The Fruits of the Zee Festival

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"'Visit quaint MUTTON ISLAND!' The sign says. 'BLITHESOME LOCALS will welcome you. Partake in their BUCOLIC CUSTOMS! Enjoy a calming FISHING TRIP! Indulge in a CORNUCOPIAN REPAST of delights plucked FRESH from the BOUNTEOUS ZEE!'"[1]

Marking the end of false-summer,[2] the Fruits of the Zee Festival takes place on bucolic Mutton Island, and serves as a showcase of the island's local customs and cuisine. During the event, an inexpensive ferry line runs between Mutton Island and Wolfstack Docks.[3]

History[edit | edit source]

"You manage to get a few moments' attention from the Custodial Chef. “It's the Fruits of the Zee festival!” he tells you. “The thirtieth! Thirty were promised, thirty delivered! Now his Complexity comes to visit our fair island!”"[4]

The Fruits of the Zee Festival was originally a straightforward celebration of Mutton Island culture;[5] the Fathomking only began drawing attention in the third year of 1899, demanding tribute and worship from the Festival's attendees.[6] It is not known how or when the Festival originated in the Fallen London timeline.

In the Sunless Sea timeline, the thirtieth Fruits of the Zee Festival was celebrated with a special visit from the Fathomking,[7] which left Mutton Island deserted.[8] While the Sunless Sea calendar begins in 1887, widespread British settlement on Mutton Island would ostensibly date back no further than the Fall of London in 1862, so this event would occur in 1892 or later.

To Appease His Complexity[edit | edit source]

"It is the time again, where the Unterzee will be repaid." His voice is low and quiet, but travels easily. It has the cadence of something memorised; of words not his own. "You have taken our fickle bounties for granted. But no more.

"You are not owed celebration. You are not owed mercy. The water is not a coffer to be plundered as you see fit." Zeewater leaks from the corners of the Peligin-Eyed Lobsterman's mouth as he surveys the crowd. "We are not cruel to our subjects. The zee's bounties can be shared. But first, we require our due."[9]

At the end of each false-summer, the Fathomking withdraws his abundance from Mutton Island until he feels that its people have given him sufficient thanks,[10] causing fishermen to come back empty-handed.[11] Consequently, after an official proclamation of His Complexity's displeasure,[12] a portion of the Festival is devoted to winning back his favor, with locals and visitors alike engaging in various rituals and traditions[13] until the waters of the Unterzee are teeming with life once again.[14]

Most of the rituals intended to placate the Fathomking are based on a syncretism of the Fathomking and the Drowned Man, referred to as the King-in-Coral.[15] These include the sinking of miniature boats;[16] offerings of land-sourced food;[17] the construction (and drowning) of a large effigy of the King-in-Coral; the performance of puppet-based mystery plays, recounting the history of the zee;[18][19] and the darker well-rites of Mutton Island, more closely associated with the Drowned Man.[20]

The celebration truly begins, however, after these rites of obeisance are complete, as feasts, bonfires, dances,[21] and other revels[22] are arranged all over the island to welcome the return of the fish.[23] A snapping horse-skull puppet, the Mary Lloyd, has also become part of the Fruits of the Zee festivities.[24] And of course, what would a Mutton Island celebration be without throwing fish in a well?[25]

The Fathomking and Mrs Plenty (who originally hails from Mutton Island) are both regular incognito attendees of the Fruits of the Zee Festival; that said, neither of their disguises is very effective.[26][27] During the brief period where London had a Mayor (or Lord Mayor), it became traditional for them to attend, thanks to Sinning Jenny's business-motivated patronage in 1894.[28] The sole exception was Feducci.[29]

The Bride[edit | edit source]

"The water shimmers with reflected fire. "For as long as the candle burns, you will be protected. He will not permit you die, or drown, and will speed your passage. Should the candle go out—" His eyes are serious; abyssal. "Do not be in the water when the candle goes out.""[30]

