Hesperidean Cider

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"WHOSO THIRSTETH AND DRINKETH OF THIS, SO SHALL HE NEVER DIE."[1]

Hesperidean Cider is a drink said to grant everlasting life. It is brewed by the Masters of the Bazaar (chiefly Mr Apples),[2] and sold by the firkin at the Echo Bazaar for a very steep price.

Properties[edit | edit source]

This section contains spoilers for the following Exceptional Stories: Arcana, Por Una Cabeza. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"Did you really see the Boatman thrash away at his oar like he was in a boat race? As if he was desperate to get away from you? It doesn't matter. You're back now."[3]

The Thirsty Croupier, holding a glass of Cider.

When drunk, Hesperidean Cider heals the imbiber's physical wounds[4] and grants multi-sensory visions of the mysterious paradise known as the Garden.[5][6] It appears to repel and quite possibly scare the Boatman, who can sense the presence of Hesperidean Cider in a person's veins;[7] this allows one to immediately return to life after dying, rather than spend time on the Slow Boat.[8] Cider also protects against sunlight,[9] allowing Neathers to travel up to the Surface without dying.[10][11] Those who have already crossed the Far Shore can be brought back with cider, even long after death,[12] though this involves a complicated ritual and a truly enormous amount of the golden liquid.[13] This beverage's life-fostering effects even apply to inanimate objects, which in this case may not require direct contact with the liquid.[14] Its vapors have the additional benefit of banishing distasteful smells.[14]

The claim that "WHOSO THIRSTETH AND DRINKETH OF THIS, SO SHALL HE NEVER DIE" is a bit of false advertising on the part of Mr Apples.[15] In truth, cider does not offer true immortality in and of itself.[16] The reprieve it grants is finite;[17] the body’s liver will eventually dispel its potency.[18] Lasting life lies only in heeding the visions it grants, which act a compass that leads toward the ultimate source of immortality: the Garden.[19] Even the promise of resurrection rests on uncertain ground:[20] it relies on the Boatman keeping his word and striking a name from his ledger.[21][22] The Boatman does not necessarily have to honor this promise, but he has kept it regardless.[23]

While Hesperidean Cider is quite a miraculous drink, it has one major drawback: it is addictive like other alcoholic beverages (especially when used to keep one's alcohol-soused liver from failing), and abstinence from it can cause miserable withdrawal symptoms.[24][25]

The Fruits of the Garden[edit | edit source]

"You dream of a place of tremendous beauty. The garden reminds you of the great jungles of the Surface, the sky brightly lit, the heat heavy. All things seem to fly here, and the trees bear boughs amply filled with golden fruit."[26]

Hesperidean Cider is brewed from golden Hesperidean Apples, which grow in the Garden and from a single tree in the Mirror-Marches.[27] These taste like any other apple,[28] but they are still potent: consumption not only restores all wounds, but also induces a manic frenzy.[29] A Hesperidean Apple serves as the symbol of the Dilmun Club, an association of immortality seekers.[30]

While the Masters are now the primary manufacturers of Hesperidean Cider, the Capering Relicker was the first to brew it and follow its visions to obtain true immortality.[31]

In the Sunless Skies timeline, Mr Apples (now called the Chiropterous Hoarder) still has Hesperidean Cider, but its supply is dwindling.[32]

Cultural Inspiration[edit | edit source]

In Greek mythology, the Hesperides were nymphs who lived at the far western edge of the world, in a lush garden that belonged to the goddess Hera. The garden was usually placed at or beyond the western edges of the known world, often near or in the Atlas Mountains (in northwestern Africa) or along the great river Oceanus that was said to encircle the earth (in this case, the Atlantic Ocean). In that garden grew the Apples of the Hesperides, or Hesperidean Apples.

