The Creditor

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"You might call it a contract or a treaty or an oath, whatever best suits you. But this Power will not suffer you to go further into the Neath, nor to change it more from what it was, unless some limit is attached to your actions, and some price paid for the imposition."[3]

The Creditor is a power that presides over the Hinterlands.

Living Earth[edit | edit source]

"All the land past the Evenlode is touched by the Creditor. And the closer territory, too, we have ways of visiting."[4]

An ancient building.
The Magistracy of the Evenlode

The Creditor is an ancient, earthly entity who rules the Hinterlands between London and Hell.[5][6] It monitors all traffic through its realm,[7][8] and in the past, trespassers would be summoned to its court, the Magistracy of the Evenlode.[9][10]

When brought to the Creditor's throne room,[11] interlopers would have to agree to leave the Hinterlands unblemished. In addition to a verbal agreement, they were also required to pay a gage: collateral only returned if the deal was upheld.[12][7] This practice was standard[13] until after the Second City, as the Creditor abandoned its court[14] and left only ruins behind.[15]

History[edit | edit source]

"Service to a fierce and brilliant star. A cleaving birth – better not dwell on this. It was painful to lose your sister-self."

"Then: the Neath. Time passing, small creatures slipping past, minor affairs that are not worth looking into; and then a sudden, awful shock. You had responsibilities. You oversaw disputes and kept peace between the Sun's experiments. You thought these little animals couldn't possibly be of any concern."[16]

A full moon.
The Moon

The Creditor was once an entity of the High Wilderness that served a "fierce and brilliant" Judgement,[17][18] likely the Sun itself. During the Cataclysm of Silver,[19] it was violently split in twain, and its "sister-self" became the Moon.[20][21] The other half found itself in the Neath with instructions from the Sun:[22] to oversee and protect the Shames[23] who were hidden from the Judgements' sight.[24] The Creditor focused its attention on the most powerful beings, ignoring any smaller creatures; it worked as a mediator and a peacekeeper,[25] resolving disputes between powers through the rule of honor and word.[26][27]

When Hell first arrived in the Neath, its leadership petitioned the Creditor for a safe route to the Unterzee. In return, the Creditor hired them for their legal services. The Solicitor-Baroness was chosen as the Creditor's solicitor, and she still acts in this role to this day.[28]

Biology[edit | edit source]

"It takes from the folds of its robe a mirrorcatch box, and without explanation or ceremony, shines pure sunlight on the Creditorial stone. What comes back is not sunlight. For the briefest moment, everyone in the room appears other than human, their bodies boulders and trees and false-stars, and then the image fades."[29]

A stone spire with windows.
Hillchanger Tower

The Creditor is a being of living earth,[30] whose "face" is the topsoil of the Hinterlands.[31] It can move entire mountains to communicate gestures such as greetings,[32] and can also unleash powerful earthquakes.[33] Its presence is not solely confined to the Hinterlands; in fact, no part of the Neath is truly beyond its reach.[34] The Creditor has a multifaceted identity; Hillchanger Tower is just one extension of itself.[35] The Creditor can view the world using Hillchanger as a proxy,[36] though Hillchanger also shows some limited autonomy from its host.[37]

The Creditor's "internal" flesh resembles the surface of its sibling, the Moon.[38] This material reacts with moon-pearls[39] and can be consumed by others to communicate messages.[40] It can also reflect sunlight to induce visions of a strange and shapeful world;[41] this property is analogous to moonlight.[42]

Personality[edit | edit source]

"FROM EACH HER OWN LAW;"

"AND NONE SHALL ESCAPE THE LAW SHE HAS MADE."[43]

A translucent candle.
A Cave-Aged Code of Honour.

The Creditor is a firm believer in the value of oaths and personal honor.[44] It prefers to treat counterparties as equals,[45] respects those who commit to their word,[46] and loathes being disrespected[47] or ignored.[48] It prefers resoluteness over belligerence,[49] but is still willing to use force if necessary.[50][51]

The Creditor cares deeply about the Hinterlands and does not want it damaged or changed.[52][53] It is a nostalgic being, and it feels that as time has passed, honor has lost its value among the Neath's modern denizens.[54] The Creditor would like the Neath to retain its strangeness and monstrosity,[55] and it also wishes for the Shames to move freely again undisturbed by the Judgements.[56] Being such a singular and unique entity, it is also implied to be lonely.[57]

A Fateful Deal[edit | edit source]

"A payment was offered long ago, in the Bazaar's name. The Creditor still lives. Between London and Hell. It must not be reminded, the terms of its patience must not be strained. Above all, no new promises can be made."

