Editing The Chelonate

{{Neath_Location|image1 = Locations The Chelonate.png|caption1 = |location = [[The Unterzee|The Carrion Sea]]<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/A_Patriotic_Dispute#Interactions|Side with the Chelonians|Sunless Sea}} ''"Come to the Carrion Sea, some time."''</ref>|allegiance = [[The Fathomking]]|music = [https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/flukes-fathoms Fluke's Fathoms]|port=Schabelport}}<blockquote>''"Waves lap the slabby sides of a vast turtle-shell - bigger than any cathedral. Chelonites loaf on wooden docks around the shell-sides, staring sullenly. Lamps hang like decorations in a festive butcher's window. All around you, the sea is rank with scraps of ancient flesh."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|The Chelonate|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>

The '''Chelonate''' is an enormous zee-turtle carcass inhabited by [[Monster-Hunters]].__FORCETOC__

==A City On a Shell==

<blockquote>''"The remains of a vast turtle shell. Voracious hunters. Rotting flesh."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Port_Report:_The_Chelonate|Item description|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>

The Chelonate is a settlement built on a deceased zee-turtle in the eastern [[Unterzee]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Chelonite_Hunting_Ketch|A Chelonite Hunting Ketch|Fallen London}} ''"[...] the Chelonate, a tiny nation of monster-hunters who inhabit the skeleton of a giant turtle."''</ref> inhabited primarily by [[Monster-Hunters]] who have consumed the [[peligin]] flesh of [[Zee-Monsters|zee-monsters]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Obtain a Doomed Monster-Hunter|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Chelonate is stiff with Monster-Hunters, awash with the peligin juices that give them strength."''</ref> The smell of rot here is so overwhelming it addles the mind, and fights often break out where the stench is foulest.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Compile a Port Report|Sunless Sea}} ''"No matter what details you try to record, the stench creeps in around the edges of the sentences. "The Chelonites, watchful despite the reek." "Movement among the miasmic scraps of long-abandoned monster-carcass." "Frequent duels where the stink is thickest [...]"''</ref> The Chelonites firmly believe that their ancestors slew the turtle that they now call home,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Scrimshaw_Chronicler|Bring him a tale|Sunless Sea}} ''"[...] Glory's what we call this beast." He gestures around you, at the turtle's shell. "None still live from those days when we slew her."''</ref> and will respond to doubt or disrespect with whatever weapons happen to be nearby.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Shore leave at the Chelonate|Sunless Sea}} ''""We lost the new one, cap'n. She had one too many and started on the Turtle not being real. Chelonites were on 'er like ants. Not enough to send home.""''</ref> The waters near the Chelonate are patrolled by the [[The Eater of Names|Eater of Names]], a deadly barge crewed by Chelonite zealots.<ref name="worm">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Figurehead_of_the_Eater_of_Names#Item_description|Item description|Sunless Sea}} ''"This weird skull once adorned the worm-drawn priest-barge of the Chelonate."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Eater_of_Names#The_Eater_of_Names_is_destroyed|The Eater of Names is destroyed|Sunless Sea}} ''"The boat is shattered. Wild-eyed Chelonite zealots leap into the zee."''</ref>

The Chelonate is a relatively small nation, and its citizens patrol the eastern regions of the Zee in search of beasts.<ref name="ketch">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Chelonite_Hunting_Ketch|A Chelonite Hunting Ketch|Fallen London}} ''"You are not far from the Chelonate, a tiny nation of monster-hunters who inhabit the skeleton of a giant turtle. Their hunting vessels prowl these waters for prey."''</ref> They also congregate at [[Scrimshander]], where they stage historical plays depicting great heroes.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Scrimshander#The_Stage_of_History|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."''</ref> Other zee-factions seem to have a strained relationship with the Chelonate, as the [[Khanate]] has protocols against Chelonate raids,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Khan's_Heart#Interactions|Gather a Port Report|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Concerns about Chelonate raids."''</ref> and the Chelonites react poorly to suspected spies from [[Polythreme]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Tomb-Colonists_in_the_Chelonate|A Bandage-Colony Reveal'd!|Sunless Sea}} ''"Polythreme is known to the Chelonate, it seems. Their Sniffers and Sounders have identified the bandage-colony as a 'hearts-licker spy'."''</ref> The Chelonate also has agreements with the [[Fathomking]], justified by their ancestors' killing of the great zee-turtle.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/A_Punishment_for_Arrogance|Story description|Sunless Sea}} ''"He studies the inscriptions, about a starving hunter lost at zee, who washed up on the fresh corpse of a giant turtle, and founded a settlement. His Complexity purses his lips. "They told us they were champions. The terms of our agreements were founded on that claim."''</ref> However, neither party seems fond of one another,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Punishment_for_Arrogance#Interactions|Suggest he spreads the truth far and wide|Sunless Sea}} ''"I have never particularly liked the Chelonates."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Fathomking#The_Throne-Cyst|Listen to a Chelonate Envoy|Sunless Sea}} ''"[...] "...unpardonable intrusion! Our ancient rights have been impugned! King you may be, but not of the Shell-Slayers. We will pay no more tribute - " [...]"''</ref> and the Chelonites are required to pay tribute to him.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Punishment_for_Arrogance#Interactions|Suggest the Chelonates are beneath his dignity|Sunless Sea}} ''"And what of the tribute they pay me? Should that be forgotten, too?"''</ref>

