The Secular Missionary

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"She is reserved, but she gives you a few hints about her life. The dedication to her husband and elderly parents. The vocation that led her to missionary work, educating poor young ladies. It's almost too good to be true. Doesn't she have any flaws?"[1]

The Secular Missionary is a charming lady who has come to the Neath in search of her missing husband.

The Altruist[edit | edit source]

"The Missionary seats herself demurely at the far end of your settee. She gives you one of those sudden-sunlight smiles. "You wanted to talk to me?""[2]

The Secular Missionary does not endeavor to preach a particular religion, but instead campaigns for the education of orphans, sex workers, and perhaps others in need.[3] However, it is not her cause that has brought her to London, but her search for her wayward husband, whom she believes has fallen under the sway of devils.[4]

The Missionary gives the impression of an innocent and good-hearted character - devoted to her husband, supporting her elderly parents, and the education of the poor.[5] When it works to her advantage, she plays the part of a damsel in distress.[6][7] Upon investigation, however, much of her career may have been forged,[8] and even the legitimacy of her marriage is hidden behind a long list of aliases.[9]

In truth, while she is married to the Revolutionary Firebrand, the truth is more complex than this.[10] The Missionary is a seasoned supporter of the Liberation of Night,[11] with a web of connections that reaches as far as Vienna.[12] While he was originally her ally, the Firebrand claims to have fled her manipulation.[13] However, each of them has knowledge the other lacks that leads to the same solution:[14] they are both looking for the Cave of the Nadir, for use as a source of wealth or power[15] - or perhaps to sell the location to the highest bidder, if the Missionary has her way.[16] The Missionary knows how to enter, but not the location.[17]

The Missionary has a preoccupation with Joan of Arc, which manifests as a complex around the dissonance between her righteous desires and actions on the Surface, and the morally grey turn her life has gradually taken.[18]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Ask her to talk about herself, Fallen London
  2. ↑ The Secular Missionary: Who Is She, Really?, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Accept the case 1, Fallen London "She is a more secular kind of missionary, dedicated to educating orphans and fallen women."
  4. ↑ Accept the case 1, Fallen London "She made the hazardous trip down to the Neath in search of her errant husband. [...] "A Spiritualist received a message from him," she says. "She said he was in thrall – to devils!" She whispers the last words, wide-eyed."
  5. ↑ Ask her to talk about herself, Fallen London "She is reserved, but she gives you a few hints about her life. The dedication to her husband and elderly parents. The vocation that led her to missionary work, educating poor young ladies. It's almost too good to be true."
  6. ↑ Did the Secular Missionary's Husband Visit Veilgarden?, Fallen London "The lady comes to you in distress. 'I have heard rumours about – houses – places – of ill repute! Please help me prove them untrue.'"
  7. ↑ Pretend to ask Sinning Jenny, Fallen London "Your client is all too ready to believe your tall tales. Was this what she expected all along? Her eyes sparkle as she speaks. Then she throws herself into your arms, sobbing. It seems she trusts you, and appreciates your emotional support in this difficult time for her."
  8. ↑ Consult the Wry Functionary, Fallen London "Here she is [...] in Brussels, raising funds for a school for disgraced young ladies. But the school burnt down. Here she is again in Morocco, translating Arabic philosophers into English. Quite obscure philosophers, actually. I wasn't aware so many of their works were extant. She seems to have done well out of it, though. And here she is [...] in Boston, operating a sort of humanist tabernacle with her brother."
  9. ↑ Ask the players of the Game, Fallen London ""Here she is: someone of her description [...] sighted boarding the Chthonic Queen on the first of that month. As Mme Dubois. And here she is disembarking. As Mrs Crete. I wonder why she saw fit to change her name? And here. Attending a lecture [...] in Brussels, with a young man who was afterwards involved in fisticuffs. She denied all knowledge of him: but there is a police informer's report which definitively puts him in her company. And here. The same police informer identifies the young man as one Mr Heggarty. An alias used the previous month in Bruges by a gentleman who sold a 'Fourth City duelling-spike' to a museum. The 'spike' was later identified as an exile from the museum railings."
  10. ↑ 'You haven't been honest with me...', Fallen London "You've found her husband. If, indeed, he is her husband. She had no right to mix you up in all this, whatever secrets she may possess. [...] "It's true – I have led a complex life – but those secrets are not solely mine, either. I wish I could be candid, but I must also be discreet.""
  11. ↑ The Secular Missionary: a Package Arrives, Fallen London "The source you last met with has sent you a daguerreotype of the Missionary [...] A man sits at her left, but his face is damnably blurred. [...] Smiling, she holds up a pamphlet. Block letters announce 'THE LIBERATION OF NIGHT.""
  12. ↑ Marry the Secular Missionary, Fallen London "The old boys in Vienna send their love. The Old Man most especially."
  13. ↑ 'I wanted to talk to you...', Fallen London "The Firebrand is as agitated as you've ever seen him. "I'm sorry. I'm not proud of my past. I only wanted to make a new life here below... devote myself to something finer. [...] Yes, she's my wife, but also... a she-wolf. A puppet-mistress. I fled her. She wants the knowledge I have. She doesn't care about me."
  14. ↑ 'I wanted to talk to you...', Fallen London "But I couldn't find the last piece of the puzzle. I'll need her help, too, to find the secret-of-secrets."
  15. ↑ 'What exactly is it you're looking for?', Fallen London "It's a weapon," the Missionary says, a little impatiently. "And a treasure." Her teeth glint in the half-light."
  16. ↑ 'This is why you came to the Neath?', Fallen London ""Five years of work!" he retorts. "And all you want to do is sell the thing." "I'm perfectly happy selling half of the thing," she returns. "The causes I support require resources." She glances at you. "Or, perhaps, one-third.""
  17. ↑ The Missionary and the Firebrand, Fallen London ""Oh, stop!" he cries. "I know what you want. And you were right. I still don't know how to enter. But you'll never find it without me.""
  18. ↑ Speak to the Missionary, Fallen London ""Joan of Arc." She answers swiftly but dreamily, without stopping to think, and then starts, as if surprised at her own candour. She turns. "Don't look at me like that." (Were you looking at her like that?) "I haven't always been this person. I've done a great deal of good, up on the Surface. We all make compromises. You. You make compromises too. I know you have. You're not the only one who can spy and sneak and gossip. Oh, shut up. Shut up!" She strides back to the fire, jaw set. You hadn't said a word."
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