Editing Port Cecil

{{Neath_Location|image1 = PrinciplesFL.png|caption1 = Port Cecil. Care for some chess?|location = [[The Unterzee]]|allegiance = The Principles of Coral|notable_inhabitants = The Principles of Coral<br>
The Disillusioned Grandmaster|music = [https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/benthic Benthic]|image2=Portcecilgaz.png|caption2=}}''"Rumpled convolutions of coral fill the water, glimmering with silvery light. The harder you look, the more you see shapes amid the chaos, almost as if they were sculpted. This one could be a crenellated castle: that one, a horse's head."''<ref name="port cecil">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Port_Cecil|Port Cecil|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

'''The Principles of Coral''' is a massive coral reef in the [[Unterzee]]. Its primary port is '''Port Cecil.'''

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==A Dying Reef...==
''"Beneath the beckoning light of the Impostor Moon, the shining body of the Principles of Coral is being chased beyond the waterline. The old peace of Port Cecil has been transformed by the push and pull of tide and industry."''<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cast_your_eyes_over_to_the_tide_pools|Cast your eyes over to the tide pools|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"Used to be the reef itself would rise up against thieves, but the Principles ain't wot they were. ... Happened all at once. One day, someone breaks off some coral without gettin' their eyes all burned out. The next, London's maw opens on our doorstep."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_around_town_about_the_scintillack_refinery|Ask around town about the scintillack refinery|Fallen London|}}</ref>

The Principles of Coral are abuzz with industry today, though it was not always this way. Until recently, there was only a small [[Rubbery Men|Rubbery]] population at Port Cecil,<ref name="labyrinth contact2">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|A contact in the labyrinth|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> and a similarly small community of coral-encrusted humans;<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Instruct_the_lamp-cats_in_the_coral_calcification_of_the_locals|Instruct the lamp-cats in the coral calcification of the locals|Fallen London|}}</ref> other factions from around the [[Neath]] gathered here to play chess and hold diplomatic meetings.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|Assist the Gnomic Gallivant in his revolutionary scheme|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> The past several years have seen a further wave of settlement across the Principles,<ref name=":2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Explore_Port_Cecil|Explore Port Cecil|Fallen London|}}</ref> as [[Iron & Misery Company]] has begun mining its coral, and has built refineries to extract valuable scintillack.<ref name=":1" />

The reef is lit by the mysterious '''Impostor Moon''', which is seemingly a sentient creature.'''<ref name=":2" />'''

[[File:Coralperson.png|thumb|The Disillusioned Grandmaster. Art from FL.]]
The island's remaining native fauna include '''lamp-cats,''' foraging felines with gills and glowing lures on their heads. They are emissaries of the Light-in-Exile, the giant anglerfish that dwells under the [[Magistracy of the Evenlode]],<ref name=":0" /> and they work alongside the Rubbery locals to stop the miners and preserve the reef.  [[File:Lampcat.png|thumb|A lamp-cat. Art from FL.]]

==...And a Dying Art==
''"A sourceless silver glow. A haven for players of games."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Port_description|Port description|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

Once upon a time, the Principles was bathed in a dreamlike soft silver light. Its few inhabitants were strangely fond of chess, playing obsessively as if under a hypnotic spell. They used chessmen made of [[scintillack]], a kind of glowing coral found all over the reef, and watched as their pieces seemed to enact their own individual agendas. Their games mirrored the power struggles of the [[Neath]], between the [[Lorn-Flukes]], the [[Echo Bazaar]], [[Mt Nomad]], the [[Gods of the Unterzee|zee-gods]], the [[The Fathomking|Fathomking]], the [[Khanate]], the [[Surface]].<ref name="chess">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|Chess|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref name="port report">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|Gather intelligence|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> For the reef was the true center of the [[Great Game]], and it still is yet.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Why_not_just_sell%3F|Why not just sell?|Fallen London|}}</ref>

Chess is now a rare art in the reef, though the '''Disillusioned Grandmaster''' stubbornly hangs onto her club, '''the Poisoned Pawn.<ref name=":3" />'''

==The Principles of Coral==
{{Major spoiler small}}
{{Character|title1 = The Principles of Coral|image1 = Cavelake2gaz.png|caption1 = The Pulse of the Principles.|location = Port Cecil|allegiance =Independent |relationships = [[The Flukes]]<br>[[The Nacreous Outcast‎]]|alias=The Shining Mind}}
''"Between stars. Descend the chain. I rest here. I forget."''<ref name="gather scintillack">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|Gather Scintillack|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

''"The game soothes the pangs of dissolution in. But I want so to be less. I am tired of thought. Will you help me? Sleep will not enough. I desire no dreams. Will you help?"''<ref name="move a paw">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Move a Paw|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

The Principles of Coral, also called the '''Shining Mind''',<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|Something has changed|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> is actually a formerly sentient, chess-loving power,<ref name="move a paw" /> waited on by [[Rubbery Men]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Offer assistance with dissolution|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> The Mind was the true source of the silver glow that once lit Port Cecil from beneath,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|An Extra Move|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> and it would rarely speak, almost telepathically, to certain visitors that drew its attention. 

