The Most Serene Mausoleum

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"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

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"She laid him in the stone's grey grip, 'My love no more is he; O Albion, my Albion, I've no consort by thee.'"[1]

The Most Serene Mausoleum is the tomb of the Prince Consort, the living quarters of the Deathless, and the terminus of Necropolis Line. 

Oh, and it's also built on top of the dead Sun of Albion. The one that London murdered.[2]

The Prince Consort's Tomb

"The Most Serene Mausoleum was built to commemorate Her Renewed Majesty's dead love. His tomb is the heart of the Mausoleum: the vaults, chapels, mourners and courtiers all arteries and capillaries to his memory."

The Mausoleum was built to house the body of the Prince Consort, Prince Albert. Many visitors come to the tomb to see the pale face of the Prince Consort; payment is required to get a better, or private, view.[3]

Though he was slightly more alive in the Neath thanks to the deal that caused London to fall forty years ago, he is still not dead, even so close to the watch of the Judgements. He's in a state of half-consciousness, and can only communicate by coughing.[4]

The Deathless

"The Most Serene Mausoleum houses more than just the Prince Consort. Under its soaring spires, the Empress keeps her most favoured courtiers. These lucky few are provided with every luxury they might wish, and a generous stipend of hours."

The Deathless are Her Renewed Majesty's favorite courtiers. They live luxuriously in the upper part of the Mausoleum, and are given extra hours to live long and luxurious lives. There's one catch: for one to be a Deathless, they must be legally dead. That means no property, title, or participation in politics. Instead of participating in the politics of the outside world, they seem to have their own internal setup, as some Deathless are considered senior over others.[5]

  • The Dismal Chamberlain is the de facto leader of the Deathless. The usage of hours among the Deathless also makes him the timekeeper of the Mausoleum. While his surplus of Hours from Her Renewed Majesty would essentially make him immortal, he secretly seeks a different kind of immortality.[6]
  • The Duchess Incarnadine is the bloodthirsty childhood friend of Her Renewed Majesty. She can often be seen menacing the footmen by challenging them to a mock battle. None of them ever win.
  • The Macabre Counsellor is the grim and manipulative governess of some of Her Renewed Majesty's children, and ex-Lady of the Bedchamber. Victoria took the Counsellor's daughter to Perdurance as a form of punishment, probably for the Counsellor's behavior.[7]
  • The Engraved Mourner is a Clay Man who was shaped to look like an ancient Greek statue. Thanks to his not being human, he is the only Deathless who doesn't need Hours to live.[8]
  • The Luminous Cardinal is the papal legate of the High Wilderness. His duty involves reinterpreting the Bible with the modern understanding of the heavens.

The Necropolis Line

The Necropolis Line is the High Wilderness's incarnation of the London Necropolis Railway. Once, its headquarters were in Waterloo, but London couldn't really bring Waterloo to space.[9] While this line does transport bodies to the mausoleum, the Deathless also use it to transport unusual cargo. Illegal cargo. Like, red honey and starshine illegal.[10][11][12]

The Boatman... no, not that one

"I know we were a bit hasty popping them in the incinerator. But it was horrible – coffins busting open, shrieking bodies wondering where their tea was or why they couldn't see."[13]

The Boatman is a missing Necropolis Line engine that is rumored to have been taken over by its cargo[14]. The truth is that the captain, in a reckless effort to hasten their journey, accidentally traversed a patch of unraveling time. This revived the corpses inside, which became hostile zombies, and the living crew had to barricade themselves in the hold.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Log Entries, Sunless Skies
  2. ↑ The Nave, Sunless Skies
  3. ↑ The Prince Consort's Tomb, Sunless Skies
  4. ↑ Heart of Empire, Sunless Skies
  5. ↑ Courting the Deathless, Sunless Skies
  6. ↑ The Dismal Knight, Sunless Skies
  7. ↑ A Task for the Macabre Counsellor, Sunless Skies
  8. ↑ An Abandon of Hours, Sunless Skies "After all, I hardly need them, what with being made of clay. My previous master was just as thoughtlessly beneficient too."
  9. ↑ Kensington Station, Sunless Skies
  10. ↑ Dead Man's Drop: Red Honey to the Mausoleum, Sunless Skies "The Necropolis Line carries London's dead for burial at the Mausoleum, and returns for more. A useful cover to allow the transport of contraband into the well-watched city. Apparently, the Duchess likes to keep busy in her dotage."
  11. ↑ Tribute to the Unquiet Dead: Red Honey to the Mausoleum, Sunless Skies "I received a letter from a dead man today. Well, officially dead. Ceremonially dead. One of the Deathless [...] planning a revel. What else will you do with eternity, I suppose? They want five Firkins of Red Honey."
  12. ↑ Delusions Of Home: Starshine to the Mausoleum, Sunless Skies "They keep many of the details secret, but you deduce that one of the Deathless courtiers at the Most Serene Mausoleum operates a pipeline of contraband into London."
  13. ↑ The Wreck of the Boatman, Sunless Skies
  14. ↑ Approaching the Boatman, Sunless Skies
  15. ↑ A Grave Mistake, Sunless Skies
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