November

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"She doesn't answer to that name if you speak it. But she does smile - so imperceptibly that you might miss it, if you didn't know to look for it."[2]

November is a nonchalant member of the Calendar Council, a prominent group of revolutionaries.

Inactive and Incognito[edit | edit source]

"An empty book in a library is in itself a potent symbol. The stories to be written on these pages depend on the actions of today."[3]

November is currently inactive and does not answer to her title.[4][5] She has a penchant for purple,[6] wears her hair in a bun, and paints her nails dark blue with a star on each finger.[7] She is easygoing[8][9] and fond of snacking on fruit,[10][Note 1] sometimes to the exasperation of others,[11] but chooses her words carefully[12][13] and can be quite vicious when provoked.[14]

November understands the sciences of Parabola and considers December an old friend,[15][16] though her opinions on the Liberation of Night are never stated. She still enjoys a spot of subversive mischief, and suggests that she may one day resume her old activities.[17][18] Her entry in the Agendums of Ascent is a blank book, illustrating that stories are only written by the actions of today.[19]

A Lost Cell[edit | edit source]

"I have, in my time, encountered rumors at the ministry of something known as a 'lost cell'. A most insidious kind of revolutionary group, separated from its leader by death, or imprisonment, or simple forgetfulness—still working to fulfill their long-forgotten plots."[20]

"One day, you walk into an art dealership in Veilgarden, and to your great surprise, why, there is one of your foolish little designs! Someone has taken it, and prettied it up, and you see it there, framed and polished, and you can think of nothing but how trifling it was to you. How it served to fill the time between one glass of wine and another."[20]

A fire.
Bonfire!

Before her retirement, November led a cell of revolutionaries who worked to advance the Liberation of Night.[21][22] November was adored as a leader in their heyday,[23] almost to the point of worship[24] — but she implies that she was never truly dedicated to her role, likening it instead to halfhearted marginalia in an artist's sketchbook that somehow found its way to the walls of a posh gallery.[25] After her departure,[26] her crestfallen subordinates came to believe she had forgotten them entirely.[24]

Now left to their own devices,[26] November's cell has been preparing[27] one of her old schemes[28][29] to restore her memory and finally earn her approval.[24] They plan to don dark blue cloaks, white demon-masks, and blue-feathered headdresses,[30] then hijack a bonfire night in London to herald the coming of the revolution.[31][32] As a grand finale,[33] they will set off a device that smothers all fires in the area as a demonstration of the Liberation.[34] What November's cell does not know, however, is that their leader has not forgotten them; she thinks of them "every waking day" despite her reluctance to rejoin the cause.[35]

Historical Inspirations[edit | edit source]

November's cell may have been planning their stunt for Guy Fawkes Night. This celebration, held on November 5, originally commemorated the arrest of Guy Fawkes, a key member of the Catholic-led Gunpowder Plot to assassinate the Protestant King James I and his parliament. Anti-Catholic rhetoric in Britain softened in the 1850s and the holiday lost most of its original significance after that point, but it is still celebrated with bonfires and fireworks. In addition to the timing and political background of the holiday, the masks November's cell plan to wear resemble masks of Guy Fawkes' face, which became 21st-century protest symbols thanks to the graphic novel V for Vendetta, its subsequent film adaptation, and the mask's adoption by the hacktivist group Anonymous.