Hesperidean Apples were golden and magical, said to grant immortality or eternal youth to those who ate them. Gaia, goddess of the Earth, gave them as a wedding gift to Hera upon her marriage to Zeus. Because they were so precious, Hera sent the Hesperides to tend the apples, but also ordered the serpent-dragon Ladon to coil around the tree and guard them. The most famous story involving them is one of Heracles' Twelve Labors, in which he had to fetch these apples. in different versions of the story, he either tricked the Hesperides, slew Ladon, or got help from Atlas to pick them.

In many languages, oranges are linked with "golden apples," leading some scholars to suggest that the real Hesperidean Apples were oranges and that ancient Greek botanists might have named the citrus family accordingly. Biologist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus later used the name Hesperides for an order that included the genus Citrus, and the term "hesperidium," denoting a fruit that is functionally a modified berry, is still used to describe a wide variety of citrus fruits. The Parabolan Orange-apple is likely a nod to this connection.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Firkin of Hesperidean Cider, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Hesperidean Apple, Sunless Sea "The Masters of the Bazaar know how to ferment [Hesperidean Apples] into an elixir of immortality."
  3. ↑ Are you lost?, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Take a mouthful, Fallen London (Your 'Wounds' Quality has gone!)
  5. ↑ Drink, and luxuriate in your bed, Fallen London "You dream of a place of tremendous beauty. The garden reminds you of the great jungles of the Surface, the sky brightly lit, the heat heavy. All things seem to fly here, and the trees bear boughs amply filled with golden fruit."
  6. ↑ Sip, and write notes on the taste, Fallen London "The flavour makes you think of boughs laden with golden fruit; makes you consider the sacredness of flying things. It tastes of vitality, it tingles with flavours of eternal life."
  7. ↑ Discuss your Firkin of Hesperidean Cider, Fallen London "I sense it in your veins. Gold. Fire."
  8. ↑ Are you lost?, Fallen London "Did you really see the Boatman thrash away at his oar like he was in a boat race? As if he was desperate to get away from you? It doesn't matter. You're back now."
  9. ↑ No-one! Who cares?, Fallen London "You set out for the Travertine Spiral - the path to the Surface [...] with a gut full of Hesperidean Cider to keep you safe from harm. And once on the Surface, you may very well be the richest human being alive. You can buy yourself a palace. A duchy. An empire, even! But only a small one. You wouldn't want to be greedy."
  10. ↑ Sidebar Snippets: Why is Hesperidean Cider so sought-after?, Fallen London "Death is not always permanent in Fallen London. Old age and disease still take their toll, but a small stabbing or shooting can often be mended with an apology and some deft needlework. Of course this amnesty from death does not extend to the surface. Once you've been shot, you're down here for ever. Unless you have a rare flask of Hesperidean Cider, perhaps."
  11. ↑ Por Una Cabeza, Fallen London "Months later, or perhaps days, or perhaps years – perhaps sometime when time means less, and memories lap at you like waves against a pier – you will see her again. You will sit together on a balcony, and listen to a record on a phonograph, while a golden sunset smoulders in the sky. [...]"
  12. ↑ Watch what ensues, Fallen London "[...] You watch as muscles, skin, sinew and flesh grow on the bone [...] Smooth skin closes over the worming tendons and muscles, closing the horrors of mortality prettily away. The cider has done its work; your spouse is whole again. [...]"
  13. ↑ Assist in the preparations, Fallen London "The Relickers manoeuvre the casks to the edge of the tub, and begin to pour. [...] It is Hesperidean Cider. A single jug of it has been known to bankrupt entire well-to-do aristocratic lineages. And here is enough to fill an entire bath. You could buy a nation with this. [...]"
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Administer a sip of Hesperidean Cider, Fallen London "Uncorked, the firkin banishes all foul odours […] mildew spreads across the bed […] There is life everywhere, gorging on the gold beneath his skin."