"In the first of all cities, the Cedar was witness of oaths."[58]

A spired building.
The Echo Bazaar

During the era of the First City,[59] the Sleeping Merchant led a caravan to the Hinterlands in search of fortune. He carried with him the seal of the Echo Bazaar itself.[60] The Creditor noticed the intrusion, and brought him to Evenlode for judgement.[61] The Creditor feared that the Bazaar and its citizens would damage the Hinterlands, so it demanded insurance to prevent this.[62] However, the gage was inexplicably measured against every soul in the Neath.[63] The Merchant did not know the Neath's true population,[64] so he promised this enormous payment on the Bazaar's behalf.[65][66]

A sleeping person.
The Sleeping Merchant

Unfortunately for the Merchant, the Masters quickly realized the Bazaar would not be able to pay without causing a cataclysm.[67][68] Furthermore, the Bazaar cannot risk defaulting, as the Creditor might spread word of its perfidy.[69] Thus, the Masters did not report the situation to the Bazaar,[70] and they sealed the Merchant in an endless slumber[71] to freeze the debt for as long as the Merchant stayed asleep.[72]

When London expanded its business ventures into the Hinterlands, it failed to secure proper permission from the Creditor before proceeding, and the Great Hellbound Railway was considered a trespass into its domain.[31] In an attempt to avert catastrophe, Mr Fires came up with the idea of infusing the tracks of the Great Hellbound Railway with Justificande coins, which mandate forgiveness from those who receive them.[73][74] However, its actions only agitated the Creditor.[75] Now, the Creditor's patience is wearing thin,[76] and the Railway's further intrusions may shatter this delicate stalemate.[77]

Scientific Inspirations[edit | edit source]

