Exile's Rose

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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."

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"Plucked from the walls of Hell. How far you'll go to win your intended's favour. Or perhaps an indication of where they ought to go."

"The flower pressed to the paper, its petals flattened like ink. Velvet to the touch and wet with unstolen nectar, the Exile's Rose is redolent of dark promises made at midnight. London's veterans returned from the war on Hell wearing them on their breasts."[1]

The Exile's Rose is an otherworldly flower used in the manufacture of prisoner's honey and gaoler's honey.

The Key to Dreams[edit]

"I have seen fairer roses. But few make so clear a statement. Hell tends its gardens well. Thank you."[2]

A bowl of soup.
Zzoup

Grown in fields near the walls of Hell,[3][4] Exile's Rose is a thorny flower that resembles a rose[5] with jet-black petals.[6][7] It symbolizes dark promises made at midnight; veterans of the Campaign of '68 returned home wearing Exile's Roses on their uniforms, indicating that they were forced into grim vows or pacts during their tours of duty.[8] People who consume Exile's Rose depart for Parabola and never return,[9] but its petals are apparently safe to eat and are an ingredient in Zzoup.[10] Devils seem quite fond of Exile's Rose, as they describe it poetically with an air of nostalgia.[11]

A spoonful of honey.
Prisoner's Honey

Lamplighter bees that have fed exclusively on the nectar of Exile's Rose produce prisoner's honey,[12] a drug that temporarily transports its imbibers to Parabola.[13] Hell exports prisoner's honey to London in large quantities,[14] as it provides an easy and consistent means to access Parabola.[15][16] The destruction of the Exile's Rose would bring ruin to honey-addicts and impact Hell's revenue,[14] and would risk closing the border between London and Parabola entirely.[17] It is implied that Hell cannot easily replenish its stocks of Exile's Rose should they be depleted,[18] so they employ ruthless, non-humanoid devils to guard their rose fields.[19]

Parabola

It is unclear whether or not the Exile's Rose originates from Hell proper.[20][21] It is said to only grow close to Hell,[22] but according to the writings of Pliny the Elder, it also appears on the Surface in "sacred places from Pontus to Baetica."[9] The realm of Caduceus in Eleutheria is filled with roses of all colors,[23] including black;[24] this place was where the devils fled to Parabola after their rebellion against the Judgements,[25] but there is no explicit connection between the roses of Caduceus and Exile's Rose.

According to the Order Serpentine, the Fingerkings grew lonely in Parabola,[26] and asked the "grumpiest bee in both worlds" (likely a representation of the devils) for help. The bee retrieved the Exile's Rose from a "far place,"[21] and used the flower's "property of passage" between worlds to concoct prisoner's honey and transport human dreamers to Parabola.[27] In exchange, the Fingerkings granted the devils "one-fifth" of their proceeds from the use of this honey.[28]

Red, Red Roses[edit]

"When lamplighter bees suck the nectar of the crimson strain of exile's rose, they are driven to madness. They enter the brains of humans and harvest their memories. Those memories are instilled in red honey. Each sip is a burst of memory on the tongue."[29]

"I have, I fear, at last determined the cause of our poor Leopold's sad disappearance. You will recall that I sent by the Borneo a very considerable collection of [illegible] ... identified one variety as the sinister exile's rose of the Bosphorus. Sophia had long admired their colour [illegible] ... gardens here about the Government-house [illegible] ... although here they call it 'lion's rose'."[30]

An island city with a field of red flowers.
The Isle of Cats, with fields of red Exile's Rose.

The Exile's Rose may be crossbred with another flower from Hell to produce a red-petaled variant.[31][32] When Lamplighter Bees consume pollen from these hybrids, they go mad and extract memories from the minds of those nearby, producing red honey.[33] In 1821, Stamford Raffles imported a red strain of Exile's Rose to Singapore (possibly the aforementioned variant), identifying them as the "sinister exile's rose of the Bosphorus" and "lion's rose." Leopold, his son, encountered these flowers and vanished from the Surface;[34][35] he later reappeared in the Neath and became the Pirate-King of the Isle of Cats.[36]

Historical and Cultural Inspirations[edit]

