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{{Uncited}}
{{Character|image1 = clayman.png
{{Character|image1 = clayman gaz.png
|caption1 = Are they really clay? Art from Sunless Sea.
|caption1 = Are they really clay? Art from Sunless Sea.
|location = [[Fallen London]]<br>
|location = [[Fallen London]]<br>
[[Polythreme]]
[[Polythreme]]
|allegiance = [[The King with a Hundred Hearts]]
|allegiance = [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|The King with a Hundred Hearts]]
|relationships =  
|relationships = [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|The King with a Hundred Hearts]]
|notable_members = The Clay Coalman
|notable_members = The Clay Coalman
The Clay Conductor<br>
The Clay Conductor<br>
Soap
Soap
}}
}}''"The Clay Men are cheap, strong, contented immigrant labour imported en masse across the Unterzee. Are they really clay? Well, that's a very personal question. They don't ask you if you're really meat."''
<blockquote>''"The Clay Men are cheap, strong, contented immigrant labour imported en masse across the Unterzee. Are they really clay? Well, that's a very personal question. They don't ask you if you're really meat."''</blockquote>


<blockquote>''"IN POLYTHREME THE BED I SLEPT ON WAS A SLAVE. THE ROOM WHERE I SLEPT WAS HACKED FROM SCREAMING STONE. THE WATER I DRANK BEGGED ME TO STOP. THEY PAID ME IN COIN THAT PLOTTED MY DOWNFALL. THE MEMORIES ARE TROUBLING. THIS PLACE IS BETTER."''</blockquote>
''"IN POLYTHREME THE BED I SLEPT ON WAS A SLAVE. THE ROOM WHERE I SLEPT WAS HACKED FROM SCREAMING STONE. THE WATER I DRANK BEGGED ME TO STOP. THEY PAID ME IN COIN THAT PLOTTED MY DOWNFALL. THE MEMORIES ARE TROUBLING. THIS PLACE IS BETTER."''


'''Clay Men''' are living statues from the far-off land of [[Polythreme]].__forcetoc__
'''Clay Men''' are living statues from the far-off land of [[Polythreme]].__forcetoc__


==Are You Really Meat?==
==Are You Really Meat?==
They come to [[London]] as workers, and you’ll often find them among [[Wolfstack Docks|the Docks]] hauling cargo. Though they have their own language, called Loamsprach, Clay Men can speak English. If you don’t recognize them by their grey countenances, you can instantly recognize one by his DISTINCT AND PECULIAR SPEECH PATTERN.
They come to [[:Category:London|London]] as workers, and you’ll often find them among [[Wolfstack Docks|the Docks]] hauling cargo. Though they have their own language, called Loamsprach, Clay Men can speak English. If you don’t recognize them by their grey countenances, you can instantly recognize one by his DISTINCT AND PECULIAR SPEECH PATTERN.


Many Clay Men reside in '''the Clay Warrens''', which can be found under [[Ladybones Road]]. Though most Londoners treat these humanoids as second-class citizens, they are diligent and obedient workers who wouldn’t dare hurt anyone. So the next time you see your local Clay Coalman walking around, maybe smile and greet him. Or lend a hand. You see, he's very knowledgeable in all things Dangerous, and that kind of friendship can come in handy when navigating the city.
Many Clay Men reside in '''the Clay Warrens''', which can be found under [[Ladybones Road]]. Though most Londoners treat these humanoids as second-class citizens, they are diligent and obedient workers who wouldn’t dare hurt anyone. So the next time you see your local Clay Coalman walking around, maybe smile and greet him. Or lend a hand. You see, he's very knowledgeable in all things Dangerous, and that kind of friendship can come in handy when navigating the city.


Clay Men are among the mistrusted and oppressed factions of Fallen London, rivaled only by the [[Rubbery Men]]. Many unionized dock workers are rather irked that the Clay Men are replacing their jobs, leading to strikers destroying Clay Man shipments and occasionally smashing the poor things themselves.
Note: if you think you see a Clay Man who’s missing a few pieces, be very careful. This is likely one of the [[Clay Men#Unfinished Men|Unfinished Men]]. And Unfinished Men are capable of awful things.
 
That being said, it can be difficult to distinguish between an Unfinished and a Clay Man who was simply wounded. This leaves the Clay Man as a whole one of the more mistrusted and oppressed factions of Fallen London, rivaled only by the [[Rubbery Men]]. Sadly, many unionized dock workers are rather irked that the Clay Men are replacing their jobs, leading to strikers destroying Clay Man shipments and occasionally smashing the poor things themselves.


==Unfinished Men==
==Unfinished Men==
{{Character|title1 = Unfinished Men
{{Character|title1 = Unfinished Men
|image1 = Jasper.png
|image1 = unfinished.png
|caption1 = Make them whole again? Art from FL.
|caption1 = Make them whole again? Art from FL.
|location = [[Fallen London]]<br>
|location = [[Fallen London]]<br>
[[Polythreme]]
[[Polythreme]]
|allegiance = [[The King with a Hundred Hearts]]
|allegiance = [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|The King with a Hundred Hearts]]
|relationships =  
|relationships = [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|The King with a Hundred Hearts]]
|notable_members = [[Jasper and Frank]]
|notable_members = Jasper<br>
}}
Frank
<blockquote>''"Unfinished Men are Clay Men who lack something - sight, a voice, a hand, conscience, obedience. You can't really tell a crippled Clay Man from an Unfinished Man, except that ordinary Clay Men are never criminals. The distinction, unfortunately, often evades Constables and citizens alike."''</blockquote>
}}''"Unfinished Men are Clay Men who lack something - sight, a voice, a hand, conscience, obedience. You can't really tell a crippled Clay Man from an Unfinished Man, except that ordinary Clay Men are never criminals. The distinction, unfortunately, often evades Constables and citizens alike."''