While there may be other potential explanations, the Cataclysm of Silver fits into the giant-impact hypothesis. This hypothesis, which is currently the most thoroughly evidenced theory for the formation of the Moon, poses that an ancient planet called Theia collided with Earth, and the debris accumulated to form the Moon. A more recent investigation indicates that the remains of Theia are present on both Earth and the Moon.[78]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "[...] defendant at a time [...] before this Judge [...]"
  2. ↑ Accept a proposal from those board members aligned with a month, Fallen London "They emerge afterward with an agreement that offers a future land agreement with the 'Principality of the Tower, also known as the Bazaar's Creditor'."
  3. ↑ In Credit, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Point out a prop the Solicitor-Baroness did not mention, Fallen London
  5. ↑ Point out a prop the Solicitor-Baroness did not mention, Fallen London "'All the land past the Evenlode is touched by the Creditor. And the closer territory, too...'"
  6. ↑ The Way West, Fallen London "The Creditor still lives. Between London and Hell."
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 In Credit, Fallen London "[...] this Power will not [...] you to go further into the Neath, nor to change it more [...] unless some limit is attached [...] and some price paid for the imposition."
  8. ↑ The Nature of the Debt, Fallen London "A price charged for crossing a mountain pass, [...]"
  9. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "[...] defendant [...] came before this Judge – summoned here if they tried to pass through these lands without leave."
  10. ↑ The Deeps of the Magistracy, Fallen London "The Creditor used to live above," [...] "The Magistracy belonged to him; he [...] held his court [...]"
  11. ↑ The Deeps of the Magistracy, Fallen London "The Magistracy [...] he established his throne room and held his court [...]"
  12. ↑ Meaning what, precisely?, Fallen London ""A gage is a pledge of good faith," [...] to be returned safe [...] if all ends well. [...] it was meant to represent the promise [...] prevent [...] from causing too much damage."
  13. ↑ Ask the Baroness why she, an aristocrat of Hell, performs a clerk's duty, Fallen London "[...] before the First City [...] when Hell first sought safe passage to the Zee. We arranged the route and made our payment [...]"
  14. ↑ The Deeps of the Magistracy, Fallen London "The Creditor used to live above," [...] "The Magistracy belonged to him; [...] But his court vanished, sometime after the Second City.""
  15. ↑ Ask how she learned about the Creditor, Fallen London "[...] the Creditor presided over judgements at the Evenlode. Its throne room is still down there."
  16. ↑ Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar, Fallen London
  17. ↑ Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar, Fallen London "Service to a fierce and brilliant star."
  18. ↑ Confer with Penstock, Fallen London "[...] this Creditor [...] they have acquaintances in common. So the Bazaar [...]"
  19. ↑ Read the words that come with the Shard of the Mountain, Fallen London "[...] the Creditor, who has lived alone [...] since the Cataclysm of Silver."
  20. ↑ Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar, Fallen London "A cleaving birth [...] It was painful to lose your sister-self."
  21. ↑ Search it for letters of fire, Fallen London ""Substance shared with a [...] sibling." The [...] stone is mottled and silver as [...] the moon."
  22. ↑ Propose a currency infused with lacre, Fallen London "The Creditor wanted the Neath [...] as the Sun intended, a hiding place for creations that could exist nowhere else."
  23. ↑ Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar, Fallen London "Then: the Neath. [...] You had responsibilities. You oversaw disputes and kept peace between the Sun's experiments."
  24. ↑ Leviathan, Fallen London "[...] these creatures are Shames, [...] have lain hidden from the Judgements for millennia."
  25. ↑ Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar, Fallen London "You oversaw disputes and kept peace [...] these little animals couldn't [...] be [...] any concern."
  26. ↑ Propose a currency that functions as a pledge of extradition, Fallen London "The Creditor remembers [...] when matters were settled between great powers as a matter of honour."
  27. ↑ Speak to the Dean of Xenotheology, Fallen London "When the Neath was new, its only inhabitants were great powers [...] the Creditor was their judge [...] 'The gods swore by their own names [...]"
  28. ↑ Ask the Baroness why she, an aristocrat of Hell, performs a clerk's duty, Fallen London "[...] when Hell [...] sought safe passage to the Zee. We [...] made our payment then." [...] this party [...] engaged Hell as its firm of solicitors, and I [...] perform that role, for more generations than you have been alive."
  29. ↑ Discover its age and its kinship to stars, Fallen London
  30. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London ""Not every patch of ground is asleep," [...] That Creditor is elusive, but it is an earth power [...]"
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Take your time and go observantly, Fallen London "Trespasser, you have laid your road across my face [...]"
  32. ↑ The Creditor's Spouse (Furnace), Fallen London "[...] the Creditor knows [...] The hills draw up [...] in cautious greeting."
  33. ↑ Clear the gant away, Fallen London "The ground-trembling will be the Creditor [...]"
  34. ↑ Point out the obvious, Fallen London ""We know where she has been," [...] "Few corners of the Neath are entirely beyond our reach. [...] in the roof. My client has close relatives there."
  35. ↑ Beg her pardon, Fallen London "And Hillchanger, [...] is part of the Creditor's substance." [...] she explains [...] questions of identity and divisible bodies, [...]"
  36. ↑ Read it in an ancient language, Fallen London "We have stood on Aescwine and measured [...] the number of your statues [...] Hanging from the Neath-roof we have looked down into... [...] Veilgarden?"
  37. ↑ The Creditor's Spouse (Furnace), Fallen London "The hills draw up [...] in cautious greeting. [...] the Hillchanger Tower knows no such restraint. [...] it is gone from your side."
  38. ↑ Search it for letters of fire, Fallen London ""Something [...] in the core of one's being and [...] far from the surface." This could mean [...] flesh cut from one's own organs, [...] "Substance shared with a [...] sibling." [...] surface of the stone is mottled and silver as [...] the moon."
  39. ↑ Discover its age and its kinship to stars, Fallen London "[...] a handful of moon-pearls [...] roll gently towards the stone [...] shine as though the moon were full, although it is currently waning."
