Burrow-Infra-Mump

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"A lone hill commands the once green pastures of Burrow-Infra-Mump. At its peak sits the ruin of a lonely Saxon church. On the Surface, wind would whistle through the empty arches and up the broken tower. Here, the church is silent."[1]

Burrow-Infra-Mump is a dilapidated church atop a hill within the Hinterlands. It is the sixth station of the Great Hellbound Railway.

Hill-Under-Hill[edit | edit source]

"The land west of Balmoral falls under neither the jurisdiction of Hell nor London. It is forbidden for either side to attempt to use the territory betwixt the two for matters of espionage, politics or religious conversion."[2]

Burrow-Infra-Mump was built on the Surface, but fell to the Neath during the Fall of London.[3] The church atop the hill is now abandoned and in ruins.[4] Should it be restored, it is not permitted to affiliate with the Anglican Church or Hell, per the Violet Treaty governing the Hinterlands' neutral territories.[5]

A grave inscribed with a drum and bee.
Emblems of the Drummer.

The land beneath Burrow was once the territory of the Drummer, a Grand Devil of Hell.[6] Before the Season of Revolutions, the land was home to a temple, with horned towers, facades of twisted vines, greenery choked with serpents, and chambers crowded with acolytes. From below the Drummer thundered his rhythm, and devils would carry effigies of his image.[7] After the revolution, the Drummer was deposed and imprisoned beneath his former fortress.[8][9] Remnants of the Drummer's rule still exist even after Burrow's landing: the graveyard behind the church houses his deceased soldiers,[10][11] and the catacombs beneath the ground contain waxen statues of devils in antiquated armor.[12]

The Drummer now rests behind a mirror deep within the catacombs' tunnels,[13] with his drum forever out of reach.[14] Despite his imprisonment, he somehow feasted on the ancient barrows that fell alongside Burrow,[15] and he is still occasionally visited by loyal pilgrims of the Brazen Brigade.[16][17] Regardless of his situation, he considers himself the rightful owner of the land he once ruled,[18] and can easily punish trespassers with his signature drumming.[19]

Historical and Cultural Inspirations[edit | edit source]

Burrow Mump is a large hill in Somerset, crowned by a church dating back to at least the 15th century; a reconstruction was attempted in 1793 but was left incomplete.[20] The church is referred to in Fallen London as being Saxon; while the date of its construction is unknown, the site is also called King Alfred's Fort, referring to the Saxon king Alfred the Great. There is, however, no evidence Alfred actually used it.[21]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Broken Spires, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Listen to the Synod's Opening, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Posit impossible conclusions, Fallen London "Old histories speak of places prior to Balmoral and Burrow, Jericho and Ealing."
  4. ↑ Broken Spires, Fallen London "[...] the once green pastures of Burrow-Infra-Mump. At its peak sits the ruin of a [...] church. [...] the church is silent."
  5. ↑ Listen to the Synod's Opening, Fallen London "Someone [...] opened a Christian house of worship in the High Hinterlands. [...] contravenes the Violet Treaty, [...] land west of Balmoral falls under neither the jurisdiction of Hell nor London. [...] forbidden for either side to attempt to use the territory betwixt the two for [...] espionage, politics or religious conversion.""
  6. ↑ Commune, Fallen London "Before Burrow fell, the Drummer had its holdfast here: a province of the white city."
  7. ↑ Listen to the sound of thunder, Fallen London "Where once there will be a church, a temple rises. Its towers are horned, its facades made of twisted vines. Serpents conspire within the greenery, while, in the roofless chambers, acolytes dance in wild abandon. A drumbeat rolls like thunder from deep in the earth below. The devils carry effigies of their Saint, [...]"
  8. ↑ Commune, Fallen London "Before Burrow fell, the Drummer had its holdfast here: a province of the white city. All this was the Drummer's dominion [...] Then came a new ideology and [...] seeds of revolution. [...] his own servants [...] sealed him away [...]"
  9. ↑ Heed the call, Fallen London "[...] below the Church, the Drummer [...] The hill rests over his tomb."
  10. ↑ Consult the Crimson Captain (Parish Council), Fallen London ""They are the Drummer's men," the Captain says, gazing at the ground as though waiting for it to move. Does that mean he advocates digging them up? "They are the Drummer's men," [...]"
  11. ↑ The Old Churchyard, Fallen London "An old graveyard rests behind the church building. [...] The headstones are marked in one of the languages of Hell: graven sigils scored in the bleak rock."
  12. ↑ Raise a freehold, Fallen London "Exploratory digging reveals catacombs beneath the church, containing the waxen effigies of devils in antique armour."
  13. ↑ Heed the call, Fallen London "A pane of silvered glass rests there. A vast, skin drum sits in front of the mirror. [...] Behind your own reflection, shrouded in darkness, some vast, eight-legged thing watches."
  14. ↑ Commune, Fallen London "The devils knew a land behind the glass: [...] sealed him away there. His chief joy: his instrument, the source of his strength, lay in sight but out of reach forevermore."
  15. ↑ Heed the call, Fallen London "Once there were barrows here, in days of Saxon kings. Those tombs are empty now; the Drummer has fed greedily on forsaken reigns."
  16. ↑ The Drummer's Pilgrims, Fallen London "They have come to visit the Drummer-in-the-Depths, their saint below the hill. Once they fought to defend him [...]"
  17. ↑ Permit the pilgrims entry, Fallen London "Once you promise them entrance, the devils become more voluble. They are of the Brazen Brigade [...]"
  18. ↑ Commune, Fallen London "[...] the Drummer considers himself your landlord and you his tenant."
  19. ↑ The Devil's Due, Fallen London "The church echoes with [...] drumming. [...] cannot be ignored. [...] will not be silenced. [...] The Drummer-in-the-Depths is sending his summons."
  20. ↑ Burrow-Mump, Wikipedia
  21. ↑ Bit About Britain: Was England Born in Athelney? "Burrow Mump is another hill, little over a mile to the northwest of Athelney. It has a ruined church on it and its own story to tell, but is sometimes known as King Alfred’s Fort. There is no evidence that Alfred used it as such, but it was once owned by Athelney Abbey and commands such spectacular views over the levels that it would be strange if he hadn’t used it as a lookout."
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