In recent years, the Fathomking has rewarded his most loyal servants with a special candle that burns in green and violant flames.[31] This candle permits its bearer to go without breathing for as long as it burns,[31] allowing them to go zee-diving near Mutton Island and claim treasures from shipwrecks with impunity.[32][33] However, something else waits at the bottom of the chasm known as the Royal Approach: the Pentamerous Bride,[34] the Fathomking's wife and the true reason for the existence of the Fruits of the Zee Festival.[35] The Bride is a Fluke, one of the species from Axile that bargained away their ability to love; however, the Fathomking hopes that she may find some joy in witnessing the Festival.[36]

The Drowning Feast[edit | edit source]

"No fire, here – only the smothering waters. The courses of the Drowning Feast are served raw. Instead of a table there is a wide stone, rough with barnacles."[37]

The Fathomking and his Drownie servants also invite the Festival's attendees to the Drowning Feast, where humans and Drownies partake in the flesh of zee-beasts.[38][39] While the Feast grants its human attendees glimpses of the future,[40] its primary purpose is to get them to eat Fluke meat, causing them to be transformed into Drownies should they die at zee.[41]

Cultural Inspirations[edit | edit source]

The real Welsh tradition of the Mari Lwyd, despite the spooky-sounding horse skull, is in fact associated with Christmas. Additionally, there is a mention of gurning,[42] which is in essence a competition to see who can hold a funny face for the longest time; such contests originated in rural England.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Catch a ferry to the Fruits of the Zee festival, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Board, Fallen London " The Fruits of the Zee festival only occurs in the false-summer. They say you haven't lived until you've tried Rubbery Lumps where they were invented."
  3. ↑ Catch a ferry to the Fruits of the Zee festival, Fallen London "'Visit quaint MUTTON ISLAND!' The sign says. 'BLITHESOME LOCALS will welcome you. Partake in their BUCOLIC CUSTOMS! Enjoy a calming FISHING TRIP! Indulge in a CORNUCOPIAN REPAST of delights plucked FRESH from the BOUNTEOUS ZEE!'"
  4. ↑ Mutton Island: Last-Minute Preparations, Sunless Sea "You manage to get a few moments' attention from the Custodial Chef. “It's the Fruits of the Zee festival!” he tells you. “The thirtieth! Thirty were promised, thirty delivered! Now his Complexity comes to visit our fair island!” [...]"
  5. ↑ The Fruits of the Zee Festival!, Fallen London "Fires blaze on the hillside! Flowers garland the chimney stacks! Red-faced revellers cavort in the knotty streets, and everywhere tables groan with feasters and the feasted."
  6. ↑ Listn to the Drownies' message, Fallen London "[...] For too long you have taken, and given nothing in return. [...]"
  7. ↑ Mutton Island: Last-Minute Preparations, Sunless Sea "You manage to get a few moments' attention from the Custodial Chef. “It's the Fruits of the Zee festival!” he tells you. “The thirtieth! Thirty were promised, thirty delivered! Now his Complexity comes to visit our fair island!” [...]"
  8. ↑ After the Festival, Sunless Seas "You check house after house, and don't find a soul. [...]"
  9. ↑ Listen to the Drownies' message, Fallen London
  10. ↑ Listen to the Drownies' message, Fallen London [...] "We are not cruel to our subjects. The zee's bounties can be shared. But first, we require our due."
  11. ↑ Wander the island, Fallen London "[...] Whatever bounties the festival was supposed to celebrate, it seems that this year they have passed Mutton Island by. It is not unheard of – the zee's bounties are the domain of the Fathomking, and he is often fickle."
  12. ↑ Listen to the Drownies' message, Fallen London "It is the time again, where the Unterzee will be repaid. [...] You have taken our fickle bounties for granted. But no more.'You are not owed celebration. You are not owed mercy. The water is not a coffer to be plundered as you see fit. [...] We are not cruel to our subjects. The zee's bounties can be shared. But first, we require our due."
  13. ↑ Supplication on the Shore, Fallen London "[...] The Drownies' pronouncement has given all islanders license to perform their own dormant and idiosyncratic rituals with much pomp [...]"
