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| | ''"The Duchess is a woman of independent inclinations. Her opinions do not always align with those of the great and the good."'' |
| {{Character
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| |image1 = Courtofcats.png
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| |location = [[The Shuttered Palace]]
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| |allegiance = Independent
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| |relationships = [[The Cantigaster]] (father, betrothed)<br>[[The Gracious Widow]] (enemy)<br>[[The Sisters]] (sisters)
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| }}<blockquote>''"The Duchess is a woman of independent inclinations. Her opinions do not always align with those of the great and the good."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Faction:_The_Duchess Faction: The Duchess, ''Fallen London'']</ref></blockquote>'''The Duchess''' is a noblewoman who resides in the Tortoiseshell Wing of the [[Shuttered Palace]], where she regularly hosts salons.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Entry_to_the_Duchess%27_Salon Entry to the Duchess' Salon, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Duchess has rooms in the Tortoiseshell Wing of the Shuttered Palace. You know her secretary a little from your honey-sipping days. He's hinted you may find a welcome at the salon she holds, if you can demonstrate your worth."''</ref>
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| == The "Crazy" Cat Lady ==
| | ''"A lady of style, grace and refinement, whose salons may be the best-attended in Fallen London. Just don't ask about her peculiar diet. Or her name. Or her association with the city's cats. Or her past. Actually, best not to say anything, just nod and drink her lovely tea. It is very lovely tea."'' |
| <blockquote>''"A lady of style, grace and refinement, whose salons may be the best-attended in Fallen London. Just don't ask about her peculiar diet. Or her name. Or her association with the city's cats. Or her past. Actually, best not to say anything, just nod and drink her lovely tea. It is very lovely tea."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#People Sidebar Snippets: Who is the Duchess, ''Fallen London'']</ref></blockquote>The Duchess is a devoted lover of cats, and is often seen accompanied by a contingent of feline companions.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Gleams_in_the_darkness Gleams in the darkness, ''Fallen London''] ''"[…] You lurk on her rooftop and watch her carriage disappear, with dozens of cats trotting behind […]"''</ref> Treating cats well is essential for anyone hoping to gain her favor.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Encourage_gossip_about_the_Duchess Encourage gossip about the Duchess, ''Fallen London''] ''""[Her] cats are the key to her mood. One must become something of an ailuromancer," [...] One of his colleagues has gone so far as to make a chart. This meaning for a cat with a question-mark tail. That meaning for paws neatly folded before the breast."''</ref>
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| She holds the authority to convene the '''Court of Cats''', a tribunal for hearing petitions and resolving disputes among felines and their associates. However, her role is strictly that of an arbiter; she cannot alter the Court's verdict once it has been delivered.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Gain_an_audience_with_the_Duchess Gain an audience with the Duchess, ''Fallen London''] ''"I will convene a session of the Court of Cats tomorrow. Return at noon and make your case to the assembled dignitaries. But be warned: I cannot guarantee the result will be in your favour."''</ref> The Duchess's cats form an entire royal hierarchy, both in the [[Neath]] and [[Parabola]]. The cats can marry, divorce, and distribute property amongst themselves in Parabola.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Court_of_Cats_(Story) The Court of Cats, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Duchess nods. "I concur, Arbiter. The marriage is dissolved. Prince-Bishop: the Misermere is yours." The Viscountess pours, resentfully, from her footstool and prowls from the room. Her crestfallen supporters follow her."''</ref> Although she disapproves of the game Pass the Cat, in which cats are mailed to unsuspecting targets,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Pass_the_Cat:_a_wriggling_delivery Pass the Cat: a wriggling delivery, ''Fallen London''] ''"The game of Pass the Cat has grown fashionable lately, despite the Duchess' displeasure. Someone has selected you as the next link in the unwrapping chain."''</ref> she is not above using it as a punishment for cats who have somehow offended her.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Behold_the_cat Behold the cat, ''Fallen London''] ''"She frees herself from the wrappings with a single graceful twist of her aristocratic back. "Thank you," she murmurs. "The Duchess' judgements can be harsh. I see you've prepared a place for me. Delightful. I may deign to remain here a little while.""''</ref>
| | [[File:Courtofcats.png|thumb|200px|The Court of Cats is an Exceptional Story about the Duchess's many beloved pets.]] |
