Milton

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"The body that you see is a suit. I could unlace my face from my skull, and emerge before you, carapaced. You know I could."[1]

Milton is a devil of bohemian persuasion.

Sophisticated As Hell[edit | edit source]

"Schools and styles of art change a great deal. This city paints portraits that would have been burned as profane rubbish in the Second City–That is to say, it is not the product of human art that interests me, but the process. It is the inspiration, the truth-striving, the long hours struggling in the light of a few phosphorescent scarabs, the self-castigation after a brutal review: those are the things that shape the artist’s soul."[2]

Milton, who prefers not to use a first name,[3] is an avid reader with a deep appreciation for poetry.[4] He has a peculiar talent for attracting artists and artistic types;[5] he frequently hosts salons at his opulent townhouse,[6] where he engages guests in discussion of the arts,[7] indulges in intimate liaisons, and, on occasion, extracts a soul that captures his interest.[8] Though he does not see himself as a poet,[9] Milton chose his name as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the poet John Milton, author of Paradise Lost.[10]

Unlike many other devils, Milton prefers to collect souls himself rather than delegate the task to others.[11] He considers his true art to be the shaping of souls, and cultivates relationships with people who have promising souls.[12] Milton is not interested in the results of his work, and is instead more fascinated by the process itself: the things that shape an artist's soul.[13]

In the wake of the Fall of London, Milton worked with Virginia at her consulate.[14] At the time, he found particular amusement in Londoners' mistaken beliefs about devils.[15]

On His Third Chance[edit | edit source]

This section contains spoilers for the following Mask of the Rose content: Helping Milton. Proceed at your own risk.

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"I used to live in the Fourth City. Or rather, my previous self did. We knew a change was coming. The future was in the air. But when the Fourth was destroyed, it came suddenly, as a surprise. The Masters could have warned us. But obstinate discourtesy is almost the only characteristic they have in common."[16]

During the era of the Fourth City, Milton, who was known as Tuulchi at the time,[17] was stationed as an agent of Hell at the Celestial Embassy.[18] It was through this position that he met Barqujin, a high-ranking official who interfered in his attempts to work against the Fourth City's government.[18] Over the course of their rivalry, the two developed a grudging respect for each other that eventually deepened into an amicable (if complicated) relationship.[19]

Barqujin

Tuulchi was deeply fascinated by the culture of the Fourth City, particularly its poetry, and expressed a desire to remain there longer than his assignment required. Barqujin, however, suspected that his true motivation lay elsewhere: like her, Tuulchi was being held back from promotion by his superiors.[20] At some point, Tuulchi offered to assist Barqujin in a plot against the Khatun, who was obstructing Barqujin’s own advancement,[21] on the condition that she would then help him get promoted.[22] Together, they orchestrated the Khatun’s downfall. They expected that Tuulchi would be killed in the process, but he survived the ordeal.[23]

Tuulchi's promotion would, in fact, have been enacted if he died.[23] He intended to complete a Hellish ritual that would allow him to be as a greater being, and since suicide would not have been a valid method of completion, he requested instead that Barqujin kill him.[24] She accepted, and proceeded to use her smuggling network to obtain the components.[25] The two worked together to create a waxen effigy of Tuulchi,[25][26] coaxing it into shedding the aspects of him that were no longer wanted.[27] Barqujin drew sigils on Tuulchi's body as he instructed,[28] and then stabbed him with an obsidian blade inscribed with the Discordance.[29] The ritual succeeded, and Tuulchi was reborn as a Grand Devil.[30][31][32] At some point afterward, Barqujin fled the Fourth City and took refuge in Flute Street; she and Tuulchi did not meet again.[33]

The devil's ennoblement, however, did not last especially long. When the Fourth City was razed, Tuulchi was crushed beneath debris,[34] and his remains were partially dissolved in lacre.[35] Barqujin discovered Tuulchi's broken corpse as she and her new companion Batachikhan emerged to survey the aftermath of the Fall of London.[36] Determined to restore her old friend, Barqujin performed the Hellish rite again, using her own memories as a substitute for the candle effigy, and the collective dream of the Axiles as a conduit.[37] Tuulchi was revived, but could not be made as he once was;[38] much of his Grand Devil body was lost,[39][32] and he had no memory of his former life. Over time, he recovered some memories of the Fourth City, as well as his name. Eventually, however, he chose to rename himself Milton.[40]

The First Murder[edit | edit source]

This section contains spoilers for the following Mask of the Rose content: The Murder Trial. Proceed at your own risk.