  14. ↑ The Drowning of the King-in-Coral, Fallen London "[...] The water throngs with fish of all dread sizes and aspects, and the zee blooms with subtle shades of azure and moss. Compared to the dead grey expanse of the morning, it is positively brimming with vitality."
  15. ↑ Gather flotsam for the King-in-Coral, Fallen London "The King will be a towering effigy supported by a raft of driftwood, in honour of the Drowned Man. He will float – until he will not."
    "Some advocate for the Scalloped King, with head crowned in shells. […] Cornucopian King, with fishtails and weeds spilling from a gaping mouth. And then there is the Starving King, perforated by thorns of coral […]"
  16. ↑ Construct toy boats to scuttle on the reef, Fallen London "For the purposes of these offerings, anything can be a boat – it just needs to float, briefly, and then sink utterly. By these metrics, almost all materials become fair game, and the island's children take to the task with aplomb. [...]"
  17. ↑ Sacrifice landed victuals to the zee, Fallen London "[...] The smells are mouth-watering. Roasting meats and spitting butter and gently crisping veg. It knots your stomach to take the platters and walk them down to the shore, to place the plates upon the lapping waves and push them out to zee – it feels a tremendous waste. But, of course, that is the point.'"
  18. ↑ Perform in a Mutton Island mystery play, Fallen London "[...] This play recounts the inner lives of the gods of the zee, intoned by the Thespian in the voice of the roof-lord, Storm. Your part is Stone, in the form of a pebble on a stick. The puppet representing Salt has gone missing, and nobody can find it. The resulting performance is a limp and incomplete thing, plagued by the hungry absence of a central player."
  19. ↑ Perform in a Mutton Island mystery play, Fallen London "[...] You play the part of one of the first Drownies, a zeeweed-haired sock baptised by the Fathomking himself. You have few lines, the Thespian taking the role of His Complexity and delivering a number of overblown speeches on flesh and the natures of love. But when the Drownie drinks from the Bride's cup, a drowned rhapsody rises unbidden in your mind like a bobbing corpse. [...]"
  20. ↑ Assist in the preparation of a well-rite, Fallen London "There is the drawing of the water (so black, so cold). There is the sharpening of the knives (so bright, so hungry). The crushing of the flowers (the phantom scents of camphor, ice). There is a period of fasting, to sharpen yourself upon hunger's whetstone— [...]"
  21. ↑ Dance with a Drownie (Restored), Fallen London "She tells you she's a proper Drownie, as you waltz clumsily through the surf. One of the earliest. [...]"
  22. ↑ Accompany a passing crowd of drunken revellers (Restored), Fallen London " There is dancing and jocularity. Also beer!"
  23. ↑ The Fruits of the Zee Festival, Restored!, Fallen London "Fires blaze on the hillside! Flowers garland the chimney stacks! Red-faced revellers cavort in the knotty streets, and everywhere tables groan with feasters and the feasted. Everything is once again as it should be. After such strenuous and devout supplications to the zee, Mutton Island is making up for lost revelry-time in spectacular and hedonistic fashion."
  24. ↑ Escape the attentions of the Mary Lloyd (Restored), Fallen London " 'Mary' is a horse's skull on the end of a stick. Her merciless, enthusiastic bearer uses a second rod attached to the jaw to snap her teeth at slow-moving tourists."
  25. ↑ Follow them to the well (Restored), Fallen London "You crowd around. The well's shaft whispers with wishes. You linger as you drop your catch, and listen to as many as you can make out. [...]"
  26. ↑ Drink with a Hooded Lady of Mysterious Provenance (Restored), Fallen London "All right, all right, don't shout about it," she hisses. "I'm all in a cognito, ain't I? Just wanted to see the old stomping-grounds. Remember younger, stupider, simpler days. Look, if you keep your bleedin' mouth shut I'll owe you one. Take this as surety."