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| The Duchess often disagrees with the established elite;<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Faction:_The_Duchess Faction: The Duchess, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Duchess is a woman of independent inclinations. Her opinions do not always align with those of the great and the good."''</ref> she is drawn to the radical and unusual,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Duchess_enjoys_controversy The Duchess enjoys controversy, ''Fallen London''] ''"The easiest way to catch her attention is to be a little bit exceptional. You could be excitingly Radical. Of course, this sort of thing can rapidly get out of control."''</ref> often sponsoring individuals who capture her interest.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Rob_the_study Rob the study, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Duchess writes many letters. Her […] patronage of certain courtiers means she must receive many more. There should be secrets enough in her private study for a storm of scandal and some very lucrative blackmail. Best take some cat-bait, though."''</ref> She maintains a fierce rivalry with the [[Gracious Widow]].<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Betray_the_Duchess Betray the Duchess, ''Fallen London''] ''"Begrudging respect" "[...] I'm pleased she can still keep up after all these years."''</ref>
| | '''The Duchess''' is a survivor of the fall of the Second City - in fact, she orchestrated its fall to save her lover. She's a typical crazy cat lady, though she is also very intelligent and appreciates scholarly endeavors. And she has secrets... |
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| | {| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100% |
| | !colspan=3|[[File:fellowship.png|50px]] Investigating a murder mystery at [[the University]] |
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| | This storyline uncovers the backstory of the Duchess. Well, most of it. |
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| ==Okay, But Who is She Really?==
| | She was a princess of the Second City (El-Amarna in Egypt), and that's why she loves her (talking!) cats so much - Egyptians worshipped their cats. She arranged the fall of the city to save her lover, who eventually became [[The Cantigaster|the Cantigaster]] after he lost favor with [[The Masters of the Bazaar|the Masters]]. And why does she look British? Consider this snippet from the storyline... |
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| The Duchess was an Egyptian princess, which explains her affinity with all things feline; she uses heavy makeup to hide her true appearance.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Set_forth_into_the_cellars|Set forth into the cellars|Fallen London|}} ''"A woman passes you. She is dressed in a simple white linen shift and about twenty pounds of gold jewellery. She is dark-skinned: African, perhaps. There's something familiar about her, though. Good God! It's the Duchess! Freed from her paints and powders, she is much darker. And younger! She looks barely thirty. It's definitely her, though, cat-earrings and all."''</ref> She was originally betrothed to her father, the Pharaoh, in accordance with royal tradition.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_the_Postlapsarian_Synod_on_the_Eucharist Speak to the Postlapsarian Synod on the Eucharist, ''Fallen London''] ''"…oh, no, no. She’s far older than that. Before Anthony’s time, certainly. And I think she’s his daughter, not his sister-wife. And we don’t talk about him in mixed company."''</ref> However, she had fallen in love with a scribe,<ref name=":0">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendar_Code The Calendar Code, ''Fallen London''] ''"She kills her betrothed. She kills him with a snake. To be with her lover, the scribe." The translator shakes his head. "The scribe knows it can never be. He knows they will find out, and they will come for him. He writes that he is already dead. And the betrothed doesn't even die. He becomes—"''</ref> so she sent a cobra<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Breed_the_Plated_Seal_2 Breed the Plated Seal 2, ''Fallen London''] ''"A cobra! It must be twenty feet long. The venom dripping from its fangs leaves smoking holes in the stone roof the size of grapes. Its hood bears the Correspondence symbol for ‘A gift to remind a woman of something best forgotten.'"''</ref> to kill the Pharaoh.<ref name=":0" /> Immediately regretting this action,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Breath_of_the_Void My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Dart, little snake, dart. Bite, little snake, bite. Sink your fangs until your venom wells from welts as red as treachery. Come, little snake, come. I'll stroke your head. Now my betrothed is dead. What, little snake, have I done? What, little snake, have I done?"''</ref><ref>''[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendar_Code The Calendar Code, Fallen London] "'Love is intoxicating, overwhelming. Age, status, rank – they offer no immunity. In the grip of love I did something I will always regret. I will never be free from the consequences, and suffer deeply for my actions then. Yet I still cherish the moments that led me there. I can never forget, and I do not want to."''</ref> she bargained with the [[Bazaar]] to save her father's life in exchange for what became known as the [[Second City]].<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/%27...look_forward_so_very_much_to_your_next_visit...