Peligin

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"P drowns in PELIGIN, the colour of the deepest zee."[1]

Peligin is a color of the Neathbow that is associated with the Unterzee. The term "peligin" is seemingly a portmanteau of the Ancient Greek "pelagos" (πέλαγος), meaning "sea," and the color fuligin. Fuligin, in turn, is darker than black, and is derived from the English word "fuliginous," meaning soot-like; this color was used by Gene Wolfe in his science fiction novel The Shadow of the Torturer.

Properties[edit | edit source]

"It is not merely black, the classic black of style and class, but the deep peligin that is blackness beyond the reach of light."[2]

Peligin is a dark, dark black, beyond the reach of any light.[3] It is the hue of the waters of the Unterzee and those of the land of the dead;[4] the flesh of zee-monsters is also infused with peligin.[5]

Peligin has been portrayed as a range of different shades, from black to cyan to purples,[6] but always feels "monstrous."[7]

Uses[edit | edit source]

"Eat the flesh of the deep-lurkers, and your eyes will change."[8]

The eyes of Monster-Hunters turn permanently peligin after they consume the flesh of a zee-monster.[9][10] The Fathomking is able to turn his prisoners' skin peligin, though the precise effects of this are unknown.[11] Zee-monster ink can be used as a peligin dye for clothing.[12] Peligin light is produced by the Light-in-Exile[13] as well as lamps developed by Revolutionary groups.[14][15] The workers of the Midnight Moon use peligin candles made from the blubber of a Midnight Whale to time their shifts.[16][17] Peligin light feels cool and induces a feeling of dread and submergence;[18][19] photos developed using peligin film have stark shadows and emphasize monstrous forms.[20][21]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • The broad, dark Unterzee.
    The broad, dark Unterzee.
  • Feducci, with peligin eyes.
    Feducci, with peligin eyes.
  • A Hunter's Eye.
    A Hunter's Eye.
  • Mariam, the Schemer, with peligin skin.
    Mariam, the Schemer, with peligin skin.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ A Page from 'The Neathbow': Peligin, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ Commission a set of fine clothes, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ Commission a set of fine clothes, Sunless Sea "It is not merely black, the classic black of style and class, but the deep peligin that is blackness beyond the reach of light."
  4. ↑ A Chess-Piece tattoo, Fallen London "Deep peligin, the colour of the River. Glinting accents that recall the light on the Boatman's bony hands."
  5. ↑ Eat your main course! (Surface), Fallen London "The taste of its flesh is not like the fish you have here. It is meaty, yes, but it seems to be missing something. Perhaps it is somehow lacking without the peligin."
  6. ↑ Bruno (FBG), Failbetter Games Discord Server "But all the neathbow colors are sort of a range... viric runs from forest green through emeralds through chartreuse; peligin runs from black to cyan to purples"
  7. ↑ Bruno (FBG), Failbetter Games Discord Server "Ultimately whether a given real color can be 'peligin' is not about whether it's in some range of hex values, it's about whether it feels (in a given context of use) 'monstrous'"
  8. ↑ Hunter's Eye, Sunless Sea
  9. ↑ Become a Monster-Hunter, Fallen London "The thing's flesh is peligin, [...] when you are finished, so are your eyes."
  10. ↑ Hunter's Eye, Sunless Sea "Eat the flesh of the deep-lurkers, and your eyes will change."
  11. ↑ Mariam, Sunless Sea "Her skin is the exact black-blue of the bone walls."
  12. ↑ Commission a set of fine clothes, Sunless Sea "The Modiste's hands grip the creature's gelatinous mass, squeezing out every drop of ink into a waiting bowl. It is not merely black, the classic black of style and class, but the deep peligin that is blackness beyond the reach of light. This will be an outfit the envy of any in London society, once the fish smell has faded."
  13. ↑ The Light-In-Exile, Fallen London "You see an appendage that glows with peligin light [...]"
  14. ↑ Enjoy the fruits of labour, Fallen London "Pseudoillumination [...] You take a walk through district newly bathed in peligin light."
  15. ↑ Illumination, of sorts, Fallen London " The Liberationist tracklayers have a plan to address the problem of public lighting without unwanted illumination."
  16. ↑ The Midnight Trade, Fallen London "Your taper marks you as a worker of the Midnight Moon. All you need do is light it, and smugglers come to you with tasks, requests, responsibilities. [...] Each candle is a clock, and each shift lasts for one candle. Whaletallow's peligin fires burn fiercely, and too much smoke is deleterious for the mind."
  17. ↑ You are a smuggler of no small skill, Fallen London "The Shapeless Chandler [...] reaches out a hand, gouging long fingers into the stony unflesh of the leviathan, and retracts a fistful of something translucent and glistering. [...] he renders it down into tallow, threading it through with wick, never moving from his little whaleside hollow [...] he thrusts a candle into your hands. The wax is hard and unyielding; will it burn at all? "You may assist in the work," he says. "Show this, and be useful.""
  18. ↑ Peligin-filled Mirrorcatch Box, Fallen London "The box contains a cool and monstrous light, harvested from the deeps."
  19. ↑ Empty a peligin-filled box, Fallen London "The box is cool to the touch. [...] In a flash of peligin light, the rooms appears submerged and foreboding."
  20. ↑ Purchase a reel of peligin-emulsion film, Fallen London ""It captures shadows like nothing else," says the Cinematographer. It emphasizes the dark and monstrous."
  21. ↑ Develop the reel you exposed in Hallow's Throat, Fallen London "The Starved Men are cast in a stark, [...] light that highlights their sculpted shapes and many-jointed limbs. Every motion is mirorred by the monstrous shadows on the wall, black-on-white figures like paper dolls in a puppet play designed to frighten rather than delight."
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