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ The question of how she can afford to import out-of-season fresh fruit to the Neath in the 19th century is left to the reader's imagination.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "Perhaps it is "Please, November". [...] For a moment, the Purple-Clad Revolutionary says nothing at all."
  2. ↑ November, Fallen London
  3. ↑ The Calendar Code, Fallen London
  4. ↑ November 2, Fallen London "I'm not back. But I am around."
  5. ↑ November, Fallen London "She doesn't answer to that name if you speak it."
  6. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "The Purple-Clad Revolutionary"
  7. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "A woman is standing beside your bonfire. She wears a long dress and her hair is tied up in a high, neat bun. [...] Her nails are polished a very dark blue, almost black. She has painted a tiny star on each of them."
  8. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "[...] I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. He seems like an alright sort, doesn't he? A little buttoned-up, maybe. That's fine. Orange slice?""
  9. ↑ November 2, Fallen London ""Obviously, I'm not usually this forward," her tone is as light as if she were commenting on the weather. "Blame it on the season. [...] She laughs, warmly and loudly.
  10. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "The Purple-Clad Revolutionary follows your gaze to a bag of fruit at her feet. "A gift to myself," she says."
  11. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London ""It was you, wasn't it? [...] "Put down that apple!"
  12. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "[...] Revolutionaries are coming for his Spectacle. But perhaps not just the kind that he thinks." The Revolutionary searches silently for the right words."
  13. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "[...] You're here to work, I'm here to enjoy the Spectacle, I don't think that we need to get to know each other too intimately.""
  14. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "When last we spoke, I was led away by the constables [...] I am no longer so constrained, and that I have not forgotten the circumstances of my incarceration. [...] I will make an end of you so profound that only bones remain. Yours, patiently, November.""
  15. ↑ November, Fallen London "Glasswork +1"
  16. ↑ November 2, Fallen London ""And would you look at that? An old friend!" She hands you a porcelain ornament – a worried-looking, long-nosed dog."
  17. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "But please consider tomorrow. A little pandemonium never hurt anybody."
  18. ↑ November 2, Fallen London "Her eyes glint with mischief. "I'm not back. But I am around.""
  19. ↑ The Calendar Code, Fallen London "Examine a book of blank pages [...] An empty book in a library is in itself a potent symbol. The stories to be written on these pages depend on the actions of today."
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London
  21. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "Who is the Purple-Clad Revolutionary? And why is she recognised by the masked parade? [...] The Purple-Clad Revolutionary and the masked figures share some ancient history."
  22. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "Unmask the leader of the parade [...] "What do you want?" The man answers quickly. "The liberation of the night.""
  23. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "As each marcher passes, they make some small gesture of acknowledgement towards the Purple-Clad Revolutionary."
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "One of the marchers, mask askew, rushes towards the Revolutionary. "Do you remember? Do you remember us?" [...] The figure is desperate. "It's been so long!" he says. "We tried our best. We tried so hard." [...] A middle aged man blinks away tears. [...] "Please remember," he says, but his voice is choked and indistinct. Perhaps it is "Please, November". "Please tell us you remember." It is clear, now. "That you're proud." For a moment, the Purple-Clad Revolutionary says nothing at all. [...] The unmasked man sobs."
  25. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "Who is the Purple-Clad Revolutionary? And why is she recognised by the masked parade? [...] The Purple-Clad Revolutionary looks at you levelly. "Let us suppose that you keep a sketchbook," [...] in the margins, you let loose a little. A half-idea. A silly drawing." [...] "One day, you walk into an art dealership in Veilgarden, and to your great surprise, why, there is one of your foolish little designs! Someone has taken it, and prettied it up..." [...] and you can think of nothing but how trifling it was to you. How it served to fill the time between one glass of wine and another." She folds her arms. "I hope I have answered your questions.""
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London ""For though we were abandoned, we are diligent, London, and there will be a reckoning.""
  27. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London ""... Long before we met, your mother came out one winter's night to Watchmaker's Hill to light a bonfire—just like we did, [...] a Stranger joined the bonfire, licked about by smoke. 'Is it tonight?' She asked, and, as she leaned into the firelight, your mother saw that instead of a face she had a mask—like—THIS!" The mother opens her eyes wide. She curls her hands into horns above her head [...]"
  28. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "There is someone else here, [...] Over the course of the Spectacle, [...] figures have glided with purpose. Some are conspicuously dressed, head to toe, in black and blue. Others wear the clothes of Londoners, and you would miss them were it not for their fixed expressions, their clear intent. There is something afoot, [...]"
  29. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "Bring your evidence to the Revolutionary [...] A Glimmer of Recognition [...] The Purple-Clad Revolutionary listens in silence [...] The longer you talk, the closer she listens. [...] The Minister was right. Revolutionaries are coming for his Spectacle. But perhaps not just the kind that he thinks." [...] "It is such a thing," [...] "To work on a plot. A real plot. Not fireworks and effigies. Something of consequence. It is so easy to become so absorbed in one's workings, that if the day comes when the plot is disavowed, or abandoned, or forgotten about, still you toil." [...] I suspect it will be a night to remember." [Editor's note: November recognizing the revolutionaries' activities implies the scheme was originally her idea.]"
  30. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "A figure, draped in robes of black and blue. [...] the figure wears an appalling mask. Its fanged mouth screams silently, its horns twist thickly upwards like a ram's. There is a shock of blue feathers. [...] Behind it, waiting silently on the other side of the wrought-iron gates, are ranks of masked individuals."
  31. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "The masked parade has entered the First Bonfire Spectacle."
  32. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London ""Witness, London," says the parade's leader. [...] "Witness! For the time comes. For plans have been set in motion, and laid to the fingernail. For acquisitions have been made and materials gathered." "For though we were abandoned, we are diligent, London, and there will be a reckoning.""
  33. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "The End of The Parade [...] Somehow, the figures carrying the brass box have made it past the blockade, and set their cargo down heavily."
  34. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London "One of the masked leaders hops lightly onto the platform and begins to open the metal box. [...] There is startlingly little ceremony as the box is opened. [...] a bonfire near the stage goes out. [...] Another bonfire extinguishes itself, then another. The flames of the Ministry's fire shudder, nervously. All across Watchmaker's Hill, lights begin to go out."
  35. ↑ A Little Pandemonium, Fallen London ""Please remember," he says, but his voice is choked and indistinct. Perhaps it is "Please, November". "Please tell us you remember." It is clear, now. "That you're proud." For a moment, the Purple-Clad Revolutionary says nothing at all. You can read no emotion on her face. The unmasked man sobs. Then— "Of course I remember," she says. "Every waking day.""
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