Scrimshander

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"Before you looms the bone tower of Scrimshander, the City of Remembrance. Ivory structures jut from the pile, supported by buttressing tusks. As your light plays across them, you can make out inscriptions. Names, pictures, and dozens of lost languages."[1]

Scrimshander is a giant underwater repository of knowledge carved in ivory and bone.

Bones Upon Bones[edit | edit source]

"Soldier, scholar, servant of art, Hist'ry welcomes without toll, But be warned, 'ere you depart, None who enter, escape whole."[2]

Here, written upon what might be millions of bones and ivory pieces, lies perhaps the single largest source of stories and recordings of the past. On every wall, there are tales of heroism and dramatic depictions of Neathy epics, the largest source of which are the massive Ivory Archives.[3] No doubt a massive portion of this collection originates from the cardinal rule of Scrimshander: "All are welcome to enter, but none may depart without leaving something of themselves behind."[4] This warning is more literal than one may think; the incense burned by the chroniclers may cause loss of memory,[5][6] vigor,[7] or compassion.[8] The only way to avoid this fate is to leave something more physical behind - like a finger.[9]

History Is What You Make Of It[edit | edit source]

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"Inhabitants wear ashen robes and carry steel-tipped bone quills, but you recognise most as Drownies or Chelonate expatriates. While most are quiet and ignore visitors, you hear heated arguments over interpretations of the sacred remains."[10]

"Above, an imperious figure wearing a crown of ivory judges each performance from a raised theatre box. All are served by a single man, weaving between the crowd and wearing a perpetual smirk."[11]

Drownies and Chelonites comprise most of the tower's inhabitants.[12] The two groups are at odds[13] due to their opposite beliefs about what truly shapes history: Chelonites believe that history is shaped by the actions of heroes,[14][15] while Drownies believe that history is shaped by economic and scientific factors, and broader movements that everyone is involved in.[16][17] This battle of beliefs leads the two groups to stage historical plays at the Stage of History.[18]

The individual in charge of the Stage is a jovial man called the Glib Historian, who is happy to award his ivory crown to any play that seems the most convincing at the moment, and believes that "history is what you make of it."[19] The Historian's own past is ironically shrouded in mystery, though perhaps the very first skeleton of Scrimshander provides a clue: a corpse of a massive Midnight Whale, covered entirely with stories written in ancient Greek, and a single crude portrait of the Historian himself (and his "immaculate beard").[20]

WIND WAX-WIND WAX-WIND WAX[edit | edit source]

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"Here among the other lost histories, I am hidden from the Presbyterate's agents and oracles. But were I to venture above the waves, the Wax-Wind would find me, and I'd end my days a candle."[21]

The Stygian Repository at the heart of Scrimshander is made of the peligin bones of deep zee-monsters.[22] One person lives here: Mariam, daughter of the Presbyter[23] and once the leader of the Seven Against Nidah.[24] To escape the Presbyter's wrath, she allowed the Fathomking to curse her, turning her skin peligin and making her forget all that she knew.[25] Now she bides her time, trying to remember her past and scheming to bring immortality to all.[26]

Historical and Cultural Inspirations[edit | edit source]

There are no obvious clues as to the identity of the Glib Historian, but an easy guess is the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who was described by the Roman politician and orator Cicero as "the Father of History." Herodotus provided a wealth of information on ancient civilization that has survived to this day, a sizeable portion of which has been confirmed by modern scholars. That said, he was also criticized even in his own time for making things up, as he was prone to exaggeration and reported many strange stories and folktales alongside his more reliable accounts.