  27. ↑ Greet the Fathomking, Fallen London "The Fathomking inclines his head, lowering the flimsy mask. "It was too much to suppose my attendance would go unnoticed. But be discreet, if you please. I would rather walk as an anonymous celebrant." The Fathomking's litter is cumbersome and huge, and requires four Drownies to manoeuvre it around the revels. The Fathomking himself is buttoned into a straining dinner jacket that hides the majority of his more unusual appendages. Even with the little mask he hides behind, it is a laughable attempt at disguise. [...]"
  28. ↑ The Mayor's Confession, Fallen London "[...] "This tower was to be my great enterprise: a finishing school for young persons." She grimaces and glares into her glass. [...]"
  29. ↑ Gossip about the Mayor, Fallen London "Feducci was expected to follow Jenny's example and make an appearance at the festival. He has not done so, sparking interesting rumours in the public imagination."
  30. ↑ The Precipice of a Fathomless Depth, Fallen London "[...] The water shimmers with reflected fire. "For as long as the candle burns, you will be protected. He will not permit you die, or drown, and will speed your passage. Should the candle go out—" His eyes are serious; abyssal. "Do not be in the water when the candle goes out.""
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 The Precipice of a Fathomless Depth, Fallen London "The Lobsterman hands you a candle. Its flame flickers green and violant, a sickly and uneasy light. "Your devotions have earned a measure of grace," he says. [...] "For as long as the candle burns, you will be protected. He will not permit you die, or drown [...]"
  32. ↑ Leave the boat and dive, Fallen London "[...] The walls of the trench, black rock and violant coral. [...] The grasping ribs of long-scuttled ships. Criss-cross webbings of splintered masts. This pit – this abyss – is a graveyard of wrecks, stretching down to the deeps where weight and pressure leach all colour from the world. [...]"
  33. ↑ Claim an assortment of cast-off oddments, Fallen London "Hanging in a cradle of rigging and tetherweed are crates and parcels undamaged by descent. Waterlogged burlap and blunted knives swing pendulous in the gloom. This jagged wreck was a cargo ship, once – running supplies between London and her colonies. Now its supplies belong to you."
  34. ↑ Beg audience with this ancient power, Fallen London "[...] Your little flame of devotion is beheld wholly and utterly, and five barbed tips brush your skin— Centuries flower like algae upon your spines. The high star-ocean moves, tides of power and light crashing over the darkness. Unwelcome fires in the resin-guarded black. A world lost, a loss promised, a promise made."
  35. ↑ Accept a briny gift, Fallen London "[...] This," he spreads his arms wide to encompass Mutton Island, its revellers, the remnants of its devotions to the zee, "was all for her.""
  36. ↑ Accept a briny gift, Fallen London ""It is my honour to love my Bride." Genuine warmth enters his dead-fish eyes now, tempered by a boiling fury. "And to do so deeply and truly, so that she might remember such joys as have been robbed from her. To give her a light to reach her Arts towards."
  37. ↑ The Drowning Feast, Fallen London "No fire, here – only the smothering waters. The courses of the Drowning Feast are served raw. Instead of a table there is a wide stone, rough with barnacles."
  38. ↑ Continue listening to the Naturalist, Fallen London "The Drowning Feast" "[...] dead men and women – Drownies – [...] I kept sinking – down to a table, a whole feast spread on the zee-floor, where the Drownies were eating with the Fathomking [...] carving a catch, something bloated and pale – I can still taste it, I'll never forget it, like lemons if lemons were sweet [...]"
  39. ↑ The Pulse of the Principles, Sunless Sea "These sea-lords you slay... they give of themselves for the Drowning Feast."
  40. ↑ Ask about the Sacristan's interrogation, Fallen London "[...] Everything opened. My eyes for the first time. Time itself. I saw my future. Destiny. [...]"
  41. ↑ Yes, Fallen London "Lank hair, hollow eyes, stinking white skin. "I could have chosen differently," he says. "If I hadn't eaten it. The flesh, the fruit. I might only be dead.""
  42. ↑ Accompany a passing crowd of drunken revellers, Fallen London "He has pulled his lower lip up over his nose, while his eyes bulge […] His ears! […] "Gurning", […] "
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