<blockquote>''"The hunters' tales are characteristically grim: lives cut short by ill-considered dives; ships torn apart by bound-sharks or squirming neithers; eerie lights rising up from the sea. But they're always tinged with defiance: the monster is always scarred in the fight; there's always one wily sailor who lives to tell the tale."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Hail_them_and_exchange_stories|Hail them and exchange stories|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>''"The Bone Man awaits you. His face and chest are streaked with white clay. His forehead bears a glyph, in the deep code of the void. Long ago, his mother ritually severed his littlest finger."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Deliver Sphinxstone for Penstock|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Hunterseye.png|alt=An eye with a dark navy color.|thumb|A [[Monster-Hunters|Monster-Hunter's]] eye.]]

The Chelonites' culture is based heavily around [[Monster-Hunters|monster-hunting]].<ref name="ketch"/> They regularly embark on hunts across the Zee,<ref name="ketch" /> and are skilled trackers and cartographers.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Exchange_sightings_of_elusive_beasts|Exchange sightings of elusive beasts|Fallen London}} ''"In return, they offer information. Habitats, migrations paths, preferred prey and adverse terrain – invaluable clues [...] filtered through the mind of the hunter."''</ref> They also partake in other activities and industries, such as bone carving and free-diving.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Acquire_a_bone_armoire_from_an_Unblemished_Canon|Acquire a bone armoire from an Unblemished Canon|Fallen London}} ''"The armoire is […]carved from the bones of some gigantic Zee-beast. "It was imported from the Chelonate," [...]"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Hail_them_and_purchase_a_bag_of_assorted_bones|Hail them and purchase a bag of assorted bones|Fallen London}} ''"Remains of maritime creatures and curious fossils found free-diving, all jangling together in a sack."''</ref> Chelonites are formidable fighters, and one of their most infamous tactics is launching themselves out of cannons to assault enemies head on.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Open_fire!_(Hunting_Ketch)|Open fire! (Hunting Ketch)|Fallen London}} ''"The Monster Hunters [...] fire themselves out of their forward cannons to land on your deck, [...] These hunters have trained their entire lives to bring down bound-sharks and Flukes – from within the metal skin of your hull, your crew are like so much chaff under their harpoons."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Open_fire!_(Hunting_Ketch)|Open fire! (Hunting Ketch)|Fallen London}} ''"The more reckless kind of Chelonite Monster Hunter is notorious for firing themselves out of cannons, harpoon-first, to strike at zee-beasts with the velocity of a cannonball and the fury of a starveling cat."''</ref> They are also skilled swimmers, though they struggle against armored enemy vessels.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Open_fire!_(Hunting_Ketch)|Open fire! (Hunting Ketch)|Fallen London}} ''"They are unused to bringing down quarry with metal instead of flesh, and, when their harpoons fail to find purchase on your hull, they abandon ship to swim the considerable distance back to the Chelonate."''</ref>

Chelonites are seen as dour and morbid by others,<ref name="doomed">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Obtain a Doomed Monster-Hunter|Sunless Sea}} ''""That will suffice. When news of my death comes, they'll offer this treasure to the Bone Men. If they die, they will still be remembered." Cheery lot, the Chelonites."''</ref> but they possess a defiant spirit, celebrating even the smallest victories and pursuing great challenges.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Hail_them_and_exchange_stories|Hail them and exchange stories|Fallen London}} ''"The hunters' tales are [...] grim: [...] But they're always tinged with defiance: the monster is always scarred in the fight; there's always one wily sailor who lives to tell the tale. One day, they like to claim, they will turn their ships towards Saviour's Rocks and sink the Tree of Ages."''</ref> Their diet appears mostly meat-based, and includes viscera from the nearby [[Gant Pole]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Gant_Pole#Interactions|Cut some flesh for the Chelonate|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The carcass of the last beast to expire in this place still has plenty of meat hanging from its bones. [...] To the Chelonate, [...] it probably counts as haute cuisine."''</ref> This even extends to their beer, which is supposedly made of eel-blood, zee-fungus, and other ingredients.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Shore leave at the Chelonate|Sunless Sea}} ''""It's not actually beer, cap'n," a zailor confides. "It's eel-blood fermented with zee-fungus, or somefin'. I didn't hear the whole account. [...]"''</ref> According to rumor, Chelonites that "die cowards" are not permitted to rest at Zee; instead they are buried on any land that will accept their bodies.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Shepherd_Isles#Interactions|Tales of the Three Graves|Sunless Sea|}} ''"A ship from the Chelonate came by, hunting the Midnight Whale. Three of them had died cowards, so their bodies couldn't go into the zee. They paid us for the land, in whale-ivory."''</ref>