%27 '...look forward so very much to your next visit...', ''Fallen London''] ''"A long time ago... three cities ago in fact... when I was more than a Duchess, but still a friend to cats... I was betrothed. I loved him a great deal, and when a serpent stung him, I was distraught. I would have done anything to save him. The Bazaar knew as much. [...]"''</ref><ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Breath_of_the_Void My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"You had to do it, didn't you? But now you have a choice. High on the palace balcony, above the purple riverbank, they wait until the glyphs have dried – a disc; a tool embedded in a block – to collect the contract. Remember, above all, the sun will always rise somewhere."''</ref> The [[Masters]]' methods kept him alive, but transformed him into the oozing venom-monster known as the [[The Cantigaster|Cantigaster]].<ref name=":3">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Set_forth_into_the_cellars Set forth into the cellars, Fallen ''London''] ''"You can see immediately that the Cantigaster was once a man. Now he is a living, shuddering sac of poison. His flesh swells green and soft like rotting fruit. Foul venoms ooze beneath his skin."''</ref> The Duchess still visits her father at midnight each Sunday, in the third wine cellar under the [[Shuttered Palace]],<ref name=":12">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Making_Your_Name:_The_Duchess_and_the_Cantigaster Making Your Name: The Duchess and the Cantigaster, ''Fallen London''] ''"It's Sunday, approaching midnight. The servant said that you'd learn what you needed to in the third wine cellar."''</ref> to milk venom out of his skin and bring him relief. What she takes away, presumably, is Cantigaster venom.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Set_forth_into_the_cellars Set forth into the cellars, Fallen ''London''] ''"[...] You watch as the Duchess... as she milks the poison from his skin. The Cantigaster sighs with relief as his venoms trickle into a stone bucket. [...]"''</ref> She has considered other methods to give her father respite as well, like feeding him [[lacre]]<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Fulfil_your_promise_to_the_Duchess Fulfil your promise to the Duchess, ''Fallen London''] ''"I have heard of the transformative properties of lacre. [...] My husband suffers from an acute malady. I hope that an application of lacre will provide some relief from his condition. [...]"''</ref> or sending him to [[Parabola]].<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Untapped_wealth Untapped wealth, ''Fallen London''] ''"[...] But a deep pond comes up with something startling. It claims to remember when the Cantigaster was 'his real self, before the asp bit and the pact was sealed. That's why they won't abide talk of that place, you know. She's still there, though, isn't she? Sending him to Parabola when she wants, no doubt." [Editor's note: Historically the Greek name "aspis" (which means "viper") was used for a variety of venomous snakes found around the Nile. It is believed that the most likely or common species referenced by the modernized name "asp" was the Egyptian cobra, as reflected in other text.]''</ref>
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| There are conflicting accounts regarding the true identity of the Duchess. ''The Calendar Code'' identifies her as the youngest of the Pharaoh's six daughters,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendar_Code The Calendar Code, ''Fallen London''] ''"He refers to her with these symbols: the sun-disk, above a cutting tool embedded in a wood block. And here: the youngest of six daughters. He is using circumlocutions, perhaps in an attempt to disguise her identity. But he cannot hide the awe with which he regards her. It is embedded in the construction of the text. I would say... a girl of noble birth."''</ref> Setepenre (whose name in hieroglyphs combines the sun-disk and an adze-on-block).<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendar_Code The Calendar Code, ''Fallen London''] ''"There is no signature. Just two simple symbols, scribed in careful strokes: a disk, above a tool embedded in a wood block."''</ref> This is supported by other sources as well: the [[The Mother Superior|Mother Superior]] confirms that the youngest daughter was taken hostage by the Bazaar,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Buying_secrets Buying secrets, ''Fallen London''] ''"[...] My sisters and I have been watching the Vake for many years. Since the Second City, in fact. We were a royal house then. We played those black-cloaked vultures for fools, so we did. Beat them at their own game and pulled the nose of the Bazaar. And they never forgave us. Kept the youngest sister hostage while the rest of us ran for it. [...]"''</ref> and ''My Kingdom For A Pig'' likewise refers to the Duchess as Setepenre.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"You had to do it, didn't you? But now you have a choice. High on the palace balcony, above the purple riverbank, they wait until the glyphs have dried – a disc; a tool embedded in a block – to collect the contract. Remember, above all, the sun will always rise somewhere."''</ref>
