The Magistracy of the Evenlode

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"On one side of the large, dusty square is the railway track, with its attendant buildings. On the other side is a Cyclopean edifice huge enough to rival even the Shuttered Palace. In its shadow, the railway station and offices are little more than a huddle of shacks."[1]

The Magistracy of the Evenlode is a legal institution near the Evenlode river in the Hinterlands. It is the third station of the Great Hellbound Railway.

The West Wings[edit | edit source]

"It is the most distant post of London law, with its own courts, and its own police force."[2]

A pint of beer.
Magisterial Lager

The Magistracy of the Evenlode is an enormous, ancient courthouse built from stone.[3][4] The landscape nearby is marked by ancient roads,[5] and sinister tombs.[6] The Evenlode river itself is home to fish[7] and drownies,[8] and its water is used to brew pungent Magisterial Lager.[9]

The Magistracy handles all cases beyond London's borders,[10] as well as cases too unimportant, or esoteric, for London's courts.[11] Despite its distance from the city and dour atmosphere, it receives frequent visits from lawyers, litigants, police, and legal students.[12][13] The Magistracy can be a daunting place for ordinary humans:[14] its interior is frigid,[15] its stairs too large for comfort,[16] and its courtrooms range from huge, open spaces to small rooms resembling caves.[17]

The Constabulary of the Evenlode[edit | edit source]

"The police quarters fill only a wing of the Magistracy, but it is more than sufficient. Rooms have been set aside for cells, interrogation, police dormitories and offices."[18]

A badge with a fist.
A Constable's badge.

The Constabulary of the Evenlode police all territory outside the scope of London's Constables.[19] They work out of the same Magistracy building as the courts,[20] and consider themselves a cut above their city counterparts. However, some disagree and refer to their haughty colleagues as "self-righteous bullies."[21] The Constabulary may bestow privileges called Special Dispensations which, in their words, allow an officer to "act according to their best judgement rather than the exact letter of the law."[22][23] However, these do not apply within inner London.[24]

Evenlode constables adhere to unique superstitions and traditions, such as staying clear of small whirlwinds,[25] or requiring new recruits to perform "drownie duty" by repelling drownies who come ashore.[26]

The Magistracy's Depths[edit | edit source]

"The Magistracy is already unrecognizable as soon as you are below the water. Green moss covers the walls. Tiny, misshapen fish swirl around your diving bell."[27]

"Glimpses: Of monster-light and vast, curved needle-teeth. Something about this glow, this point of light in the dark water, draws you to it. Has drawn you to it."[28]

A creature with glowing eyes and sharp teeth.
The Light-in-Exile

The lower levels of the Magistracy are completely flooded.[29] They are home to lamp-cats,[30] and a diverse, self-contained aquatic ecosystem.[31][32] They contain detritus from the inhabitants above,[33] as well as relics from the First City.[34] Some areas have evidence of human habitation, as well as architecture meant for larger creatures.[35]

The depths are inhabited by the Light-in-Exile,[36] who befriends outcasts[37] and returns any other would-be visitors to dry land.[38] The Evenlode constables traditionally send new recruits for a dip in the Light's waters: if they return, the Light has rejected them,[39][40] implying they are a true member of their group.[41] It is implied the judiciary also incorporates the Light in their practices, away from public view; it may play a role in discussing tough cases, or processing guilty defendants and "particularly obnoxious litigants."[42]

The Place of the Judge[edit | edit source]

This section contains spoilers for the following Fallen London endgame content: The Great Hellbound Railway. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"One defendant at a time came before this Judge – summoned here if they tried to pass through these lands without leave. The Chamber built anew for every trial, by workers who all resembled the defendant exactly."[43]

"FROM EACH HER OWN LAW; AND NONE SHALL ESCAPE THE LAW SHE HAS MADE."[44]