One thing is for certain: if the bust of Herodotus that survives is true to life, he did have quite the fabulous beard.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Scrimshander, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ Accept the price and dock, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ Delve into the Ivory Archives, Sunless Sea "The Ivory Archives are a wealth of history, with ages of visitors' stories carved into the bone pillars that build the citadel."
  4. ↑ Scrimshander, Sunless Sea "The largest ones carry a warning: All are welcome to enter, but none may depart without leaving something of themselves behind."
  5. ↑ Leave behind a story, Sunless Sea "You take a deep breath of bittersweet incense and recount your tales. [...] By the time you've finished, your head aches and the chronicler holds a handful of bricks. Before returning to your ship, you examine one. It bears your name and a short tale. But it isn't a memory of yours. You'd remember anything that outlandish. Best to leave before they realise the mistake they've made."
  6. ↑ Leave behind a past triumph, Sunless Sea "By the time you've finished, your trophy has been replaced with an identical copy. But this one has been inscribed with a thrilling, fictional tale. As you depart, you wonder if you would recognise the hero of such a thrilling yarn."
  7. ↑ Leave behind vitality, Sunless Sea "Sweat beads and trickles down your back. Running down your face. Soaking through your clothes. Drowning you in salt. You awake from the dream with a start. You are clean and dry, lying in an unfamiliar room. You pull yourself out of bed with great effort and leave the grey-bricked house behind."
  8. ↑ Leave behind your warmth, Sunless Sea "When you've made yourself comfortable, she hands you her bone quill and asks you to write the names of your crew. [...] You wake up with a start. The paper is covered in ash. It doesn't matter. You leave without looking back. "
  9. ↑ Leave something a little more tangible, Sunless Sea "All you have to do is place your hand on a low table. The guard takes it from there. He even offers you a glove afterwards. Its finger is stuffed with a poultice to ease the pain. A moment later, you could even pretend it never happened. Yes, let's do that. "
  10. ↑ Scrimshander Centre, Sunless Sea
  11. ↑ The Stage of History, Sunless Sea
  12. ↑ Scrimshander Centre, Sunless Sea "Inhabitants wear ashen robes and carry steel-tipped bone quills, but you recognise most as Drownies or Chelonate expatriates."
  13. ↑ Scrimshander Centre, Sunless Sea "While most are quiet and ignore visitors, you hear heated arguments over interpretations of the sacred remains. Sacred remains which will include whatever you leave behind when you depart."
  14. ↑ Talk with the Glib Historian, Sunless Sea "Some cheer history as the work of brave and inspired heroes. Especially them who wish they could be heroes themselves."
  15. ↑ Watch a heroic play, Sunless Sea "The Chelonate's champions promise the tale of a lone hero who changed the course of history. Based on historical evidence."
  16. ↑ Talk with the Glib Historian, Sunless Sea "Others say it's all shaped by cyclical changes in scientific progress, economics, and such. But nothing gets in the way of a good story quite like nuance."
  17. ↑ Watch a dramatic reenactment, Sunless Sea "A city rises and falls in a matter of hours, with cast members playing a dozen roles each over the years. The dance number at the end is a crowd-pleaser. Afterwards, the Drownie king assures the crowd that the dancing was strictly allegorical."
  18. ↑ The Stage of History, Sunless Sea "Actors strut in an amphitheatre of bone, performing historical plays of dubious veracity. An audience watches from below, with each roaring drunk member applauding or jeering different details of the work. Above, an imperious figure wearing a crown of ivory judges each performance from a raised theatre box. All are served by a single man, weaving between the crowd and wearing a perpetual smirk."
  19. ↑ Talk with the Glib Historian, Sunless Sea ""We let 'em argue up on the stage and give an ivory crown to whoever's most convincing at the moment." He waves a hand at the temporary monarch in the raised seat above. "But far as I'm concerned," he confides, filling a patron's mug with cheap wine, "History is what you make of it. And I make a killing.""
  20. ↑ The first skeleton of Scrimshander, Sunless Sea "Every bone of the midnight whale is intact, and every inch has been densely carved with words. The writing appears to be Greek, in an ancient script, but you recognise the carvings all bear the same hand. The work must have taken the author years. Decades. The base of the whale's skull bears a crude portrait. You've seen this man and his immaculate beard before. No wonder he's so quick to laugh at the historical plays far above."
  21. ↑ Why is she here?, Sunless Sea
  22. ↑ Ambition: explore the Stygian Repository, Sunless Sea "The chambers here are carved from the blue-black bones of the worst monsters of the deep."
  23. ↑ Ask who she is, Sunless Sea ""I was..." she hesitates and turns to the wall, reading the writing there to refresh her memory. "Yes. I was the Presbyter's daughter.""
  24. ↑ Ask who she is, Sunless Sea ""I was estranged from my father. He tried to win me back with a gift that wasn't his to give. I spurned it. I rebelled. I founded the Seven Against Nidah. I failed. I fled. I bargained. I hid here. I make statues, and try to remember.""
  25. ↑ Why is she here?, Sunless Sea ""As punishment for our attempt on their city, the Nidaheen promised me to the Wax-Wind. I sought sanctuary in the Fathomking's Hold, and made an arrangement with His Complexity. He changed me," she runs a finger down her peligin cheek. "I forget things, now, unless I write them down, or put faces to them.""
  26. ↑ Tell Mariam that six are assembled, Sunless Sea "Your initial application of the broom reveals a painting: a jagged curve of coastline. The next exposes a scattering of islands [...] Meanwhile, Mariam's brush has uncovered a green and many-canalled land with the word 'HELL' written across it. The floor is a map; no - a game-board depicting the whole of the Neath. [...] "In the next room are statues of our enemies and complicating parties. The Gracious, the Replete, the Presbyter, the Admiralty, Mount Nomad, and so forth. I always found [...] that it was easier to plan from a bat's-eye perspective.""
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