"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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"Virginia is a deviless of particularly refined tastes, and particularly elaborate cunning."[1]
"You sweat in the fierce heat and plush chairs of Dante's Grill. Before you is a plate of chops, drowned in white gravy. Virginia is laughing. "I'm afraid you're out of luck. My country is free, our oppressors are buried, and I have endless diversions. I am a problem for you: I am content."[2]
Virginia has a taste for the souls of scholars;[3] she has an interest in the Correspondence,[4][5] and can often be found conducting research in the Forgotten Quarter.[6] This puts her in frequent rivalry with other archaeologists, like Dr. Orthos.
Virginia is a player of the Marvellous,[7] and her heart's desire is laconic: "sanctuary."[8] Long ago, she was a heroine of Hell's Season of Revolutions, helping overthrow a Prince of Hell after having an affair with him.[9] The exiled prince, who still has an interest in Virginia,[10] is imprisoned in solitary confinement on Corpsecage Island.[11]
Mayoral Campaign
"Virginia's followers don't preach abstinence, nor even restraint. They advocate exercises, physical and spiritual, and spread the twin practices of penitence and callisthenics wherever they go."[12]
Virginia successfully ran for Mayor of London in 1897, under the slogan "Good for the Soul."[13] Despite her status in Hell, the Brass Embassy quickly disavowed any involvement with her candidacy and stated to the press that she had "Nothing to do with us" and "She's your problem now."[14] Virginia's platform promoted the concept of a "Clean Bill of Health,"[15] and promised to nourish the collective soul of London with the help of innovative treatments[16] and the opening of a public spa for the "honing of the self."[17] Her strategies were frequently referred to with terms like "spiritual calisthenics."[15][18]
Despite their archaeological rivalry, Dr. Orthos supported Virginia's campaign as a spokesman,[16] perhaps because her victory would lead to reduced interference in his work. Virginia gained a motley crew of support from society figures, doctors, devils[19] and goat-demons (even though the Embassy had snubbed her), and even some members of the clergy[20] — but much of her funding came from an even more surprising source. While advocates for the temperance movement were nervous about her strategies, they found that their views aligned with her agenda of well-being.[21] Some of Virginia's more fervent devilish allies put up posters depicting her as a new Queen Elizabeth, emblazoned with the caption "Rex Virginia;" these posters were quickly confiscated by the Ministry.[19]
After Virginia won the election, the Jovial Contrarian, in his final act as Mayor, stated that his own office was "corrupt, shambolic and altogether unfit for purpose," and declared that he had abolished it. In its place, he created the new title of Lord Mayor,[22] and announced that Virginia would be the first person to hold it.[23]
"Rex Virginia"
"Is this what London does to its mayors? Jenny's term was only three years ago. Did anything last? ... It doesn't matter. I refuse to be measured by the work of my predecessors. What I shall do will stand so high above them that it will not be necessary."[24]
Virginia immediately started working on her spa; she bought and renovated a townhouse for the purpose[25] and made an agreement with the Dynamite, a revolutionary faction of devils, to hire a group of devil "physicians" of sorts.[26] Visitors were often surprised by the odd treatments offered;[27] they might be asked to "read a range of dreadful 'improving' works of literature,"[28] or "lie still and think of anything – anything at all – other than a Rubbery Man."[29] Needless to say, these novel ideas were ineffectual.[28][30]
Months later, as it became clear to all that Virginia's spa was a failure,[30] she made an announcement out of the blue that overshadowed her prior goals: a deal had been struck with Hell. Regardless of the efficacy of her original plan, electing a devil as Lord Mayor had made Hell's attitude toward London more relaxed, allowing Virginia to negotiate the opening of the Hinterlands between the two cities to Londoners.[31] She created the Ministry of Upper River Development, leading to the foundation of the Great Hellbound Railway, which constructed a second rail line between London and Hell.[32]
↑Invite Virginia to dinner, Fallen London"What of the Correspondence? She wants that, doesn't she? She smiles, fondly. "This is why we are the wolves and you are the lambs. Because we know that the pleasure of a thing lies in the pursuit, not the capture.""
↑Observe Virginia, Fallen London"Few devils take an interest in matters as scholarly as archaeology, but it seems that Virginia has sponsored expeditions before with her seemingly endless reserves of brass."
↑Ask about Virginia's own heart's desire, Fallen London"Virginia gives you the thinnest smile you have ever seen. "Sanctuary," she says, in a voice as soft as bare feet on snow. She looks away, indicating the end of the discussion."
↑Delve into the Church's archives about Virginia, Fallen London"Virginia's file is thick for a devil of her rank. Towards the end, you find an account of her activities during the season of revolutions. "Virginia's a zealot," the Bishop says, peering over your shoulder. "Betrayed – then testified against – her own lover, a Prince of Hell. They imprisoned him, somewhere.""
↑Free it, Fallen London"The Prince shakes your hand (its digits are hot as a kettle) [...] "Give Virginia my love," it sings, rising in a winged, humming cloud that eclipses the false-stars."
