The Prophet-King

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"Eyes sparkle in the lantern-light. Hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions of eyes. A tangle. A web. A tesseract. Untold numbers of rats, fused together at the tail in a tapestry of knots. At the very centre of the ravelled mass, something gleams with a fierce inner light."[1]

The Prophet-King is a rat king comprised of Rattus Faber who share a collective consciousness.

Rat King[edit | edit source]

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"'And so did St. Eligius descend unto the kingdom of the rats, and brought the message that was the flesh that was the word. And in our newfound wisdom, we fell upon the word with the fury of the starved, and took his tithe of flesh, and were rewarded.'"[2]

St Eligius

Once upon a time, a man named Eligius fell into the Neath.[3] Rats were the only other living souls he found there, so he befriended them[4] and taught them all he knew of the world and the divine,[5][6] including something the rats refer to as "the Word made flesh."[7] The rats hungrily absorbed Eligius' teachings[8] - to the point where they eventually devoured his tongue,[9][10] and made it into a sort of power source for the telepathic hive mind[11] known as the Prophet-King.[12] Like a real-life rat king, the individual ratty bodies of the Prophet-King have had their tails tied together.[13][14] Eligius could not stand what he had created;[15] he abandoned the rats[10] and fled west to Hell.[16]

Before he departed, Eligius charged his creation[17] with the duty of performing the sacred Rite of the Rat,[18] which initiates other beings - rat or not - into the collective consciousness.[19] The Rite is performed in darkness, and involves a single rat leading the initiate "ratcatcher" to the heart of the Prophet-King.[20] Should they choose to accept ratdom, the initiate then selects one of three core principles of the Prophet-King: St Eligius and his powers of change and transformation;[16] the Swarm, representing the importance of community;[21] and Darkness, a rejection of time and light.[22] Regardless, the initiate is joined with the Prophet-King's consciousness, and will never be alone again.[23]

Rat Heaven?[edit | edit source]

"'When the Fifth City descended, and his warrens were swallowed by stone, the Prophet-King proclaimed a new age. But it became apparent that this city was cursed with catchers, and poisons, and cats, worst of all, with rats who would abandon the old ways and worship at the feet of the Man on a Stick. The Prophet-King withdrew deep into the hollows beneath, where rested the countless men our forefathers slew.'"[24]

An Anglican Rat

When London fell, the Prophet-King took shelter in the hull of the HMS Ungulate. It emerged from the darkness to abduct citizens of the new Fifth City, seeking to induct them into the collective mind of Ratdom.[25] However, London proved treacherous - full of predators, poison, and worst of all, rats who abandoned the old ways to convert to another faith. Disillusioned, the Prophet-King reached out to a visiting silverer from the Khanate,[26] and with her help, it brokered a bargain with the Fingerkings.[27][28] In exchange for the Prophet-King's mind, mobility, and its collective soul, a portion of Parabola would be carved away, becoming a sanctuary for those willing to link tails with the Prophet-King and dream for aeons to come.[29] After agreeing to the deal, the Prophet-King retreated into the depths of London's sewers and entered an eternal slumber.[30]

The Prophet-King now dreams of a ratty afterlife: a cozy rural village beneath an amber moon,[31] teeming with rodents.[32] Tools and workshops line its burrows, and the air is thick with the scent of cheese.[33] This little pocket of Parabola is immune to the ravages of time and tide,[28] and hidden from the wider dream-realm;[34] the Sun never rises above it, and the rats are well-fed[35] and safe from harm.[36]

This entity is not sustained by worship,[37] but it nonetheless provides solace to rats who long for relief from the cruelties of the world.[38] Sequestered away in the deepest depths of London's sewers, the cult of the Prophet-King might have faded into obscurity, forgotten by the rest of ratkind - had a single young rat not stumbled upon its resting place, and begun to preach the old teachings once more.[39]

Real-Life Inspiration[edit | edit source]

A rat king is a cluster of rats bound together by their tails. In 16th-century Germany, the term Rattenkönig was first used metaphorically to describe corrupt or parasitic leaders. Over time, real reports of entangled rats emerged; some were preserved innmiq, some preserved in museums, with a few rare live cases popping up from time to time. While early myths suggested they were born that way or fed on each other like parasites, scientists now attribute the phenomenon to freezing, filth, or confinement, though some are assumed to be hoaxes crafted for curiosity cabinets.