The [[scintillack]] pebbles that dot Port Cecil are broken bits of the Principles of Coral, and they are as alive as their host, with none of the experience or weariness that currently troubles the Principles.<ref name="gather scintillack" /> This scintillack is also used to mark the servants of the Principles, burning them with distinctive, glowing scars.<ref name="give fluke core">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles a Fluke-Core|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref name="labyrinth contact">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Cecil#Interactions|A contact in the labyrinth|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

The Principles of Coral was once a [[Lorn-Fluke]],<ref name="give fluke core" /> but it grew exhausted as time went on. To free itself of its sentience, it strove to descend a few rungs down the [[Great Chain of Being]],<ref name="give wakeful idol">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles a Wakeful Idol|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> and by the 1890s it was already much of the way there; hence why it appears inanimate, but is still very much alive.<ref name="give fluke core" /> To continue its descent, the Principles of Coral had to lose a chess game, with the [[Nacreous Outcast]] serving as its surrogate;<ref name="win the match">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Win the match|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> it also had to provide a second creature, acting as a "counterweight" of sorts, with an ascension, thus satisfying the Chain's arcane rules and sending the Principles into the dreamless sleep it so sought.<ref name="give wakeful idol" /><ref name="move a paw" />

Perhaps most importantly, the Shining Mind ''never'', ''ever'' felt regret. Not even when it left [[Axile]] with its fellows on the behest of the [[Bazaar]]; not then, and certainly not as it willingly sank into oblivion.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles Heartmetal|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles an Ambiguous Eolith|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

==Scintillack Chess==
''"You don't often look at chess-pieces: not really look. The Bishops, with their hooks. The Night, with its mane and teeth. The Kin and the Cream, white mingled with red. The Roots that pin the corner of the board down, to keep you safe from your opponent. You lift a Paw to toy with it: touch its velvety pads."''<ref name="chess" />

''"Checkmate. Look too closely, did we? You need to be careful with scintillack chess-sets."''<ref name="chess" />
[[File:Chesspiece apocyan.png|alt=A bright cyan knight chess piece.|thumb|An [[Apocyan]] Chess Piece.]]
The strange chess played in the Principles is quite dissimilar to the chess familiar to those from [[London]]. The scintillack chess pieces seem to take on slightly different, but still recognizable, forms,<ref name="chess" /> and this strange game isn't localized strictly to the reef; it may also be played by very specific agents of the [[Great Game]].<ref name="play coded chess">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Play_coded_chess_with_an_anonymous_opponent|Play coded chess with an anonymous opponent|Fallen London|}}</ref> However, these pieces need not strictly be scintillack; they may be made of other materials, perhaps for the sake of symbolism or practicality.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Setting up|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

*'''Nights''' are said to have manes and sharp fangs, and may wound those who move them.<ref name="chess" /><ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Move a Night|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> The Principles considers them ornamental, but such ornaments are, after all, vital in chess.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles a Hunting-Trophy|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>
*'''Bishops''' appear to take on a spiraling shape and possess sharp hooks.<ref name="pulse story description">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Story description|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref name="chess" /> The Principles of Coral uses its Bishop as a counterweight for its descension on the Great Chain of Being.
*'''Roots''' are the corner pieces of the chessboard,<ref name="pulse story description" /> and serve as protection from a player's opponent.<ref name="chess" /> The Principles uses its own Roots to protect against its troublesome, but incurable, fear of its own impending descent.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles Heartmetal|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> 
*'''Paws''' are considered relatively safe pieces to move,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Move a Paw|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> and the Principles seems to use Paws to represent the works of its servants, such as the [[Rubbery Men]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles an Ambiguous Eolith|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>
*'''Pawns''' are mentioned, but their purpose is unknown, and it's unclear whether these pieces are separate from the similarly-named Paws.<ref name="play coded chess" />
*The '''Cream''' is described as a "terrible" piece; this presumably indicates it possesses great power on the chessboard.<ref name="pulse story description" />
*The '''Kin''' is the most important of the chess pieces, and its victory or defeat can determine the outcome of a chess match.<ref name="win the match" /> The Principles of Coral seems to use its Kin to represent its family, the [[Flukes]], and perhaps as a representation of what it once was.<ref name="give fluke core" />

==References==
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[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:The Unterzee]]
[[Category:Formatted]]
[[Category:Cited]]
[[Category:The Neath]]