The Chelonites revere [[Storm]] and worship him with visceral rituals.<ref name="rites">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Tomb-Colonists_in_the_Chelonate|Send the tomb-colonists to visit Storm's Temple|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Chelonites worship the god called Storm with frightful, bloody rites."''</ref> The '''Bone Men''' are warrior-priests dedicated to Storm;<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Your_Father%27s_Bones:_the_Next_Step|Slivvy, the Urchin who Talks to the Wind|Sunless Sea}} ''""You ever been to the Chelonate? [...] The Bone Men there - the priests of Storm [...]"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Deliver Sphinxstone for Penstock|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Bone Man carries a maul. No: he bears a maul."''</ref> they wear white clay on their faces and chests, have sigils of the [[Correspondence]] etched onto their bodies, and are missing their littlest fingers, which were removed at a young age.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Deliver Sphinxstone for Penstock|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Bone Man awaits you. His face and chest are streaked with white clay. His forehead bears a glyph, in the deep code of the void. Long ago, his mother ritually severed his littlest finger."''</ref><ref name="palms">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Chelonate#The_Chelonate|Find someone to teach secrets of butchery to the Bandaged Poissonnier|Sunless Sea|}} ''"A Bone Man shows you the glyphs cut into his white-dusted palms. "They mean 'Separation'," he tells you. He will instruct your chef, if you can prove your worth."''</ref> The Bone Men are extremely skilled butchers,<ref name="palms" /> and maintain the Chelonate's store of treasures, including the heirlooms of those declared doomed.<ref name="doomed" />

==The Glory's Tale==

<blockquote>''"I've long sought the tale of the Glory's end - Glory's what we call this beast. None still live from those days when we slew her. But the saying is: the tale still lives on history's beach. Bring me that tale, zee-captain. Please."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Scrimshaw_Chronicler|Bring him a tale|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>''"I broke my first shell. I roamed to the Unterzee. I feasted on monsters. I battened on whales. I grew city-vast. I sickened. The Gant Pole drew me, and there I died of age and weariness, turning on my back to rot until the hunters found me."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Irem#The_Mirror-Marches|You heard the Glory's story|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>

The Chelonites pride themselves on their ancestors' killing of the '''Glory''', the turtle whose body became their home,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Scrimshaw_Chronicler|Bring him a tale|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Bring me a tale worthy of the bone, and I'll shape something worthy of you. I've long sought the tale of the Glory's end - Glory's what we call this beast." He gestures around you, at the turtle's shell. "None still live from those days when we slew her. [...]"''</ref> and they are willing to bury evidence that may challenge this narrative.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Scrimshander#Scrimshander_Centre|Return to the Chelonate Chronologist|Sunless Sea}} ''"You have done as he asked. Evidence of the Chelonate's inglorious origins has been concealed. [...] He exhales with relief when he sees you return, alone. "We are only what our ancestors are held to have been. Thank you for not tarnishing our pride.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Burial_of_Shame|Story description|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Muscular Monk hauls the Cargo inside. "I shall make my vigil here. Wall me up once I'm within." [...] Inside, you can see other casks, similar to the Cargo. A skeleton sprawls before each, or a mouldering corpse. How many times have the Chelonates buried this secret?""''</ref> However, this story of strength and bloodshed is largely myth. In truth, the Glory was born in [[Parabola]], where it hatched from a violet, carriage-sized egg. It roamed the [[Unterzee]] and grew massive, but eventually fell ill and journeyed to the [[Gant Pole]] to die. It turned over on its shell to lay at rest, and a starving hunter later arrived at the scene, founding a new nation.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Irem#The_Mirror-Marches|You heard the Glory's story|Sunless Sea}} ''"[...] there was an egg, the size of a coach, the colour of a bruise. In the egg there was a voice. [...] "This is where I began," [...] "I broke my first shell. I roamed to the Unterzee. I feasted on monsters. I battened on whales. I grew city-vast. I sickened. The Gant Pole drew me, and there I died of age and weariness, turning on my back to rot until the hunters found me." The Chelonites have long boasted of how they slew the Glory, [...] you know the truth, that they never slew the Glory. They camped in its shell like a hermit crab seeking a new dwelling."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Punishment_for_Arrogance|Story description|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Fathomking examines the box. He runs a pruney finger over the engraved reliefs. He studies the inscriptions, about a starving hunter lost at zee, who washed up on the fresh corpse of a giant turtle, and founded a settlement."''</ref>

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