"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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You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.
"A gap in this colossal sea monster's throat has been forced open with thick heartmetal beams. They strain under the pressure, but hold. As you pass through, your zubmarine lights pass over a message carved in a floating piece of some unfortunate's hull. BEYOND IS NOOK. BEYOND IS FREEDOM. BEYOND IS- The rest is scratched out."[1]
Nook is a settlement within the maw of an enormous leviathan, located below the Unterzee.
"A great mouth in the zee-floor, home to a lawless, aquatic culture."[2]
Deep below the Unterzee lies a monstrous being embedded within the zeefloor, its jaws pried open with heartmetal.[3] Its teeth are larger than buildings, have moored several shipwrecks between them,[4] and extend far below into the creature's throat.[5] It appears to be hibernating, but its nerves remain very sensitive, and one wrong move can trigger a frightening jolt.[6] Within this beast's maw lies Nook, the city of freedom.[7]
The water inside Nook, called Nookwater,[8] is foul but conveniently quite breathable. Newcomers to the settlement typically find their lungs unaccustomed to Nookwater, and they may feel as though they're drowning as the water enters their airways.[9] Luckily, getting drunk relieves this sensation somewhat, and can help develop tolerance.[10] Over time, exposure to Nookwater becomes exhilarating,[11] but leaving Nook can cause withdrawal symptoms upon being forced to breathe air again.[12]
Culture
"Yet the inhabitants seem content. Many have come here from London, the Khanate, the Presbyterate; abandoning cultured life for this tenuous existence. They grin, their mouths full of stolen flesh, or float naked and carefree. Many have nothing, and nothing to lose."[13]
Take a deep breath.
Despite the obvious hazard of living inside a giant, lamprey-like beast whose mouth is only barely propped open by metallic rods,[3] Nook is populated with people from all across the Unterzee, hailing from places as far-flung as London, the Khanate, and the Presbyterate.[14] Most of its denizens are naked,[15] as it is an apparent custom to have nothing to hide;[16] visiting Nook in a full diving suit is the fastest way to earn ridicule.[17] For shelter, the inhabitants of Nook carve massive teeth into caves and houses.[18] Nook is a society largely known for its near-complete lawlessness, and the laws that remain are written in blood.[19] As such, the Nookfolk tend to be suspicious of outsiders and carry weapons for self-defense.[20] However, they can be quite cordial or even friendly to those properly accustomed to their new environment.[21]
Stay sharp.
Verbal communication is nearly impossible in Nook due to the lack of air, so the Nookfolk primarily use sign language for communication, using unique signs as well as gestures familiar to outsiders.[22] The only reliable sources of light within Nook are strange green polyps called phosphorescent nodules, often mined from Nook's teeth.[23] Due to the value of light in Nook, many tooth-miners show utter disinterest in any other objects they may find, such as gemstones or other treasures.[24]
A certain etched tooth-house in the upper areas of Nook is filled with air pockets. This unique environment allows for activities, such as talking, that would not be possible in Nook's aquatic surroundings.[25] The house is maintained by Batuk of the Seven Against Nidah, who "cares not a damn" about whatever might be happening outside of Nook.[26]
The Depths of Nook
"Down here the water is cloudy, its greens streaked by dissipating patches of coppery red. Only a few teeth still protrude from the walls. Instead, razor-sharp hairs line them, rippling gently in the current."[27]
The water within the deeper areas of Nook is unusually cloudy.[28] In these depths, the Nookfolk harvest a substance called Nookweed from the surrounding teeth, which can induce horrifying visions when consumed.[29] Rather than residing in tooth-homes, the Nookfolk down here carve out temporary dwellings for themselves in the behemoth's softer flesh.[30]
Deeper still, the Nookwater is extremely foggy, acidic, and bubbling with gas, to say nothing of the leeches that live in this environment;[31] needless to say, very few Nookfolk venture down this far.[32] But when the Nookfolk drop their light sources, they fall down here, and some divers may find it worthwhile to recover the residents' treasures.[33]
Go No Further
"Unbreathable! A persistent viscosity pushes you down, towards the digestive juices of the hideous stomach below. Only frantic kicking allows you to struggle free and rise again. Gripping tight to a stomach hair to get your strength back, one thing is clear - this is as low as you can go."[34]
Quite far enough.
