The Surface

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"The Sun is dangerous to Neath-dwellers like your crew, but the Surface has its temptations."[1]

The Surface is the blanket term for the lands above the Neath, bathed in the life-giving and life-taking light of the Sun.


Nostalgic[edit | edit source]

"The trees are the dusty green of old jade: the hills, tawny as a lion. You are pale as milk, all of you. The crew splash in the canal, whenever they can, to cool themselves after the heat of the sun. "It's not right up here," your bo'sun confides. "I keep thinking I'm going to fall off up, like. But it calms the heart to look at, don't it?""[2]

A Sunlight-Filled Mirrorcatch Box.

The two primary connections between the Surface and the Neath are the Travertine Spiral[3] and the Cumaean Canal.[4] Traveling to the Surface can be profitable, but it is also extremely dangerous, as exposure to sunlight can be a death sentence for denizens of the Neath.[5] Shadow and shelter offer some reprieve, but the radiance of the sun seeps in all the same, and over time it exacts its toll.[6]

Zailors who travel to the Surface often engage in the highly illegal sunlight trade, where they fill mysterious Mirrorcatch Boxes with captured sunlight, and sell them to those who can afford such a luxury.[7] Quite a few citizens of the Neath miss sunlight, even if they won't openly admit it, and peddlers of sunlight can turn in huge profits, but they also have a bad habit of succumbing to their own product.[8]

Objects imbued with the more supernatural qualities of the Neath tend to lose their potency when exposed to sunlight.[9] Even so, there remains a steady demand for Neath-born goods: coffee, fabric, jewels,[10] and more. These items can be safely transported to the Surface, provided they are carefully protected from direct sunlight along the way,[11] but even then, their shelf life barely extends beyond a week once above.[12]

Neathy folk struck by nostalgia for the Surface may also indulge in Surface-inspired dinners,[13] or may import food from the Surface for an extremely high price.[14] They may also import Surface-grown flowers, but these wither quickly, unless they're properly embalmed beforehand.[15]

The Last Labyrinth is a maze that connects the Neath to the Surface. Under most circumstances, the Cumaean Canal or the Travertine Spiral would be more attractive options. But if those were to become unusable, the truly desperate might find its key, brave its corridors, face its Inhabiters, and finally emerge in, of all places, Shepton Mallet.[16]

Consequences of the Fall[edit | edit source]

"We were splendid, once. Not so now; not with those hateful anarchists – playing with their dynamite, destroying homes. But those people are all over Europe now. The whole continent is painted with their awful slogans – 'Unity or Death!'; 'The Liberation of Night!'"[17]

An extinguished lamp, a symbol of the Liberation of Night.

The Fall of London left a power vacuum in Europe, plunging the rest of the continent into a struggle for dominance. In the wake of this period of conflict, revolutionaries from the Neath began launching attacks on the Surface and spreading the ideology of the Liberation of Night.[18] Their message resonated with Surface radicals, reigniting violence and unrest across the continent.[19] Cities like Vienna have become centers of Liberationist activity,[20] and governments across the world are entangled with Neathy affairs, each pursuing their own political objectives in the Great Game.

What remains of Surface England is governed from Manchester.[21] The collapse of Westminster’s authority has frayed the bonds of Union, emboldening Scotland’s drive toward independence. Near Her Enduring Majesty’s former Scottish seat, a new Palace of Holyroodhouse rises, and within its half-built walls resides an unofficial government-in-waiting.[22]

London's Colonies[edit | edit source]

"You are invited to the grand opening of the Garden Embassy. The embassy will represent the interests of a number of Her Enduring Majesty's colonies. A ball is to be held to celebrate the occasion. The invitation is signed by the Decorated Ambassador herself."[23]

The Decorated Ambassador, a representative of the Garden Embassy.

While Britain still has some sway over its Empire, London's current position has strained its ability to govern its colonies overseas. A miners' uprising that began before the Fall of London found much greater footing in the ensuing chaos.[24] Larger territories such as Australia and India have gained greater autonomy in recent decades; some colonial governments are exploring plans to federate, while others debate the question of independence.[25] In order to more easily facilitate relations with London, several colonies of the Commonwealth founded the Garden Embassy in Veilgarden,[23] which they lavishly decorated with Surface flora.[26]

