Nomen

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"Pass the blade of the knife across your palm. Let the blood fall into the lacre. Something will arise: though it will not survive the winter."[1]

Nomen are humanoid simulacra created from lacre.

Mistborn[edit]

"The present life of man, O king, seems to me like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door, and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry storm; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the dark winter from which he had emerged."[2]

The ritual to create a Noman involves mingling human blood with a sufficient quantity of lacre.[3] The resulting entity takes on the appearance and memories of its creator.[citation needed] To create the proper conditions, this must be done either at the Bazaar's lacre pits or another sufficiently cold place, like the Avid Horizon.[4] At Christmas, Nomen can also emerge naturally from the lacre pits,[5][6] but most of these specimens dissipate and fall back into the lacre.[7] A Noman can be made from the physical remains of a deceased person,[8] by burying them in lacre-snow[9] and proceeding with the same bloodletting ritual;[10] the Noman born from this process retains the memories of the deceased.[11] Since lacre is made of the tears of the Echo Bazaar, technically the Bazaar is responsible for the creation of Nomen,[12] breaking several cosmic laws in the process.[13] The Bazaar can apparently use Nomen as its avatars to interact with smaller beings.[14]

Nomen are as white as lacre, with hollow pits for eyes,[15] and cold, smooth, waxy skin that has full sensation.[16] Under certain circumstances, they may pass for particularly pale humans.[17] They do not tire from exertion,[18] and are seemingly immune to the effects of alcohol, but if they consume wine their body will be stained pink by the liquid.[19] Nomen have full awareness of how they were created[13] and are prone to the occasional bouts of melancholy.[20]

All Nomen are doomed to melt after a time.[4] Despite their apparently infinite physical capacity, they do require sleep, and melt more rapidly while unconscious.[21] A melting Noman melts... well, like a snowman, but also begins to lose its memories;[22] this can be delayed by providing the Noman with lacre through various means.[16][23][24] A Noman implanted with a heartmetal heart and the knowledge of a grudge may be anchored by the bitter emotions, preserving it indefinitely[25] and even allowing it to heal any damage done to it.[26]

Special Nomen[edit]

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

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There are some Nomen that are different from others of their kind:

  • The original Mr Sacks is said to have been the first Noman. His replacements, made from the blood of the Masters, took over his position when he disappeared one Christmas.
  • The Lacreous Astronomer is half human and half Noman. She was originally a human from the First City, but was infused with a vast quantity of lacre by Mr Apples in one of its immortality experiments.[27] Curiously, she can have children, and her progeny are consequently not fully human.[28] She requires the blood of her descendants to sustain herself.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ The Noman, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Noman, Fallen London
  3. ↑ The Noman, Fallen London "Pass the blade of the knife across your palm. Let the blood fall into the lacre. Something will arise: though it will not survive the winter."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Heart of Snow, Sunless Sea "The chill of Avid Horizon runs deep [...], but even such primal cold cannot last forever."
  5. ↑ Mr Sacks, Fallen London "You inch forward, until you reach the end of the tunnel. Beyond, a crowd of faces, smiling to greet you. But the faces bob and roil in a vast sea of lacre. They shift, disintegrate, commingle; some are human, some are entirely not; but the smiles remain. Just below you, there is a ripple. A man rises from the lacre, fully formed from the snow: improbably tall and impossibly handsome, like Michaelangelo's David come to life. And as it reaches you, it plunges a hand into its chest and removes a small burlap sack; it drops it into your hand, and melts entirely into a perfectly formed puddle at your feet."
  6. ↑ Wish him a merry Christmas, Fallen London "The lacre's always thick, this time of year. She feels her loneliness, I think." He sighs, and pats the wall fondly. "But it's rare for the nomen to rise. […] this year and the last, they've been rising like dough. What will come, eh? What will come."
  7. ↑ Search the shore, Fallen London "The tide surges then ebbs, rivulets of lacre scrabbling at the shore-stones like fingers. Wait... they are fingers! Milky, globular, and frantic. Behind them, undulating backs push from the waves. They lift lacre faces – half-formed and grief-struck, their eyes only bubbling pits and their mouths pouring. They scream. The tide reclaims them. They collapse into hissing lacre-foam and are dragged back into the reservoirs. It was a spirited attempt to be born, but it failed."
  8. ↑ The Third Delivery, Sunless Sea "Mr Sacks is staring at a small wooden box as you enter the hold. Inside, wrapped in a few pitiful scraps of velvet, is a lock of blonde hair and a set of teeth. Carefully polished. Barely used. “The winter was harsh. The fire went cold. Later, the mother wished to forget. A convenient tragedy.”"
  9. ↑ Service at Avid Horizon, Sunless Sea "As soon as you dock, Mr Sacks lumbers ashore. It has been preparing for this. Plunging a hand into its cloak, it removes a handful of ammonia-scented snow. It places it on the ground and adds another on the top. Into this one it presses the teeth and the hair from the small box. Potential. Substance. [...]"
  10. ↑ Service at Avid Horizon, Sunless Sea "You nick your hand with a blade and hold it above the frozen mound. A drop wells up and falls. More follow. They fizz in the lacre, which softens and melts into a puddle of snow; a puddle from which a hand emerges. Then a head. Then another hand; stretching as it clambers up from nowhere. The shape of a child [...]"
  11. ↑ Ask the Snow Child about home, Sunless Sea "London? London! Yes! I wanted to play on the roof-tops, but it made mother cry. She cries a lot, but she says it's not my fault. She'll be worried. Wait - you're not a devil are you? Mother says to look out for devils." It gives you a suspicious sniff. "No. No eggy smell. You can take me back, right? I've always wanted to go zailing."
  12. ↑ "You authored me. But the Bazaar made me.", Fallen London (source in storylet title)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Sense of an Ending, Fallen London "Its eyes are bright. "I'm misborn," it says, as the dissolution begins. "You're sitting pretty. The Bazaar broke a law or two in making me, yes it did, but I wouldn't have lasted this long unless you had a foot snared in the Great Chain... I'll be free, very soon." (Its words are becoming harder to understand.) "You'll be tempted. Don't trust the Bazaar. Don't feel sorry for it. Love is a demand, not a solution. The Chain may go up to the stars, but it prisons us all. The Liberation of Night...""
  14. ↑ Arrange for the Bazaar to send a Christmas Card to an Acquaintance, Fallen London "[...] A pale and shining hand extends the card for your inspection.  There is a whiff of ammonia. "ALL SHALL BE WELL, [...] AND ALL MANNER OF THING SHALL BE WELL. THE LACRES FLOW AGAIN THRO' THEIR CHANNELS, AND ALL THE GROWTHS ARE GREEN."[...] The hand retracts: the door closes. Deep in the tumbled coils of the Bazaar, something sighs in tectonic satisfaction."
  15. ↑ The Noman, Fallen London "It is pale, and its eyes are shadowed pits. When first it clambers from the lacre, it is as barely formed and inviting to the touch as snow new-fallen on the corner of a wall. But second by second, it looks more and more like you. When it looks up and smiles, its face is your own, albeit snow-coloured and fragile. [...]"
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Help me. Please.", Fallen London "You assist it in restoring patches of milky, deliquescent flesh. The texture of its body is tallowy and smooth: chilly to the touch. It seems embarrassed. "Not there," it says. "I'm, ah, sensitive, there. But thank you.""
  17. ↑ "Let's go out drinking.", Fallen London "[...] Your noman explains your mutual resemblance: it's your occasional cousin from the Surface."
  18. ↑ "Let's go shopping.", Fallen London "You climb well, but the noman climbs like a barometer: steadily, tirelessly, irresistibly. [...]"
  19. ↑ "Let's go out drinking.", Fallen London "You've never seen your noman drunk. Although when it consumes red wine, its whole body flushes faintly pink."
  20. ↑ Noman's Progress, Fallen London "Your lacre-spawned alter-ego is prone to moodiness and long periods of silence. But today it's in a conversational mood."
  21. ↑ The Snow Child is melting, Sunless Sea "The crew packs [the] bed with ice, hoping to hold it together as it sleeps. The melting is at its worst, then."
  22. ↑ An Incident: Watch Millicent tattoo a pale visitor, Fallen London "The visitor sits. Its face is marred by asymmetry; one cheekbone has slumped lower than the other. "I'm starting to forget things. What good is time if I can't remember it?""
  23. ↑ Give sustenance to the Noman, Fallen London "This may give it strength... but its effect will be unpredictable."
  24. ↑ "Help me. I beg you.", Fallen London "You whisper in its ear: words the sea spoke on its pebbled shores, beneath Penstock's, beneath the Bazaar. It relaxes at the touch of your breath. "The waves," it says. "The waves...""
  25. ↑ Seek help for Sacks and Snow: The Snow Child's Name, Sunless Sea "[...] Ice must melt and snow must thaw, but nothing lingers quite like a good, hard grudge. [...] The devil whispers something not for your ears. The Snow Child's face fills with captivated horror. The devil smiles. "Just so! Now, to hold it in place, I recommend... oh, what do you call it? Heartmetal. [...]""
  26. ↑ Find assistance for the Snow Child, Sunless Sea "Fitting the heart is an unpleasant matter for all concerned, but what must be done is soon finished. At first, nothing seems to have happened. Soon, though, the drips stop. The wound heals. [...]"
  27. ↑ Inheritance, Fallen London "The creature grinds a mountain into you and drowns you in memory-snow until you are filled with the sadness of the whole city."
  28. ↑ Inheritance, Fallen London "You still look human, for now. You find work. A husband. A kind man who asks no questions. He is unsurprised when you have a child, though you thought it impossible. You cannot tell him that your daughter is not fully human, that you are hardly human at all. Years later, you collapse. The part of you that is lacre is melting at last. There is but one thing that will revive you. You can not ask for it, but your daughter knows"
  29. ↑ Inheritance, Fallen London ""The fact that your children's blood would be forever required by a shivelled old woman" says the Lacreous Astronomer, gently. [...]"
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