In modern culture, the rat king has become a symbol of plague, tyranny, and decay. The fairy tale that inspired Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker features a Mouse King with seven heads, so the character is multi-headed in some productions of the ballet. Far more recently, to give an example from the world of video games, a creature called a Rat King appeared in The Last of Us Part II; in this case, it is made up of several fungus-infected humans.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Ferret: Algernon's Baptism, Mask of the Rose
  2. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London
  3. ↑ The Box of Saintly Whiskers, Fallen London "[...] a small crowd [...] gathers to hear the Maundering Rat's stories of St Eligius – how he was a goldsmith in Flanders before sinking down into a marshy polder and finding himself in the Neath; how he taught the rats of the Third City to make needle-like spears to do battle with cats, and wrestled with the horse-sized fish lice that live in the gills of zee-beasts..." [Editor's note: a polder is a patch of land that has been drained or reclaimed using dikes and lies below the surrounding ground level.]
  4. ↑ Ferret: After the Hulk, Mask of the Rose "Others say he taught the rats how to think as well as speak. And led them to the gates of the old city that was here, to demand their due. Eligius converted the rats. Or 'e was converted by 'em."
  5. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "You scamper in places dark and narrow. Light is the enemy. You re-experience the great awakening; you recall the man who fell to the depths and spilled words into tiny skulls. His tongue still binds you now."
  6. ↑ Ferret: After the Hulk, Mask of the Rose "The interesting thing is I've been talking to a few of the other rats. None as eloquent as our Algie. But I heard a few whispers of this rat-saint. That [...] he taught 'em how to navigate the letters and numbers."
  7. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "Have you heard the ancient expression, which was preached unto us by Eligius? "If thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably." We have fed fully upon the flesh that is the word. It has bound us in a community - a greater Ratdom. A crown of rats upon his head. When he beheld our many eyes he named us the angel of Ezekiel. Now we are bound by his relic, a piece we took from him, which links our tails. But look not to the old carrion; the word lives in our flesh. And though our bodies perish, the swarm persists. This is the greater Ratdom - Which extends across time, in a great chain of knotted pink tails. Nothing wasted; nothing forgot. One in many, many in one."
  8. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "'If thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Let not your bounty be turned to ill, for the kingdom of rats is not found in morsels and crumbs, but in cunning, and unity, and the joy of escape.'"
  9. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "'And so did St. Eligius descend unto the kingdom of the rats, and brought the message that was the flesh that was the word. And in our newfound wisdom, we fell upon the word with the fury of the starved, and took his tithe of flesh, and were rewarded.'"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "Once, we ate a saint's tongue. He gave us voice, before he abandoned us."
  11. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "Oh yes, we are in many places. An eye unblinking behind the skirting board. A plaintive squeak beneath your bedpost. These things can be coincidence. Yet, though all rats are not the same, all are bound together. In us."
  12. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "We are the Prophet-King of St Eligius. Every rat is our concern."
  13. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "Many Rats: Now we are bound by his relic, a piece we took from him, which links our tails."
  14. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "Harjit: With that many heads? Not to mention tails - all chained around a golden... relic? My eyesight is impeccable. It recommended me for this position."
  15. ↑ Ferret: Ferret's Baptism, Mask of the Rose "You came. Most would balk. Even Saint Eligius did, at the last."
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Ferret: Ferret's Baptism, Mask of the Rose "Blessed Eligius, we venerate and adore. Blessed Eligius, we loathe and abhor. Blessed Eligius, who taught the swarm and forsook us. We swallowed his tongue. We filled our bellies on his sanctity. Freed from his holy fetters he fled to Hell, and there underwent a change."
  17. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "A charge bestowed upon us by Blessed Eligius, tongue-bearer, in days gone by."
  18. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "Our tongues are stilled as our eyes are blind. No truce with the bigfolk. But for those who take the Rite of the Rat, as St Eligius showed us."
  19. ↑ Harjit: Rodentine Powers, Mask of the Rose "We have heard your Ferret's wishes to introduce a rat to your church. We extend a counter proposal. That Ferret join our church - to be a voice for the rats in this new city. An initiate they will be, honoured among rats. To undertake the Rites of the Rat and be deemed one of our many."
  20. ↑ Ferret: Ferret's Baptism, Mask of the Rose "The ratcatcher will approach the relic. A little rat shall lead them. And in the darkness, the ratcatcher should decide what they are. Imitatio rodentis – or a rat standing tall. The rat and the ratcatcher must go alone."