↑Uncover the location of a One-Time Prince of Hell, Fallen London"You learn that Virginia's lover ruled a Principality called the Perfection of Bells. That she did not survive her betrayal unscathed – you uncover a requisition order for 'a new face [...]'. [...] Hell's rulers interred the Prince on a miserable flyspeck of an isle [...] called Corpsecage."
↑Virginia (Choose your Candidate 1897), Fallen London"An intrepid archaeologist, fortune-hunter and devil, Virginia has a rigorous plan for London, a program of spiritual calisthenics. She declares herself 'Good for the soul'."
↑ 15.015.1Virginia (Learn more about the Candidates: 1897), Fallen London"The devil's rejection of Virginia may have something to do with her planned programme for London: 'Virginia's Clean Bill of Health.' It is a policy of public works designed to improve the health of the average Londoner. She has termed it 'callisthenics for the soul'."
↑ 16.016.1Learn more about Virginia's campaign, Fallen London"...Dr Orthos is on hand to answer any questions you might have. "Metaphysically speaking, London is a cess-pit [...] a spa is just the beginning. We are modern people! Through modern medicine, we can improve the moral – and aesthetic – timbre of London's people.""
↑Ask about Virginia's plans for London, Fallen London"...I shall open a spa. Bodily health, and spiritual needs, will be catered for. The Neath offers so much opportunity for glory, but so many Londoners seek out smallness and dullness. I offer improvement; a honing of the self, like a knife on a whetstone.""
↑Virginia (Card), Fallen London"Virginia's followers don't preach abstinence, nor even restraint. They advocate exercises, physical and spiritual, and spread the twin practices of penitence and callisthenics wherever they go."
↑ 19.019.1Virginia (Learn more about the Candidates: 1897), Fallen London"Despite her difficulties with the Embassy, she is amply supported by devils on the street. Her supporters skirt the edge of good taste. Several posters have had to be confiscated by the Ministry, depicting Virginia as a new Elizabeth, emblazoned with the words 'Rex Virginia.'"
↑Virginia (Card), Fallen London"Virginia's supporters include doctors, barbers, worried Society matrons, devils, goat-demons and a surprising number of clergy. This disparate coalition can be found leafleting gin shops, student lodgings and the favourite dining establishments of Ministry auditors. Their backgrounds are diverse, but their message is the same: 'Don't we all have room for a little improvement?'"
↑Reach into a secret memory of Virginia, Fallen London"A tip-off […] clues you into the source of Virginia's support […] Temperance campaigners. […] The ladies are delighted by Virginia's promises, but are unsure about her strategy […] Still, they hope her message will win out in the end. […]"
↑Election 1897: The Victor is Announced, Fallen London"We all know the office of Mayor is corrupt, shambolic and altogether unfit for purpose. Therefore, as my last act, I have abolished it. I have put in an appeal to Her Majesty. From now on, London shall have a Lord Mayor instead."
↑The Lord Mayor of London (Virginia), Fallen London"In her first act as Mayor, Virginia took over a fashionable townhouse on Ladybones Road and gutted the interior immediately. [...] Within the elegant, tiled walls of her under-construction spa, Virginia has assembled a team of clergy, temperance campaigners, and devils. These provide therapeutic services, open to all Virginia's constituents."
↑Investigate the Mayor (Virginia), Fallen London"Virginia has introduced a school of 'physicians', infernal in origin and practice. They arrived by the Moloch St. train, bearing papers signed by 'the Dynamite'. The Brass Embassy is not happy."
↑Investigate the Mayor (Virginia), Fallen London"Londoners brave (or bored) enough to surrender themselves to the treatments emerge baffled. There are reports of sitting in copper bathtubs and guessing the number of occupants the bath has ever held, of waiting rooms stuffed with the terminally boring and of lengthy examinations of Rubbery physiognomy."
↑ 28.028.1Accompany Virginia for a treatment, Fallen London"There is an intrusive, if polite, examination. There are forms to be signed in triplicate. At its end, a devil in a doctor's apron declares you 'sufficiently mutable'. Over several hours, you are invited to read a range of dreadful 'improving' works of literature. You are fed some kind of sour-cream porridge. You are asked to drink a litre of room temperature water. The rationale is not explained. Virginia returns your forms at the end, telling you that the 'process is under refinement'. She frowns, pensively. One day, she says, this will work."
↑Accompany Virginia for a treatment, Fallen London"You are asked to lie still and think of anything – anything at all – other than a Rubbery Man. You may think of Rubbery cats, Rubbery dogs, Rubbery vicars and Rubbery vergers, but you absolutely must not think of even one be-tentacled Rubbery Man."
↑ 30.030.1Advertisements of a New Venture, Fallen London"Then Virginia became Lord Mayor. Her spa was failing; the production of robust souls was providing difficult. There was grumbling, most of all from her own constituents."
↑Advertisements of a New Venture, Fallen London"She founded the Ministry of Upper River Development [...] Seeing opportunity, His Amused Lordship joined a few friends to form the Great Hellbound Railway Company. Now they are seeking fellow directors from among the wealthiest and most notable Londoners."
