]

It is dangerous for beings lower on the Great Chain of Being to speak of the Courtesy[12] - and even those who once served and counseled the stars can offer limited information.[13][14][15] After all, the suns don't want their inferiors to know that they are just as prone to lethal politics as mortals.[16]

The Courtesy is technically the name of the order of Logoi that were designated as arbiters of the agreement between stars, and which are charged with keeping the rampant stellar murder a secret.[17] This order is responsible for a phenomenon called the Fire that Follows, which follows anyone who learns of any aspect of the Courtesy.[18] The Fire manifests as an electric-blue flame[19][20] that relentlessly pursues and punishes the intended target,[21] branding their crimes and darkest secrets on their skin if given the opportunity.[22][23] If necessary, one of the logoi in the order will manifest physically.[21]

Beings higher on the Chain may have other ways to escape the Fire; Mr Menagerie, for instance, burnt away its own knowledge of the Courtesy.[24] But for humans, nowhere in the High Wilderness is safe, and darkness can only provide so much protection.[25] To escape for good, one must either leave the skies, or leave themselves.[26] The only other option is to join the Courtesy, and make a bargain:[27] a soul for a star. And for lesser beings, that is easier said than done.[28]

References

  1. ↑ Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?", Sunless Skies
  2. ↑ Ask why the suns are determined to keep the Courtesy a secret, Sunless Skies
  3. ↑ Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?" (Second Storyteller), Sunless Skies "Of a war that broke out between the stars and how, when the first star died, they paused. To end the war, they made the Courtesy: an agreement which set out the terms and rituals under which one star can kill another. And to ensure the Courtesy was kept, they— "
  4. ↑ Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?" (The Piper), Sunless Skies "Once, the stars went to war with themselves. The Courtesy was the agreement that ended it: thereafter, the stars were permitted to kill each other so long as they adhered to the formalities and procedures set out in the Courtesy. They exchanged war for murder" [...]
  5. ↑ Trade mysteries with the Piper, Sunless Skies "When you are done, she tells you of a great war fought before the devils fell; of a new Conjunction in heaven; of diets of war and of peace; of counsels betrayed and feasts where the sky ran with spilt starlight [...]"
  6. ↑ The Roll of Ash, Sunless Skies "The Roll of Ash is not a book, or a scroll. It is a library. The chamber is huge, its walls gridded with square alcoves reaching all the way to the ceiling. In each alcove is a marble tablet, engraved with sigils of the Correspondence."
  7. ↑ Allow the Didact to conduct his research, Sunless Skies ""Th-these are the names of a sun," he says [...] "And this— [...] Perhaps most mundanely t-translates as 'cause of death'. This place is a cenotaph. A memorial to dead stars. [...] See: the suns differ, but the cause of d-death is identical in every case: 'an exchange of c-courtesies'. [...] Hundreds.""
  8. ↑ Return to the Lamentation, Sunless Skies ""I think— [...] a great many stars have died under the veneer of this 'Courtesy'. Hundreds of them, in fact." [...] "That chamber? One annex of Roll of Ash. Annex thirty-four," she says, "of two hundred and seventy-eight.""
  9. ↑ Deposit the Didact, Sunless Skies "And for every one that falls, how many lesser b-beings suffer? The suns set themselves in p-positions of indispensability, and now they are disposing of one another."
  10. ↑ Strive to hear the death-cry of a fallen sun, Sunless Skies "A lawless killing! A shameful death, enacted without due ceremony! "
  11. ↑ Ambition: Consult the King about the Courtesy, Sunless Skies
  12. ↑ Ambition: Consult the King about the Courtesy, Sunless Skies ""There is a Chain of Being," the King whispers. "At the top: the suns. [Near] the bottom: humanity. Between those two links are countless others: Curators, devils, Heart-Catchers, flukes, Messengers. Some secrets – like the Courtesy – are dangerous for those of us lower on the chain even to speak of. You must learn them from something higher.""