Arid terrain.
The Creditor

Long ago, the Magistracy served as the court of the Creditor:[45][46] where trespassers through the Hinterlands would be judged.[47] Interlopers were summoned to the court's throne room,[48] which was rebuilt and redesigned for each defendant.[49] Defendants' promises were written on the walls,[50] and the room would be more compact the weightier the promises they made.[51]

The Creditor abandoned its court sometime during or after the era of the Second City,[52] but the ruins,[53] and ancient memories, still remain.[54]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Outside the Magistracy of the Evenlode, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Enter the Magistracy of the Evenlode, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Outside the Magistracy of the Evenlode, Fallen London "[...] a Cyclopean edifice huge enough [...] In its shadow, the railway station [...] little more than [...] shacks."
  4. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "Breathe an ancient air"
  5. ↑ Dig at the crossroads, Fallen London "[...] beyond the [...] Magistracy, [...] the remains of old roads [...]
  6. ↑ Make the train take you to a designated stop in the hills, Fallen London "[...] he keeps pointing out hillocks that he says are haunted barrows [...]"
  7. ↑ Consider the Magistracy with new eyes, Fallen London "Fishers gather downriver of the Magistracy."
  8. ↑ Find the Source of the Uproar, Fallen London "The river [...] he is [...] in the murky water, fending off a drownie [...]"
  9. ↑ Magisterial Lager, Fallen London
  10. ↑ Build the station at the Magistracy of the Evenlode, Fallen London "[...] a court that hears all cases of law involving plaintiffs far west of the city bounds."
  11. ↑ Consider those who pass through these vast halls, Fallen London "[...] there is a [...] sense of second-rate to the cases that pass through here [...] some are embroiled in cases too... strange for the London courts."
  12. ↑ Who is bustling about the Evenlode?, Fallen London "[...] a distant outpost, it's heavily trafficked. [...] two lawyers climbing down from the carriage [...] police carriages stand outside [...] officers climb down, [...] escorting someone in handcuffs [...] this pair [...] they are on either side of a civil case [...] A parade of legal students clamber off a carriage [...]"
  13. ↑ A Return Journey, Fallen London "The Evenlode is [...] cold and the architecture unwelcoming. There is no social life [...] no art, or music, or even poetry [...]"
  14. ↑ Who is bustling about the Evenlode?, Fallen London "A defendant is ushered [...] towards the [...] the Magistracy of the Evenlode. They stop, and look up. And look up. [...] it must look grotesque [...]"
  15. ↑ The Constabulary of the Evenlode, Fallen London "It is cold; it settles into the bones."
  16. ↑ Foyer of the Magistracy, Fallen London "The stairs would only be practical if you were twelve feet tall."
  17. ↑ The Courts of the Evenlode, Fallen London "[...] the court rooms [...] some are in huge, airy spaces [...] Others are in rooms more [...] cave than [...] courtroom."
  18. ↑ The Constabulary of the Evenlode, Fallen London
  19. ↑ Ask for your good sense and reasoned judgement to be recognised, Fallen London "The Constabulary of the Evenlode performs all police-work in the Neath not covered by our inner-London colleagues."
  20. ↑ The Constabulary of the Evenlode, Fallen London "The police quarters fill only a wing of the Magistracy [...]"
  21. ↑ Hear what he has to say, Fallen London "They told me they were better than the London lot. [...] But they're self-righteous bullies [...]"
  22. ↑ Ask for your good sense and reasoned judgement to be recognised, Fallen London
  23. ↑ Special Dispensation, Fallen London
  24. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Present your Special Dispensation [...] The Constable studies the badge and seems impressed. "Rail traveller, eh? This doesn't apply within inner London.""
  25. ↑ Who is bustling about the Evenlode?, Fallen London "There is a whirl of dust [...] a little dirt cyclone. [...] The police [...] skirt the edges. [...] You superstitious?" The police are [...] quiet in response."
  26. ↑ Let him be, Fallen London ""Drownie duty. [...] Every Evenloder has to do it. Keep the [...] away from shore.""