The very deepest regions of Nook are situated within the gullet of the massive leviathan. Here, the water is so revolting it can barely be traversed,[35] but treasure hunters known as Nookdivers roam these depths, guarding their riches fiercely from attackers.[36] Like the gigantic leeches found further up, there are other parasites present here, like maggots and tapeworms.[37][38]
Nook's citizens dispose of their dead by wrapping them in zeeweed before weighting their bodies, causing them to sink into the gullet far below.[39][40] Beyond this depth, the Nookwater is completely unbreathable, and its heavy viscosity may force divers directly into the behemoth's stomach below.[41]
The Leviathan
"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"
Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.
"You are vast - larger than any beast or building. You are hungry - you could devour whole fleets and not be sated. You are lonely. You are far from home. You are imprisoned in the belly of a tiny world, sealed away from the blazing stars, and the singing nowhere-winds, and the edgeless, echoing freedom of -"[42]
An Aeginae's eye.
Nook is one of the Aeginae,[43] a behemoth from the High Wilderness that once roamed the skies. During its travels, it encountered the stars, their shining thrones, and the winds of space. It eventually ended up in the Neath for unknown reasons, and while the Neath is a rather free place, Nook seems to consider the sky even more so.[44][45]
The beast now resides below the Unterzee, where it sleeps, dreams, and mourns, steadily growing hungrier and hungrier as the days pass by.[46]
↑ 3.03.1Nook, Sunless Sea"A gap in this colossal sea monster's throat has been forced open with thick heartmetal beams. They strain under the pressure, but hold."
↑Nook#The Great Maw, Sunless Sea"The Maw curves far enough to be swallowed by the darkness of the zee. Entire shipwrecks have been mulched between hooked teeth that dwarf London's mightiest monuments."
↑The Serrated Abyss, Sunless Sea"Only a few teeth still protrude from the walls. Instead, razor-sharp hairs line them, rippling gently in the current."
↑Join some tooth miners, Sunless Sea"[...] your hook slips, catching a nerve in the tooth. The maw spasms. The miners flee, dragging you with them."
↑Descend naked into Nook, Sunless Sea"Then, through the exhaustion and panic, you realise you're breathing. It's hard work. Your lungs fight against the weight. But it's enough. You can tolerate it, at least for now."
↑Return to Nook, Sunless Sea"And you have learned that the liberal ingestion of wine before a visit increases your tolerance for nook-water."
↑Return to freedom, Sunless Sea"Every heartbeat echoes in your head. Your blood strains against your skin. Through that door is freedom. The once foul water now tastes sweet."
↑Compile a Port Report, Sunless Sea"Many have come here from London, the Khanate, the Presbyterate; abandoning cultured life for this tenuous existence."
↑Enter Nook, Sunless Sea"The people of Nook swim and breathe in the cloudy Maw-water with no apparent discomfort. Most are naked, with just a few clad in rotten rags that stream from their skin with no concern for modesty. "
↑Enter Nook, Sunless Sea"None will communicate with you, if they even can. Those who acknowledge your presence just laugh silently at your bulky suit and unnecessary air-hose. You'll need a different approach."
↑The Ruptured Throat, Sunless Sea"Razor-sharp teeth the size of buildings jut from fatty, garnet-red flesh. Many teeth have been quarried out into homes, barricaded by scraps of wood from shipwrecks."
↑Compile a Port Report, Sunless Sea"A vile place. Festering. Acidic. No laws but those of tooth and claw, written in scars. Civilisation? Impossible - making tea would be a logistical impossibility."