  13. ↑ Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?" (The Second Storyteller), Sunless Skies "The Storyteller stops. If it tells you the rest if this story, it fears what you will do with it. "I have learned my lesson," it says, and will speak no more. Its eyes close. "
  14. ↑ Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?" (The Piper), Sunless Skies ""And that is half your answer. The other half, even I cannot say." She rebelled against the Judgements once before. She will not risk it again."
  15. ↑ Ambition: Ask "What is the Courtesy?" (December), Sunless Skies "There December stops. There is more, they say, but to speak it would hasten a battle December is not yet willing to fight."
  16. ↑ Ask why the suns are determined to keep the Courtesy a secret, Sunless Skies ""To keep up appearances [...] Because the greatest are subject to the same follies as the least. Even the suns indulge in spite and pettiness and murder. There is no state of grace." And [...] perhaps because for every law there is a loophole."
  17. ↑ Ask it what the Courtesy is, Sunless Skies "An order of Logoi that were made to be the agreement's impartial arbiters. They are also charged with keeping the existence of the Courtesy, and the strife in the heavens, a secret from lesser beings."
  18. ↑ Ambition: Ask Mr Menagerie about the Fire that Follows, Sunless Skies "The Fire that Follows. Dangerous knowledge for us; more so for you. The Fire is a hunting-flame. It comes for those who know a thing they should not know. [...] A secret, sworn between suns. The knowledge itself is the scent it follows. And when it has you, the Courtesy will come."
  19. ↑ And the Lamps Burned Blue, Sunless Skies "The lamps on the interior of your engine dim, then flare again. But now they burn a stark electric blue, flinging hard-etched shadows against the walls."
  20. ↑ The Fire and the Fury, Sunless Skies "The fire-box thunders. Inside it, an inferno rages, its flames a stark, strobing blue. The boiler creaks and rattles, it is beginning to overheat. "The fires won't go out, Captain!" "
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ask how the Courtesy keeps its existence a secret, Sunless Skies "They use the Fire that Follows to find those who would betray it, and punish them. If necessary, a Logos of the Courtesy will physically substantiate, to finalise matters."
  22. ↑ Shoot him dead, Sunless Skies "Fire, blue as lightning, pours from his mouth [...] You fire again, and again, leaping back as the flame rears and snaps like a serpent. Eventually, it dies out. The man's clothes have burned away, and his skin is covered in writing, branded into him: a comprehensive litany of his every crime and guilt and embarrassment."
  23. ↑ Open the third door, Sunless Skies "His skin is scribbled with a horrendous catalogue of crimes, one half of which would see him imprisoned, the other half hanged. He doesn't try to hide them. "When you have no secrets left," he says [...] "The Courtesy will come." He grins, and you see the sins engraved on his teeth."
  24. ↑ Ambition: Ask Mr Menagerie about the Fire that Follows, Sunless Skies ""Once, I did." Menagerie pulls its hood to one side, revealing a bat-like muzzle, mottled fur, and a livid burn mark across one side of its skull. "Burned it out. Better my fire than theirs.""
  25. ↑ Snuff out the lanterns and fly in the dark, Sunless Skies "You order your locomotive plunged into darkness. Every lamp is quenched and emptied of oil. [...] After a day, you light an experimental lamp. It burns yellow. You relight the others."
  26. ↑ Lay your plans, Sunless Skies "There is no refuge for you in the sky. Therefore you have two choices: flee the heavens, or flee your selves."
  27. ↑ Ask what it means, Sunless Skies "You cannot flee the Courtesy, or defy it. You can only join in. You could appeal for the right to slay a star."
  28. ↑ Ask what it means, Sunless Skies "[...] the Courtesy is unspecific on that point. Perhaps, since only suns are capable of defeating other suns, they did not think it worth forbidding others from trying. [...] Regardless, the requirements are the gift of a soul, and an exact supplication. You are not capable of the latter, but I am. And while customarily a rare and elaborate soul is given [...] hers will do."
Retrieved from "https://thefifthcity.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Courtesy&oldid=17811"