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"I have admitted being the cause of these events, but neither the mens rea nor the actus reus was present for murder. I did not kill David Landau in permanent fashion, nor did I intend to."[41]

After the Fall of London, Milton became acquainted with the Landau household, and found himself surrounded by romantic tension. David Landau was in a covert relationship with Phoebe Reilly, his family's housekeeper; Phoebe had high hopes,[42] but since Phoebe was David's employee and there was consequently a great power imbalance between them, David found himself in a moral dilemma over his own passion.[43] To further complicate matters, David also longed to return to the Surface.[44]

When Phoebe confided in Milton about her relationship woes, the devil proposed a rather unorthodox solution. Since he was familiar with the rather flexible nature of death in the Neath, Milton proposed that Phoebe kill David while doing the least harm possible, ensuring that the only lasting consequence would be preventing his return to the Surface.[45] Phoebe followed Milton's advice, and placed arsenic-laced candles in David's bedroom so that the fumes would slowly poison him; however, she was terrified of killing him for good, so her efforts alone were insufficient.[46] To ensure the success of their plan, Milton secretly used a Correspondence sigil to keep the candles burning longer.[47] David died soon afterward, and was promptly buried, as most of London was as yet unaware that death in the Neath is typically temporary.[48] As a consequence, Milton was forced to exhume David's body to prevent him from being trapped,[48] and he went to the trouble of replacing the body with a fabricated corpse in case the Landau family returned to check the grave later.[49] Milton ultimately hoped that death and resurrection would change David, shaking him from his indecision and moral quandaries around his relationship with Phoebe.[50]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Milton: High Trust Inquiries, Mask of the Rose
  2. ↑ How do Devils treat art, or what do they discern as art?, An Interview with Milton
  3. ↑ Milton: The Census, Mask of the Rose "I go by Milton. I dislike forenames."
  4. ↑ Milton: The Census, Mask of the Rose "I'm more interested in unpublished manuscripts. Poetry. That sort of thing."
  5. ↑ How did you manage to open your parlour so soon after the Fall? Also, how do you manage to keep it stocked in these times?, An Interview with Milton "Practice. I am accustomed to finding the artists, writers, and poets wherever I go – and to creating a flower bright enough to lure them. As for supplying the salon, we are not the first to cook or eat in the Neath."
  6. ↑ An Interview with Milton, An Interview with Milton "Milton’s parlour occupies a high-ceilinged chamber in a fashionable townhouse. The furnishings are brightly coloured, and the motif of a full-blown tea rose is carved into the chair-backs."
  7. ↑ Milton: Discussing Rachel With Milton, Mask of the Rose "She comes to my salon; we have an entertaining argument. I ignore my other guests – or they form a ring to watch us. Rebecca Solomon sits in a corner sketching us both."
  8. ↑ Milton: Discussing Rachel With Milton, Mask of the Rose "Sometimes, for distraction, I bed one of the other guests. Occasionally I take a soul. I've had a few that tempted me."
  9. ↑ Milton: High Trust Inquiries, Mask of the Rose "Do you know, I'm almost embarrassed to tell you? It was Tuulchi. It means a bard. But I was no more a great poet in that city than in this one. There are poets among the devils, but I am not one of them, and their work is difficult for humans."
  10. ↑ Why the name Milton? I doubt it is your original one., An Interview with Milton "My original name? Certainly not. I chose it to suit the pronunciation of Londoners – and as a joke, because the poet was so deeply mistaken."
  11. ↑ Milton: The Census, Mask of the Rose "Virginia: Milton, have you engaged this person for a spot of spirifage? Milton: You know I prefer my wares hand-picked, Virginia. I do not, as a rule, leave the collection to humans."
  12. ↑ Do you indulge in art of your own volition? What is the art of Hell?, An Interview with Milton "The soul is our medium. My work in progress is a novelist named Rachel."
  13. ↑ How do Devils treat art, or what do they discern as art?, An Interview with Milton "That is to say, it is not the product of human art that interests me, but the process. It is the inspiration, the truth-striving, the long hours struggling in the light of a few phosphorescent scarabs, the self-castigation after a brutal review: those are the things that shape the artist’s soul."
  14. ↑ Milton: Dealing With Reginald, Mask of the Rose "(Voices can be heard from another room, deeper in the Consulate.) Virginia: If you've come to see Milton, you've mistimed your visit. He is occupied by an importunate young man."
  15. ↑ Theophilus: Returning the Contract, Mask of the Rose "Besides, I don't think these devils take too much stock in what we believe. Though I did catch Milton reading Mrs Radcliffe and chortling."
  16. ↑ Milton: High Trust Inquiries, Mask of the Rose