  27. ↑ Diving in the Magistracy, Fallen London
  28. ↑ Search the lowest Floors, Fallen London
  29. ↑ Construct a Diving Bell in the Magistracy's Basement, Fallen London [...] who knows how many flooded basement levels the Magistracy has."
  30. ↑ Observe a gilled lamp-cat, Fallen London
  31. ↑ Go spear-fishing, Fallen London "There are fish swimming down here, [...] The basement of the Magistracy [...] [...] No two look exactly the same."
  32. ↑ Send your Abyssal Sawtooth out to hunt, Fallen London "The creatures of the Magistracy have flourished [...] cut off from the ecosystems of the Neath."
  33. ↑ Search the upper floors, Fallen London "Things from the Magistracy above fall into the water here [...] waterlogged files [...] tin of zzoup [...]"
  34. ↑ Search the upper floors, Fallen London "You [...] identify what you have [...] unmistakeably First City. There must be more, down below."
  35. ↑ Study drowned architecture, Fallen London "People lived here, once. The signs of habitation are clear [...] But the proportions are too big. [...] People lived here, but alongside what?"
  36. ↑ The Light-In-Exile, Fallen London "You [...] see a fraction of the creature before you; [...]"
  37. ↑ Reach for it, Fallen London "The Light-in-Exile makes friends of outcasts that disappear beneath the water [...]"
  38. ↑ Reach for it, Fallen London "The Light-in-Exile [...] it rejects Constables, and sends them back up to their fraternity above. [...] neither does it accept you. [...] You wash out on the banks of the Evenlode [...]"
  39. ↑ The Rite, Fallen London "[...] at the bottom, a light gleams [...] the novice constable [...] He is fully submerged."
  40. ↑ Reach for it, Fallen London "The Light-in-Exile [...] rejects Constables, and sends them back up to their fraternity above."
  41. ↑ Keep watching 3, Fallen London "He emerges from the water [...] "Not outcast. I'm not outcast." [...] The gathered officers [...] reassure him that he has passed, [...] he is one of them, part of the law of the Evenlode."
  42. ↑ Look closer at the daily practice of the court, Fallen London "Is the judiciary aware of what lurks beneath them? [...] on [...] complex cases, judges [...] leave to confer. [...] they reemerge [...] as if they've spent some time in the dark. [...] There is also the way guilty defendants exit court. [...] led out a door reserved only for them. [...] never spot any departing the Magistracy building [...] perhaps there are holding cells [...] But, occasionally, particularly obnoxious litigants from civil cases are shown out this way, too."
  43. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London
  44. ↑ Study the evidence, Fallen London
  45. ↑ The Deeps of the Magistracy, Fallen London "The Creditor used to live above," [...] "The Magistracy belonged to him; he [...] held his court [...]"
  46. ↑ Ask how she learned about the Creditor, Fallen London "Once the Creditor presided over judgements at the Evenlode [...]"
  47. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "[...] defendant [...] came before this Judge – summoned [...] if they tried to pass through these lands without leave."
  48. ↑ Look for the Throne Room, Fallen London "Look for the Throne Room [...] the Bazaar's Creditor held court here."
  49. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "The Chamber built anew for every trial [...]"
  50. ↑ The Place of the Judge, Fallen London "The masonry is inscribed with your own promises [...] Before you is a chair, hardly worth the name of throne [...]"
  51. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "Sometimes it was [...] hardly constraining at all. The Merchant, [...] had promised so much to so many people that he had to crawl [...]"
  52. ↑ The Deeps of the Magistracy, Fallen London "[...] his court vanished, sometime after the Second City." [...] the Creditor. He must have gone elsewhere."
  53. ↑ Ask how she learned about the Creditor, Fallen London "Once the Creditor presided over judgements at the Evenlode. Its throne room is still down there."
  54. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "Fill your lungs with the past, and see this room as it was."
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