Pontus is part of Anatolia in modern-day Turkey, whereas Baetica was a Roman province on the Iberian peninsula. The Bosphorus is a strait that divides Istanbul, Turkey. This specific regional indication implies that Exile's Rose was inspired by Rhododendron ponticum, whose honey infamously contains a group of neurotoxins that result in cardiac and consciousness-altering effects in humans.[37] Unlike Exile's Rose, this species of rhododendron blooms purple or pink.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Send an Unblemished Exile's Rose, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Surrender an Unblemished Exile's Rose, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Fields of ebony, thrumming with bees."
  4. ↑ Unblemished Exile's Rose, Fallen London "Grown beneath the white walls of Hell, these are the flowers of the pit."
  5. ↑ Surrender an Unblemished Exile's Rose, Fallen London ""I have seen fairer roses," [...] "But few make so clear a statement. Hell tends its gardens well. Thank you.""
  6. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Petals as black as a heart, [...] Thorns which grip and bite like the throes of ecstasy."
  7. ↑ Start with the petals, Fallen London "Exile's rose is black."
  8. ↑ Send an Unblemished Exile's Rose, Fallen London "[...] the Exile's Rose is redolent of dark promises made at midnight. London's veterans returned from the war on Hell wearing them on their breasts."
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 What is prisoner's honey?, Fallen London "[...] from the Natural History of Pliny the Elder: "... there is another kind of honey; its effect is attributed to the flowers called exile's rose, which are found in sacred places from Pontus to Baetica. One who consumes these flowers departs and does not return." [editor's historical note: This is not an actual Pliny quote.]
  10. ↑ He pokes his head from the galley, Sunless Sea "I am victorious! The zzoup defied me, but I have broken it. [...] Petals from the exile's rose, which grows in Hell. [...]"
  11. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Ask about the Exile's Rose [...] They say it only grows beneath the white walls of Hell. [...] The Deviless looks away. Her smile softens, from predatory to nostalgic. [...] "Petals as black as a heart, as deep as the Surface sky. A scent of memory just out of reach. Thorns which grip and bite like the throes of ecstasy. Fields of ebony, thrumming with bees."
  12. ↑ Drop of Prisoner's Honey, Fallen London "The most delightful secret of the Neath: the honey of lamplighter bees fed exclusively on the Exile's Rose."
  13. ↑ Sample prisoner's honey, Fallen London "Prisoner's Honey does not bring dreams to those who sample it. Instead, it physically transports them to dreams. Your body fades from the couch [...] As you vanish from its lair [...] When you mention your dream to the proprietor of the honey-den [...]"
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Ask about the honey trade [...] Do the Devils export it? [...] "Of course." The Deviless broadens her smile. "Londoners demand vast supplies of honey, [...] The Devils must make a profit from the trade? "Of course. Here in London we have to exist within the rules of the Bazaar. [...] And that requires currency.""
  15. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "The Glass use power from Parabola to perform their miracles. The connection to Parabola depends on the flow of honey. [...] The Apiarist targeted the roses to permanently break the connection to Parabola. He was trying to destroy the power of the Glass."
  16. ↑ Re-enter your base-camp in Parabola 1, Fallen London "Now you know the way, it takes very little to pass through the barriers. [...] Unlocked with 100 x Drop of Prisoner's Honey"
  17. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Consider consequences of losing the Exile's Rose [...] What would happen without Prisoner's Honey? [...] Honey is more than a vice," [...] "Dreamers require it to enter Parabola, the realm behind the mirror. The loss of Prisoner's Honey would be like— closing a border. [...] Can you imagine the effects? Because without Parabola, you would be unable to.""
  18. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "Consider consequences of losing the Exile's Rose [...] The Urchin frowns. "The Devils could grow more flowers though. Couldn't they, guv?" The Honey-Addled Detective says nothing."
  19. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "[...] Fields of ebony, thrumming with bees. [...] I hope you have no intention of travelling there. The rose fields are well guarded by the most imaginative and effective of our number. They lack my... human touch.""
  20. ↑ Wait... what?, Sunless Sea "The roses are innocent, even though they half-sprung from hell."