  21. ↑ Ferret: Ferret's Baptism, Mask of the Rose "The swarm has neither name nor ambition. The swarm remembers and the swarm carries. You will not be left behind. You will fear neither fire nor water, nor the fall of cities [...] The swarm will be your cradle and your comfort. Blessed are the rats, who held faith where a saint could not. Blessed are the rats who carry sainted words in their bellies. Blessed is the swarm who sets you free."
  22. ↑ Ferret: Ferret's Baptism, Mask of the Rose "In the darkness, time has no purchase. You have no hours but ours. The hour to sleep and the hour to eat. The hour to love and the hour to claw. All hours are not the same, but in the darkness you will know them all by touch and taste and smell. No tyrant's devices will bind you but a knot of tails will suffice for a crown." [Editor's note: See also: The Liberation of Night]
  23. ↑ Ferret: Ferret's Baptism, Mask of the Rose "Ferret gives me a look. It is of an understanding beyond bone or blood. They need say nothing because everything is already understood. I feel something move beneath my skin. Ferret winks. It is time to go. I hear the rats moving away in the dark. I am alone. Though of course, I will never be alone again."
  24. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London
  25. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "After London fell, there was a prison hulk here... I stayed there a while, and I saw him. A seething mass, slipping through shadows like a demon! He took people off the streets. Baptised them, made them his."
  26. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "There was a silverer, visiting from the Khanate. I remember the rats told me there was some kind o' bargain being struck. Anyway, after that, I didn't see the Prophet-King again."
  27. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "In exchange for a payment, of sorts, I brokered a meeting between the Prophet-King and certain... Parabolan powers. Their bargain took many months to come together."
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "The ground shifts beneath your feet, and a snake unwinds from the soil. "We are bound to guard this place and maintain its laws," it hisses. "An ancient pact, struck long ago. We keep the rats here, arrest the flow of their dwindling lifetimes, and keep them well-fed. [...]""
  29. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "The Prophet-King wanted to rescue rats from the empty finality of their death," says the Silverer. "It sacrificed its mind, its mobility, its collective soul. In return, a miniature paradise was created in the dreaming world. A kind of Heaven for rats, as I understand. Though only for those rats willing to link themselves to the Prophet-King and sleep with it through the aeons."
  30. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "'When the Fifth City descended, and his warrens were swallowed by stone, the Prophet-King proclaimed a new age. But it became apparent that this city was cursed with catchers, and poisons, and cats, worst of all, with rats who would abandon the old ways and worship at the feet of the Man on a Stick. The Prophet-King withdrew deep into the hollows beneath, where rested the countless men our forefathers slew.'"
  31. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "An amber moon hangs above, swollen and cracked. At least you think it's a moon; when you look up with one eye closed, it blazes more like a sun."
  32. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "You find yourself wandering alone in a dark village of thatched roofs and wooden fences. There are no people here. No life at all, except the rats. Every shadow is full of rats. When you look at them, they disperse like woodlice from under an uplifted rock."
  33. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "There's something strange about the village, besides its emptiness. There's a forge on every corner, stocked with all manner of tools and gadgets. And every cottage seems to have been turned into a storehouse for food. Especially cheese. There's a great deal of cheese."
  34. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "This place is clearly nestled somewhere in Parabola. But protected, somehow. You get the feeling you wouldn't be able to access it from the outside otherwise, you'd have stumbled upon it by now, or at least heard tell of its existence."
  35. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "'In hidden realms beyond the sight of man, there lies a kingdom where the scurrying hosts are exalted. Paradise for the lowly, an endless feast in an everlasting dark.'"
  36. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "You dash through the night, filled with sudden delight! You dive into warrens, and run with your brothers, and share secrets and plans, awaiting the others. You plunder the cheese, and eat your fill, and no one can catch you, because there's no one who will."
  37. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "[...] They don't want our worship. They're just... offering an escape."
  38. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "You remember the cities that fell. The pale tides that swallowed them. You remember drowning, and you remember re-membering the drowning. Poisoned. Crushed. Split. Eaten. Trapped. Extinguished. A million oblivions. The sorrow would be too much to bear, if there weren't so many of you to bear it. Down here, in the emptiness, we became shelter. Don't begrudge us that."
  39. ↑ Death and Tax Evasion, Fallen London "When I came here, all that was left was a few old rats in a dying cult, [...] But the Prophet-King's sacrifice shall not be forgotten. The meek shall inherit the Earth."
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