  15. ↑ Investigate the Hoarder's work, Sunless Skies "I tried once to hold immortality in a bottle. The cider. But it wasn't the same. My customers were convinced, but I knew the truth. You can't just drink eternity. It goes away, you see?"
  16. ↑ The Affable Monsignor has a particular taste for the '44, Fallen London "...the thing is, I'm fairly certain that the stuff doesn't actually grant eternal life in itself. Those books the Presbyter sent suggest that drinking it grants an 'acute vision', and acting upon that leads to..."
  17. ↑ Arcana, Fallen London "Cider is not eternal life. It's cider. Scrumptious, isn't it? But it keeps death at bay, and it opens the Gates of the Garden in dreams, at least. Smell those floral notes? Better than London sewage."
  18. ↑ Arcana, Fallen London "Never had too much to drink before? Live a little! [...] You'll be right as rain in no time. Trust your liver. Good old liver. One of my favourite organs. [...]"
  19. ↑ Arcana, Fallen London "[...] The Garden's blood is in your blood. These visions are like a compass. Follow them. They'll lead you to the source."
  20. ↑ Arcana, Fallen London "What is immortality? Merely the Boatman's mercy. Even those with cider in their blood might find themselves floating down a dark river on a slow boat. They must hope the Boatman will honour his promise to steer away from the Far Shore. But if he should misplace his little black book? If his oars prove weaker than the undertow?"
  21. ↑ Arcana, Fallen London "Something convulses violently against your chest. You stagger, as if a horse has kicked you. Your heart thuds. Your blood pulses; your wounds sting, but you don't get a chance to test the Boatman's loyalty to his Schedule."
  22. ↑ Discuss your Firkin of Hesperidean Cider, Fallen London "The Boatman consults a little black book. His phalanges run down the lines. He flips pages; there are always more to flip. Finally, he jabs one with a bony finger. "Aha," he says. "Here." He rips the page out, crumples it, drops the ball into the water, and keeps rowing."
  23. ↑ Discuss your Firkin of Hesperidean Cider, Fallen London "I sense it in your veins. Gold. Fire. Weak, compared to what my old masters drank. I have a distaste, but my duty abides. I still honour the promise. [...] Nevertheless. Do not mistake the promise for the fulfillment."
  24. ↑ Arcana, Fallen London "Cider doesn't last forever. Only as long as your liver permits. Then you have to drink more. Keep it up, and a person can develop a dependence. [...] Trust me, the withdrawal isn't fun."
  25. ↑ Ask him about the Hesperidean cider., Sunless Skies "An associate of mine, he once gave me a sip of it. One golden drop to place under my tongue. And my life was changed. [...] I went back to the store immediately, of course. But the price was too much. [...] And then eventually the dreams drained away and now I'm here, serving wine to drunks. [...] If you decide to risk the same grief, savour it for me."
  26. ↑ Drink, and luxuriate in your bed, Fallen London
  27. ↑ Rarest fruit, Sunless Sea "In the farthest South, [...] a garden blooms. In ages past, birds stole the seeds from that garden. One bird hid here, in the Mirror-Marches."
  28. ↑ Hesperidean Apple, Sunless Sea "That taste! ...is the taste of apples. Crisp, juicy, but to be honest, a little bit too tart. Disappointing. You were expecting more. ..."
  29. ↑ Hesperidean Apple, Sunless Sea "When the gold is gone from your eyes and brain [...] Your clothes will need repair. No one seems to have heard your wild laughter [...] Your heart is still pounding, but it will probably stop eventually. Your cabin is scrawled with poetry. Some of it's quite good, actually. Quite good, considering the circumstances."
  30. ↑ Inching Ever Closer, Fallen London "Another morning, another delivery of post. [...] At the bottom of the pile is an envelope sealed with golden wax, shaped like an apple. The Dilmun Club!"
  31. ↑ Hand over a multitude of scraps for... something secret, Fallen London "Why don't they have my cider? They never have my cider. I made it and I drank it and it gave me such lovely visions. And I followed the visions and... and why don't they have my cider?"
  32. ↑ Ask about the Hesperidean cider, Sunless Skies "'Gone. What he wants is gone. No, not gone. But almost gone. Little more than a sweet swallow'"
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