  17. ↑ Milton: Accusing Milton, Mask of the Rose "Though I suppose they might not know me as I am now. In which case. If you should encounter such an individual... ask them about Tuulchi."
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: I knew you. Before you were 'Milton.' You worked in your embassy of brass and porphyr and connived against my government. As I connived against yours. I came to know your movements, your methodology, as I knew the pace of my own heart."
  19. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose " Me: I imagine it was difficult killing your lover. Barqujin: My what? I? Barqujin of the Scriptoria, Keeper of the Bestiaries, First Scribe and Illuminator and... Tuulchi? She lets out a peal of laughter. It is a moment before she recovers her breath. Milton: You are lying. But on what particular, and if it were hope or action, I cannot tell. I suppose it must have come to an end, whatever we shared. Given you killed me. Barqujin: I was never your lover. Let us be clear on that. And I slew you at your own request."
  20. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You wished to linger in my city, and know its history. Its secrets. Poetry, you said. Politics, I thought. You lacked advancement on your own merits. I was in a similar position. My worth was overlooked. The details don't matter. The Fourth is long dead now."
  21. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: Tuulchi gave me intelligence against the Khatun, who ruled at that time. And who stifled my advancement in my career."
  22. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: In exchange, you wanted my help in securing your own advancement."
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: Together we worked to pull down the Khatun and all her hidden serpents. You had thought such an act would garner you your promotion. Your death, you said. It was not forthcoming. You made clear, however, that I owed you for your help."
  24. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You were not given the advancement you sought. You wanted me to expedite your promotion. Death, you said, was the only way. A devil who dies by his own hand is accorded no such privilege."
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You used my smuggling contacts to bring you a rotten candle from Hell. Large as a tuber, pale as a drowned corpse. It arrived in a palanquin, pulled by silver-shod horses, whose manes were lambent flame. You carved it into an effigy of yourself. There were silks and samite around the places on which you made me inscribe."
  26. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: I do recall dressing the effigy. Its flesh all waxy. When I pressed the nib of my pen into it, it sank. Like overcooked fish. The flesh breaking with each incision."
  27. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You told me I had to read to it. Poetry. The death of King Gesar, the hidden kingdom whence he would return. The secret version of Jangar, where the king falls in Paradise. You told me I must seek to instruct the effigy in all the things you ought to be. And remind it of all the conduct you had engaged in that would be best left behind."
  28. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: You guided my hand as I drew sigils around your forehead. Across your chest. On the underside of your lips."
  29. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: Once you had prepared yourself to your satisfaction, you bade me stab you with a knife of black glass. Around the pommel were further sigils, cold as frost on a mountain's back."
  30. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: I do not know what happened next. You made me look away. I remember only the sound of wings."
  31. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "A devil's bones, ribs like a cathedral, raised to the sky."
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "There is something in the pool. There are bones in the amber. They are not human bones. These are far too large. There are hollows on the bones, as though for the storage of many tiny eggs. The shoulders are long and serrated, as though to support wings. The bones are bleached from the amber, but once they were black. There is a skull. Its many eye sockets regard me. It was Milton's."
  33. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Milton: I concede with the resources you had – And given I had not asked you to look out for me. And did not look for you when you left the Fourth – It was not an obligation you had to take up. And yet you did."
  34. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: I could have left you. Smeared under the walls of the Shrine of the Blue Heaven. A fitting end for one who had worked to see my city fall."
  35. ↑ Milton: High Trust Inquiries, Mask of the Rose "This one was a painful death. Devils are accustomed to choose our deaths, but I did not choose this one. White liquid, cold and corrosive, dissolving everything it touched. You melt and drown at the same time; your lungs burn inside you. I would have been content to forget it, believe me."