  40. ↑ Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar, Fallen London "If the Bazaar were to consume this message, what would happen? [...] you [...] dab [...] the stone-dust to your tongue. [...] The impression is distant and languid."
  41. ↑ Discover its age and its kinship to stars, Fallen London "[...] shines pure sunlight on the Creditorial stone. [...] For the [...] moment, everyone in the room appears other than human, their bodies boulders and trees and false-stars, [...]"
  42. ↑ Walk in moonlight, Fallen London "The floor is silvered with spilling moonlight. It makes a ghost of your flesh and your eyes a lens to elsewhere."
  43. ↑ Study the evidence, Fallen London
  44. ↑ Study the evidence, Fallen London "FROM EACH HER OWN LAW [...] AND NONE SHALL ESCAPE THE LAW SHE HAS MADE. [...] it is a poetic verse, [...] only at the end of an epic."
  45. ↑ Read it in Correspondence, Fallen London "Come among us with equal mass, [...] or be cast out [...]"
  46. ↑ Beg her pardon, Fallen London "commitment to all her past oaths and promises; [...] I can understand the Creditor's interest."
  47. ↑ Rely on your previous rapport, Fallen London "Your [...] friend has bid me [...] as though I were his dog [...] Trying to stave off my rage [...]"
  48. ↑ Read it in Correspondence, Fallen London "[...] you have not watched us, have not given us proper weight [...] Therefore a warning [...]"
  49. ↑ Search it for letters of fire, Fallen London ""A peaceful but undeniable demand." The Creditor does not threaten, but it insists on its rights."
  50. ↑ Read it in an ancient language, Fallen London "Come among the other powers as a guest-friend [...] Or we shall walk across your kind in turn [...]"
  51. ↑ Open fire, Fallen London "Trouble comes after that [...] when the Hillchanger Tower rears up from the ground like a startled snake [...] when the earth warps like a garment around the Tower's base; when the tracks buckle."
  52. ↑ In Credit, Fallen London "[...] this Power will not suffer you change it more from what it was [...]"
  53. ↑ Meaning what, precisely?, Fallen London "[...] meant to represent the promise that [...] prevent its people from causing too much damage."'
  54. ↑ Propose a currency that functions as a pledge of extradition, Fallen London "The Creditor remembers [...] when matters were settled between great powers as a matter of honour. [...] difficult to recapture when the Neath is full of small creatures."
  55. ↑ Ascertain the Creditor's mood, Fallen London "[...] that gesture gave the Creditor ambitious plans for the future monstrosity of the Neath. It really was delighted."
  56. ↑ Propose a currency infused with lacre, Fallen London "The Creditor misses [...] when the Shames moved freely and the Judgements did not turn their attention this way."
  57. ↑ Read the words that come with the Shard of the Mountain, Fallen London "[...] the Creditor, who has lived alone and without equal [...] has found among the Newcomer Powers none that live in accordance with their own laws [...]"
  58. ↑ The Way West, Fallen London
  59. ↑ The Nature of the Debt, Fallen London "[...] IT WANTED THE MONEY, [...] IT TRICKED A FIRST CITY MERCHANT [...]"
  60. ↑ Let the Efficient Commissioner ask questions while you walk, Fallen London "[...] he begged my permission to begin a new caravan, to re-establish his wealth [...] He borrowed [...] to the point of receiving the Bazaar's own Seal."
  61. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "One defendant at a time [...] before this Judge – summoned here if they tried to pass through these lands without leave. [...] The Merchant [...] He could barely look [...] at the being that sat in Judgement."
  62. ↑ Meaning what, precisely?, Fallen London ""A gage is a pledge of good faith," [...] it was meant to represent the promise that the Bazaar would prevent its people from causing too much damage."
  63. ↑ The Nature of the Debt, Fallen London "A price charged for crossing [...] calculated on the number of souls in the whole Neath – [...] IT TRICKED A FIRST CITY MERCHANT [...] The [...] records call it a gage."
  64. ↑ The Debt, Fallen London "A payment for every soul in the Neath," [...] "The Merchant only knew his [...] city; [...] miscounted the cost.""
  65. ↑ Breathe an ancient air, Fallen London "The Merchant, [...] To escape [...] he promised [...] on behalf of himself, and on behalf of the Bazaar. He pressed his seal [...]"
  66. ↑ The Sleeper, Fallen London "[...] A caravan [...] A man who carried the [...] seal [...] to pledge the faith of the Bazaar [...] for an impossible ransom."
  67. ↑ Ask what might happen if the Creditor does contact the Bazaar, Fallen London ""The most likely outcome," [...] "is that the Bazaar would attempt to honour the debt [...] even if [...] damaging to London, or fatal to itself.""
  68. ↑ The Sleeper, Fallen London "The struggle to meet that pledge. The city almost sold [...]"
  69. ↑ Slip the stone into the lacre gently, Fallen London "She will pay anything [...] rather than have the Creditor... send a report? [...] tell someone that she was dishonest."
  70. ↑ Ask about the Bazaar's ignorance, Fallen London "When the debt was incurred, it wasn't necessary to emburdenate the Bazaar with a full accounting, [...]"
  71. ↑ Ask about the Bazaar's ignorance, Fallen London "When the debt was incurred [...] We ourselves found a [...] resolution," says Mr Spices [...] I was the one who thought of putting the Merchant to sleep."
  72. ↑ The Sleeper, Fallen London "The Debtor cannot be woken [...] When he wakes, his debt will be due, [...] the loophole [...] that sent the Debtor to sleep instead."
  73. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London "The Bazaar owes a debt to its Creditor [...] I hoped that laying [...] tracks made of Justificandes across its face would [...] constitute either repayment or the means to silence."
  74. ↑ Justificande Coin, Fallen London "ONE DAY YOU WILL FORGIVE is stamped on the back. It is a commandment as much as a promise."
  75. ↑ Rely on your previous rapport, Fallen London "Trespasser, you have laid your road across my face [...] like a fool, Fires made bargains [...] Trying to stave off my rage [...]"
  76. ↑ Ask about the Sleeping Merchant, Fallen London ""That matter," [...] "has drawn on [...] too long. It will not be allowed to continue for [...] longer. [...]"
  77. ↑ Rely on your previous rapport, Fallen London "[...] you have laid your road across my face [...] My patience has been great [...] Now it is time to account [...]"
  78. ↑ Moon was produced by a head-on collision between Earth and a forming planet , UCLA Newsroom
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