↑Attempt to mingle with the Nookfolk, Sunless Sea"They acknowledge your presence, but little more. Most shrink back, assuming you mean harm. Other's deliberately swim just above you in a crude attempt at intimidation. They carry bone knives, or tooth-tipped spears."
↑Compile a Port Report, Sunless Sea"A group of swimmers dart past, hunting gleefully. One squeezes your shoulder, companionably. You've never met her before."
↑Attempt to mingle with the Nookfolk, Sunless Sea"A few gesture to you - in welcome? Invitation? It is unclear. The slightly glutinous water makes speech impossible, so the natives have developed a language of signs. You can interpret the most basic: a finger pulled across a throat, for example, is one of the more polite invitations to depart."
↑Join some tooth miners, Sunless Sea"Your pick-hook finds a wide cavity. Light shines forth - it is stuffed with a cluster of the phosphorescent nodules that the deeper Nookfolk treasure."
↑Join some tooth miners, Sunless Sea"Shards of pottery, and - what's this? A handful of jewels, sparkling in the tartar you chipped from the tooth. The Nookfolk show no interest in them."
↑The Flinty Latitudinarian, Sunless Sea"In the cavities of his etched tooth-home, trapped air-pockets allow an activity largely forsaken in Nook: conversation. A handful of Nookfolk gather there to reminisce."
↑The Flinty Latitudinarian, Sunless Sea""The Latitudinarian watches, and listens. He keeps a merciless peace within his house, and cares not a damn for what happens outside it.""
↑Sample some Nookweed, Sunless Sea"You chew the Nookweed and its effects go to work. When you wake, only pieces of memory remain. A descent. A tryst turned bloody. [...] A dim memory of... flesh? "
↑Take a moment's rest, Sunless Sea"These deeper Nookfolk either lack the confidence or strength to take a tooth for a home. Instead, they make use of the beast's walls."
↑Search for Phosphorescent Nodules, Sunless Sea"Not a nodule! Not a nodule! Instead, it was the lambent eye of a giant leech-creature which almost bit your fingers off. You manage to wrestle it into submission. It seems the Nookfolk are not the only ones to call Nook home."
↑The Bilious Cleft, Sunless Sea"Few Nookfolk swim this deep, where the water is foggier than a London pea-souper. Foul gas bubbles up from the Beast's gut, acidic enough to sting your eyes."
↑Search for Phosphorescent Nodules, Sunless Sea"The Nookfolk use them for light, and guard them closely. When they do drop them, though, the nodules sink down here, glowing between the teeth."
↑Something glimmers in the darkness, Sunless Sea"You push through the tear into the fleshy cavity behind. A hundred child-sized maggots infest it; eyeless, bleached white, burrowed in with their teeth. In the middle of their number is a skeleton, picked clean, lit by a cluster of discarded nodules."
↑Climb down an undulating tapeworm, Sunless Sea"Hand over hand, you drag yourself down. It's just like climbing a London drainpipe, you tell yourself. Except you're pulling yourself down, not up, and the drainpipe is fleshy and white, and instead of a London fog, you're surrounded by drifting sediment. But apart from that... "
↑Sample some Nookweed, Sunless Sea"Nook is not freedom. There is no freedom down here, in the black belly of the earth. Freedom is above; beyond the thin blue shell of the sky, out in the stirring, shining reaches of the High Wilderness! Once, you surged between the suns. You recall swelling suns, and golden thrones [...]"
↑Investigate a biological peculiarity, Sunless Sea"You are vast - larger than any beast or building. You are hungry - you could devour whole fleets and not be sated. You are lonely. You are far from home. You are imprisoned in the belly of a tiny world, sealed away from the blazing stars, and the singing nowhere-winds, and the edgeless, echoing freedom of - "
↑Sample some Nookweed, Sunless Sea"Now you coil in this pit on the bed of this little sea and sleep and dream of the winds of nowhere and stir and sleep again. You are growing hungry."