  36. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: Batachikhan and I kept watch when the city fell. We crept out to see what we could find. Before we retreated, we found you. Or some of you. I suppose you did not have warning that this was to come. I could not find an effigy amidst the pieces."
  37. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Barqujin: No, Tuulchi. I - we - tried to perform the resurrection to the best of my recollection. The Rubbery Men are a collective. Together, they dream of Axile, their lost home. And a hundred sunken things besides. I - have been inducted into this communion. I thought with my memories of you, we might substitute the effigy. Commingle you with the chorus, recover what was lost."
  38. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "Milton: That is what you have done to me? So, you botched my resurrection? [...] Split me from what was good about myself – Saints Incarnadine, I was beautiful. Magnificent. The timbre of my voice, the extent of my reach. My speech was music. My whispers song. What I willed, those that heard me danced. And now, I am thus."
  39. ↑ Milton: Helping Milton, Mask of the Rose "They hold it aloft. Its body is ruined, limbs pierced by stalactite and shale. I see horns, and nubs that suggest they might once have been wings. There is a skull of many eyes. One hand clutches a long string instrument, made of devilbone. The Rubberies draw amber along the corpse in resinous swirls. Bones melt, shift, and are resculpted. Tentacles do the work of fingers, but more dexterous. Tentacles move through, within and beneath. The corpse stirs. It is not as it was. It will not remain. Already, the Rubbery Men are lamenting. The devil rises, but not whole. So much sloughs away. Swirls of it drift in the ocean. The Rubberies move after. The devil goes to find itself, alone."
  40. ↑ Milton: High Trust Inquiries, Mask of the Rose "I died, when I had not intended to. I was unprepared, with nothing set aside for my return. On my remaking, I found a few remains. A horsehead fiddle that had been mine. Translations of a long song into the alphabets of Hell. Eventually and with effort, I managed to retrieve the name I used, before. It is no longer mine, but I keep it as a souvenir."
  41. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose
  42. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: Now, sometime later, I became familiar with the household and observed its peculiarities. In particular, I noticed that Miss Reilly was deeply unhappy – weren't you? Phoebe: ...I suppose so. Milton: You were in love with your employer, and you'd had some hope he reciprocated. But it became clear that his interest in you had been temporary."
  43. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: But I observed that he wished and intended to do well, and gave himself great pain guessing at a moral course... and yet the result was an obnoxious indecision that troubled himself and everyone around him."
  44. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: And then, Miss Reilly, you happened to confide in me when you were worried David Landau might return to the Surface."
  45. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: Do you remember what I said to you then? Phoebe: You said that. If David so-to-speak died in a harmless way, it wouldn't last long and he'd come back spry and well again. With nothing wrong with him except... well, that he couldn't go back to the Surface."
  46. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: Were you surprised when David died, Phoebe? Phoebe: I was a bit. I didn't think it would work. I don't think I could've done it if I did think it would work, to tell the truth. Then I thought he'd come back right away, which he didn't."
  47. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: In any case, members of the jury, you should also know that Phoebe did not have the means to kill, even with her candles. They were too weak; they burned too fast; they did not give enough poisonous fumes. That is where I provided some assistance. I know a sigil that, written in the wax of a candle, will prolong its burning and strengthen its fire. I so inscribed all the candles meant for David Landau's bedroom."
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: For my part, I was alarmed that the family buried Mr Landau so quickly. I was aware of the burial custom, but I also knew that dreams were coming to Londoners, warning them of the danger of premature burial. I therefore disinterred Mr Landau and put him in a safe place to await his return."
  49. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: As for Mr Landau's grave, I knew there was some chance his family would revisit it. Disinterring people had become faddish in London, as the dreams against burial spread. So I placed in his grave a simulacrum grown in the swamps of the Lilymire, a false-David to pacify anyone who looked for him."
  50. ↑ The Murder Trial: Joint Confession, Mask of the Rose "Milton: Phoebe, you thought you would be guaranteed Mr Landau's presence. And I suspected that the experience of death might have a clarifying effect on Mr Landau's indecisive ethical mechanisms."
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