<blockquote>''"Some say that the essential thing all Unfinished Men lack is compassion. That it is the first thing to go. That's why their limbs begin to fall off, their senses to decay. 'That compassion is part of every Clay Man's fabric, that it is [[London]] that wrings it out of them."''</blockquote>
''"Some say that the essential thing all Unfinished Men lack is compassion. That it is the first thing to go. That's why their limbs begin to fall off, their senses to decay. 'That compassion is part of every Clay Man's fabric, that it is [[London]] that wrings it out of them'''."'''''


'''Unfinished Men''' are exactly what they sound like - Clay Men who are missing something, as described before. Many are seen as rebellious,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Polythreme#Polythreme|Gather intelligence|Sunless Sea|}}''"The King with a Hundred Hearts rules from his palace above the city. He is never seen. He makes no treaties with other lands. But there's unrest in the air. The Clay Men you speak to are obedient and humble, but they speak nervously of those who are not: the maimed, the rebellious, the Unfinished..."''</ref> but not all are evil, and some may even be helpful.  
'''Unfinished Men''' are exactly what they sound like - Clay Men who are missing something, as described before. A couple of notable examples of these are '''Jasper''' and '''Frank''', who work as enforcers for [[The Masters of the Bazaar|the Masters]]. It's never been expressly stated what the pair are missing, though.


[[Jasper and Frank]] are two notorious Unfinished Men who work as enforcers for the [[Masters of the Bazaar]]; Frank is missing a hand, but it is not obvious what Jasper's Unfinished trait is.
However, despite this start, and their unfortunate reputation, not all of them are bad, and a few may even be helpful.


==What Births Them==
==What Births Them==
{{Spoiler}}Clay Men are born from the dreams of the [[King with a Hundred Hearts]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Go_looking_2|Go looking|Fallen London|}}''"THE KING WITH A HUNDRED HEARTS IS OUR MAKER AND OUR SOUL. HE DREAMS US TO BEING. BUT NOT ALL HIS DREAMS ARE PLEASING."''</ref> When that dream is a nightmare, a Clay Man may be born Unfinished.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/But_where%3F|But where?|Fallen London|}}''"You race over to the street of crumbling white walls. One shatters into dust and stone shards and a Clay Man. He screams, "NO! THE MOTHS ARE EATING ME! GET THEM OFF!" You can see that the Clay Man is Unfinished – he is missing tiny chunks from myriad places, all over his stony body."''</ref> The King is made of clay himself, though he was once a traveler from China, before a shard of the [[Mountain of Light]] was implanted in his chest to revive him. Each Clay Man has a tiny shard of the Mountain within their chest, which keeps them alive; each is a fragment of the larger shard within the King's heart.
{{Spoiler}}Clay men are formed when [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|the King with a Hundred Hearts]] has a dream, Unfinished Men are formed when the King has a nightmare. The King himself is a Clay Man (he used to be a traveler from China), and he resides within Polythreme, ever still. Each Clay Man has a tiny shard of [[the Mountain of Light]] within his chest, which keeps him alive; said shard is a fragment of the larger shard within the King's heart. Hence, the "Hundred Hearts".
 
Polythreme has an arrangement with the [[Bazaar]] to provide Clay Men for its [[Fallen Cities]], a tithe provided in exchange for protection<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_everyone_you_meet|Speak to everyone you meet|Fallen London|}} ''""The thing that strikes visitors first is how few Clay Men walk the streets. There must be many more Clay Men in London [...] Your guide [...] tells you that most of them troop dejectedly into a steamer for London [...] It's called the tithe, and it pays for the protection and favour of the Masters of the Bazaar.""''</ref> from invaders.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Find_out_who%27s_here|Find out who's here|Fallen London|}}''"Did you know that the Iron Republic's fleet of infernal corsairs landed here a few years ago to pillage the place? It went badly for them. Let's just say that the land rose up in its own defence. [...] There aren't any official treaties that I've seen, but Polythreme is less independent than it looks. The tithe of Clay Men keeps the Masters of the Bazaar happy, though [...]"''</ref> Consequently, most of Polythreme's Clay Men are shipped off soon after birth, and the majority now reside in [[London]].<ref>''"The thing that strikes visitors first is how few Clay Men walk the streets. There must be many more Clay Men in London than there are here. Your guide, an expatriate from Spite wrapped in dozens of scarves, tells you that most of them troop dejectedly into a steamer for London not long after they split off from whichever wall or flagstone gave birth to them. It's called the tithe, and it pays for the protection and favour of the Masters of the Bazaar."''</ref> The individual in charge of managing this tithe is called the '''Clay Broker''';<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/So_that%27s_who_he_is|So that's who he is|Fallen London|}}''"Everyone in Polythreme knows the Clay Broker. He organises the tithe of Clay Men to the Masters of the Bazaar. Collar him for a chat."''</ref> this Clay Man dresses, acts, and speaks more like a human, and looks down on his kin.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/So_that%27s_who_he_is|So that's who he is|Fallen London|}}''"The Clay Broker waves his weighty copper rod in salute. His voice sounds more human than Clay. "Another visitor from London! Marvellous! How are you? You'll have to excuse me doing a little work as we speak. I've just sent off the latest shipment of the tithe to the Masters in London. And a fine shipment it was – all strong and obedient, just how the Masters like them. Come – we must drink coffee together! It's so lovely to speak to a civilised person.""''</ref>
 
== Historical Inspirations ==
The Clay Men are inspired by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem golems], which have featured in Jewish folklore since medieval times.


== References ==
''Original by NiteBrite/Mrs. Brite''
[[Category:Creatures]]
[[Category:Creatures]]
[[Category:Formatted]]
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