| | ''"Lights appear from behind you. You duck behind a firkin of madeira and observe. A woman passes you. She is dressed in a simple white linen shift and about twenty pounds of gold jewellery. She is dark-skinned: African, perhaps. There's something familiar about her, though. Good God! It's the Duchess! Freed from her paints and powders, she is much darker. And younger! She looks barely thirty. It's definitely her, though, cat-earrings and all.'' |
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| However, in ''The Attendants'', the [[The Obstinate Adoratrice|Obstinate Adoratrice]] claims that the youngest sister died on the Surface.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants The Attendants, ''Fallen London''] ''"I am the only one left now. The youngest of us perished on the Surface, the eldest in the House of the Feather. The rest are lost to me. I keep this place in their memory."''</ref> This apparent contradiction might be explained by the possibility that the Duchess simply never told her sister she survived. She is aware of the Adoratrice’s whereabouts and could easily send a message via one of her cats to the Palace of the Rising. Yet, due to longstanding enmity between the two, she chooses not to.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Take_advantage_of_brief_privacy Take advantage of brief privacy, ''Fallen London''] ''"[...] I know where she is. I know how few she has around her – friends, or servants. I could reach out. Even if I can't visit her, my cats might. If properly incentivised. [...] But I won't ask them. She despises me for what I did to survive. I can't forgive her."''</ref> Historically, the real Setepenre died before the age of six and was the first of her sisters to pass away. If the Duchess is not Setepenre, then the most likely alternative by process of elimination would be Neferneferuaten Tasherit (Neferneferuaten the Younger), the fourth daughter.
| | ''The Duchess uses a great bronze key to open the door that defeated you. She slips inside. You peer past the hinges. The room beyond contains the Cantigaster.'' |
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| The Duchess was fond of another of her sisters, the [[Roseate Queen]], but the last time they saw each other was when the future Queen fled to the [[Elder Continent]], only informing the Duchess of her departure through a dream.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Share_information_with_the_Duchess Share information with the Duchess, ''Fallen London''] ''"Over a hot cup, she tells you of her sister. She was wilful, intemperate and discourteous. But she loved her dearly – "as we often do those who cause us pain." The Duchess refreshes her cup, and is almost offhand: she last saw her sister in dream. [...] No, her sister did not reveal where she was going. Only that it was a distant shore, beneath another light."''</ref>
| | ''You can see immediately that the Cantigaster was once a man. Now he is a living, shuddering sac of poison. His flesh swells green and soft like rotting fruit. Foul venoms ooze beneath his skin. The Duchess kisses him fondly and they embrace. You watch as the Duchess... as she milks the poison from his skin. The Cantigaster sighs with relief as his venoms trickle into a stone bucket. The Duchess looks up. Has she seen you? You flee the cellar."'' |
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| ==Historical & Cultural Inspirations== | | {| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100% |
| | !colspan=3|[[File:Mistersacks.png|50px]] Assisting the Duchess at Sacksmas |
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| | The Duchess, curious to know more about lacre, traps Mr Pages/Sacks with her horde of cats! Since these aren't ordinary cats, they lick a bit of lacre off him and learn the substance's secrets. The Duchess considers these tidbits and decides to use lacre to attempt to soothe her husband. |
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| '''''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''''' | | {| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100% |
| ==References== | | !colspan=3| [[File:Calendarcode.png|50px]] The Calendar Code [Exceptional Story Spoilers] |
| {{Scroll box|text = <references/>}}
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| | This story essentially confirms that the Duchess' real name is Ankhesenamun, and she was the sister/wife of King Tutankhamun. |
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| | The Duchess may or may not have murdered her brother-husband Tut; it seems she ''wanted'' to be in the Neath, so she faked being in love with a scribe and used her brother as space bat bait, which is what pissed off [[The Masters of the Bazaar|the Masters]] so much. Since death is weird in the Neath, this act or the Masters' displeasure presumably transformed him into the Cantigaster. |
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| | {| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="show" data-collapsetext="hide" width=100% |
| | !colspan=3|[[File:courtofcats.png|50px]] The Court of Cats [Exceptional Story Spoilers] |
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| | |The Duchess's cats form an entire royal hierarchy, both in the Neath and Parabola. The story is an investigation into a feline marriage and divorce, and the distribution of Parabolan property. |
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| [[Category:Characters]] | | [[Category:Characters]] |
| [[Category:Human]] | | [[Category:Humans]] |
| | [[Category:Connections]] |
| | [[Category:Exceptional Story Spoilers]] |