Southern Africa has been particularly unstable, as the collapse of British authority allowed German forces to steadily gain territory. The Transvaal Republic (South African Republic) is on the brink of war,[27] but is currently governed by the descendants of Dutch, German, and French Huguenot settlers, who maintain a white and Christian-led hierarchy that is functionally identical to the historical principles and chronology of apartheid.[27] This strict social order, in which only white Christians may vote or own land, is based on the Great Chain of Being, and has been enforced thanks to the wealth the Republic has drawn from its diamond and gold mines.[28]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Travel to the Surface, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ To Naples, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ Fly past the Travertine Spiral, Fallen London "From the outside, the spiral looks like a giant's auger[…]. Look more closely and you can see the thousands of […] windows […]. There must be dozens of internal passages – staircases, elevators, funiculars. A network of paths connecting the Surface to the Neath […]."
  4. ↑ Cumaean Canal Staging Area, Sunless Sea "Here, the dark waters run down from the surface, from a brighter sea..."
  5. ↑ Rise and be lost, Sunless Sea "The time has come. No more darkness. Give yourself to the light of the Sun. If you don't have enough supplies, take passage aboard another ship. Your flesh will wither, and your journeys will end, but some tiny part of you will survive in the memory of the Sun. That's good... isn't it?"
  6. ↑ Deploy her to the Surface, Fallen London "There is a chess club in Vienna's Bräunerstraße. It has public games, and private games. It is the third level of game you wish to infiltrate, and who better to use than a local? You equip her with ciphers, poisons, and snippets of false intelligence that no Surface-dweller can disprove. She can survive for at least six months if she plays her matches indoors."
  7. ↑ Fill your Mirrorcatch Box, Sunless Sea "The box will remain filled with light until it's opened. even underground. They do it with mirrors."
  8. ↑ The light's delights, Sunless Sea "Open the box. Let it bathe you. Its warmth is long-needed sleep, clear crystal air, a lover's embrace -"
  9. ↑ Buy a train ticket to Vienna, Sunless Sea "Parabola-linen crumbles in sunlight. The mushroom wines of the Neath are not kindly received in the wine-shops of Italy and France. Prisoner's honey loses all its virtue. But in the coffee-houses of Vienna, Darkdrop Coffee is the new sensation. It's not so very far by train. You could travel by night."
  10. ↑ Send up a Fabulous Diamond, Fallen London "Enormous by Surface standards. Even though rumours circulate up there that the Neath contains gems as big as Highland cattle."
  11. ↑ Send up a vial of Master's Blood Fallen London, {{{3}}} "When the nerve-wracking process is done, there's no reply from upstairs for a long time. Finally, the Woman Upstairs breaks the stunned silence. "Grab it. Gently. Put it in the box – did you bring the wax? We can not let sunlight touch this.""
  12. ↑ Corrupt a rival network, Fallen London "Fungal wine won't do it. But the Neath has its own specialities. Rarities for the numismatists and archaeologists. Honey for the idealists. Black Wings for the veterans. Rubbery, ah, things, for the, ah, enthusiasts. Much that is commonplace here is exotic on the Surface, even if some of it will barely last a week before the sunlight destroys it. [...]"
  13. ↑ Host a feast inspired by the Surface, Fallen London
  14. ↑ Sidebar Snippets, Fallen London
  15. ↑ Myrrh-Scented Rose, Fallen London
  16. ↑ Your Beloved, Fallen London "[...] The ways to the surface - the Cumaean Canal, the Travertine Spiral - are choked with refugees. But you have the key to the Last Labyrinth; and you have the Ferryman's Promise to preserve you from the Surface-death. [...] You breach the surface, at last, in an apple orchard just outside Shepton Mallet, through a Neolithic tomb of unlikely age. [....]"
  17. ↑ The Waltz That Moved the World, Fallen London
  18. ↑ The Waltz That Moved the World, Fallen London "After London fell, Europe grew ugly. A great power vanished; the wars to replace her destroyed what was left. Politics. And when the dust settled, did we have peace? No; revolutionaries crept up from the bowels of the earth, to bomb the few cities left untouched. That was what brought me into the Game. But things are even worse today than twenty-five years ago. I'm glad I can't see what they've done."
  19. ↑ The Waltz That Moved the World Fallen London, {{{3}}} "We were splendid, once. Not so now; not with those hateful anarchists – playing with their dynamite, destroying homes. But those people are all over Europe now. The whole continent is painted with their awful slogans – 'Unity or Death!'; 'The Liberation of Night!'"
  20. ↑ "Psst! Friend! Strike a blow for freedom, will you?", Sunless Sea "Our sisters and brothers below are performing experiments in light. For, you know, the Liberation. [...] You'll be advancing our cause by months. Please. For freedom from all tyrants."
  21. ↑ Use your discoveries to set Surface and Neathy powers against one another, Fallen London "A word in Manchester wakens resentment: they do not want London to return and claim to rule England after being so long absent."
  22. ↑ Infiltrate Scottish politics, Fallen London "Without the influence of Westminster, appetite for independence is gathering in Scotland. A new Palace of Holyroodhouse is partway through construction near Her Enduring Majesty's former Scottish residence, and an unofficial government-in-waiting is taking shape behind its walls."
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 The Garden Embassy, Fallen London "You are invited to the grand opening of the Garden Embassy. The embassy will represent the interests of a number of Her Enduring Majesty's colonies. A ball is to be held to celebrate the occasion. The invitation is signed by the Decorated Ambassador herself."
  24. ↑ The Garden Embassy, Fallen London "Before London fell there was an uprising of miners in the colonies. It wouldn't have mattered – but then London disappeared. Since then, the insurrectionists have made a lot of friends. They're no fools – they want information before they act."
  25. ↑ The Garden Embassy, Fallen London "The governments of the colonies I represent are looking to the future. There are plans to federate. My father is a new governor, hence my role here. [...] My father and his counterparts have an important decision to make. Should they remain a part of the commonwealth? Or should they strike out on their own?"
  26. ↑ The Garden Embassy, Fallen London "The bird clucks happily as you scatter crumbs. [...] "From that new Embassy they're setting up in Veilgarden. They've got flowers and everything! It ain't natural." "
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Dernier Cri, Fallen London "The southern part of Africa has been unstable since London fell. With the decapitation of British forces the Germans made slow but steady territorial gains. Matters have come to a head in the Transvaal Republic, where the descendants of Dutch, German and Huguenot settlers exert prior control. They believe in a hierarchy of being, in which white Christians like themselves are superior to the indigenous people of Africa. [...] Now the region is sliding into war, and many interests are represented."
  28. ↑ Dernier Cri, Fallen London "We have created something very special in the Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek. A model of upright and moral government. No one may vote who is not devout. Each man and woman knows their place in the chain, and it preserves and sustains them. [...] The volk will not allow our values to be tainted, or our land be taken – by the Germans or anyone else. We have the diamond mines now, the gold mines. We have the power and the right. [...]"
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