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Order Serpentine, Sorrowful, Fallen London "THE LITTLE SNAKE asked the grumpiest bee in both worlds for help. And the bee said, why should I help? And the snake said, I will give you one-fifth of all I gain thereby. So the bee [...] said, in a far place there grows a rose."
  22. ↑ Stripes of Wrath, Fallen London "The key ingredient in this process is a flower named the Exile's Rose. It only grows close to Hell."
  23. ↑ The Rites of the Rose, Sunless Skies "The statues are covered and crowned in wild roses of every possible colour. Impossible roses bloom on the throne and on the marble slabs on the ground."
  24. ↑ Take a gift of the rose, Sunless Skies "The black rose draws back its petals like veils as you reach in to grasp the onyx. It is cold to the touch and stains your palm. "A promise," the celebrant says, a hungry smile on his face. "They promise such wonderful things. As long as we return."
  25. ↑ Ask him about his memories of Caduceus, Sunless Skies ""After the Well of the Wolf," [...] "the Devils could no longer remain in the sight of the Judgements: not if we intended to live. We escaped through Caduceus into Parabola, the place that is not; and from there onward. We were a people in exile. Not strong enough to take a place and hold it for our own. Not weak enough to be welcomed as refugees. It was an intolerable time and I take no pleasure in remembering it."
  26. ↑ Order Serpentine, Melancholy, Fallen London "The little snake was very lonely, and the only friends he could find behind the mirror [...]"
  27. ↑ Order Serpentine, Lachrymose, Fallen London "THE ROSE, WHICH IS CALLED EXILE'S ROSE, has a property of passage. So shall I brew a honey from its dusts and pollens, [...] and it shall bring those who taste it, here to your dwelling. And sometimes they shall stay forever. And the little snake was very pleased with all the new friends [...]"
  28. ↑ Order Serpentine, Sorrowful, Fallen London "...THE LITTLE SNAKE asked the grumpiest bee in both worlds for help. And the bee said, why should I help? And the snake said, I will give you one-fifth of all I gain thereby. So the bee thought, and he said, in a far place there grows a rose. And that rose..."
  29. ↑ Ask what red honey is, Sunless Sea
  30. ↑ A letter fragment, dated Singapore, 1821, Fallen London
  31. ↑ Work out what the hell he's talking about, Fallen London "The petals you brought him are from a rare and deadly flower: something you get when you cross-breed exile's rose with a flower they brought out of Hell."
  32. ↑ Start with the petals, Fallen London "The petals look to be from the flower called exile's rose: but they're red."
  33. ↑ The Honeyed Tongue, Sunless Sea "When lamplighter bees suck the nectar of the crimson strain of exile's rose, they are driven to madness. They enter the brains of humans and harvest their memories." [...] "Those memories are instilled in red honey. [...]"
  34. ↑ Sidebar Snippets#Universal, Fallen London ""I have, [...] at last determined the cause of our poor Leopold's [...] disappearance. You will recall that I sent by the Borneo a [...] collection of [illegible] ... identified one variety as the sinister exile's rose of the Bosphorus. Sophia had long admired their colour [illegible] ... gardens here about the Government-house [illegible] ... although here they call it 'lion's rose'. Singapura [...] many tigers. I would not mention this except that when I dream of Leopold, [...] it has always seemed to me that there is a great cat present, the colour of sunset, which is also the colour of the roses [...]"
  35. ↑ Story description, Sunless Sea ""The spice-scented docks of Malacca," Leopold breathes [...] He returns [...] eyes bright. "I am very partial to memories of the Far East. Very thoughtful of you.""
  36. ↑ Story description, Sunless Sea "What might one expect from Leopold, Pirate-King of the Isle of Cats: [...] Behind him you see a wall of what you think are wine-racks. On closer inspection, the racks hold bottle upon carefully-labelled bottle of red honey."
  37. ↑ Grayanotoxin Poisoning: ‘Mad Honey Disease’ and Beyond, National Library of Medicine "Grayanotoxin containing honey, called "mad honey," can cause dramatic effects when ingested [-] as has already been recorded by the Greek warrior-writer Xenophon in 401 BC in his Anabasis "… but the swarms of bees in the neighborhood were numerous, and the soldiers who ate of the honey all went of their heads, and suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and not one of them could stand up, but those who had eaten a little were like people exceedingly drunk, while those who had eaten a great deal seemed like crazy, or even, in some cases, dying men. So they lay there in great numbers as though the army had suffered a defeat, and great despondency prevailed. On the next day, however, no one had died, and at approximately the same hour as they had eaten the honey they began to come to their senses; and on the third or fourth day they got up, as if from a drugging...""
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