Editing The Elder Continent

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{{Neath_Location|image1 = carneliancoast.png|image2 = mountainoflight.png|caption1 = Art from FL.|caption2 = Art from Sunless Sea.|location = SOUTH|alias = The Bright Continent|allegiance = [[The Mountain of Light]]
[[The Presbyterate]]|notable_inhabitants = [[The Presbyterate]]<br>
[[Stone]]<br>
[[Snuffers]]<br>
[[Tigers]]|music = |port=[[Adam's Way]]}}
<blockquote>''"Why do they call it the Elder Continent?"''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"That vast continent to the South with a glowing mountain at its heart - where the Presbyter has ruled for a thousand years - is older by far than any of London's civilisations. Which is embarrassing."''<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>''"Your road runs beside the nameless river that flows from the Mountain to the zee. The waters are thick with blood – thicker still as you travel South. Scabs float on the water like foam. The coppery scent of it rises about you."''<ref name="flint" /></blockquote>

'''The Elder Continent''' is a vast, warm, and humid landmass, bathed in the soft glow of the [[Mountain of Light]], that forms the southern edge of the [[Unterzee]]. More ancient than any of the [[Fallen Cities]], the Continent is home to wildlife, demographics, and kingdoms the likes of which [[London]] has only just begun to dream of.

==Civilizations==
The primary civilization on the Elder Continent is the '''[[Presbyterate]]''', an empire of seventy-seven kingdoms that has possibly been in the [[Neath]] since before the [[Bazaar]] arrived. At the heart of the Continent, within the Mountain of Light, lies '''[[the Garden]]''', the source of all the Neath's unnatural vitality.

The coast of the Elder Continent is home to [[Port Carnelian|'''Port Carnelian''']], London's sole imperial possession; '''[[Adam's Way]]''', the Continent's primary port of entry; and the mirrored city of '''[[Varchas]]'''. The hidden city of '''[[Arbor]]''' also has strong ties to this place. Navigation in the Continent is guided by time and brightness, i.e., how long it takes to travel between places and the intensity of the Mountain's light in a location.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Thing_That_Came_in_From_the_Fog|The Thing That Came in From the Fog|Fallen London}}''"[...] A tenuous picture takes shape in your mind; in the Elder Continent, distance is measured not in miles, but in time and brightness. Judging by the Mithridate's description, the kingdom that devoured the Grandmaster is bright, but not blinding, and requires weeks of travel from the coastline."''</ref>

==Flora and Fauna==
<blockquote>''"What can you find on the Elder Continent?"''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''"Travellers tell of strange tribes and incomprehensible religions, carnivorous flora, pygmy elephants and giant mice. But no-one believes travellers' tales, do they?"''<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>
[[File:feather.png|thumb|100px|A Blue Prophet's royal blue feather. ]]
[[Tigers]] are a powerful and influential faction here; it is advised that one does not press their luck with them. Currently, they are vying for control of the [[Carnelian Coast]] against London and [[the Khanate]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Carnelian|Visit Heartscross House|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> 

[[Heart-Takers]] are also native to the Elder Continent.<ref name="flint">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}}</ref>

A species of bird called the [[Bestiary#Blue Prophet|Blue Prophet]] flocks near the Elder Continent; these birds are known for their sky-blue feathers and the superstition that they can prophesize the deaths of certain individuals by crying out their names.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Blue_Prophets|Blue Prophets|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>
[[File:Hatwarhelm.png|thumb|An Epicurean War-Helm.]]
A group of renowned hunters known as the '''Epicurean League''' hails from the Presbyterate kingdom of [[Skite]]. These connoisseurs stalk the most dangerous, and delectable, animals of the Elder Continent; using the skin of their first kills, they fashion war-helms which are worn during subsequent feasts. As a result, these helms are often covered in blood, juices, and condiments.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Epicurean_War-Helm_(action)|An Epicurean War-Helm (action)|Fallen London|}} ''"Renowned in the fabled kingdom of Skite [...] these connoisseurs [...] stalk only the most delectable (and deadly) animals [..]. The skin of the first kill is used to fashion these helms, which are then worn during the first meal of their flesh. They are coated in the blood, juices and culinary sauces that pair best with the meat."''</ref>

An intriguing fruit that grows in the Elder Continent is the '''chertapple''', known to be nourishing "to the bone." They taste like earth, induce dreams of the South,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}} ''""Crunchy, but nourishing" [...] And now you'll dream of the south [...] They taste like stony earth..."''</ref> and can apparently be used for navigation. Chertapple trees are often plagued by creatures known as '''bloatfingers''', snakelike things so enraged by their own ugliness that they unleash their rage upon all who look at them.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}} ''"Bloatfingers, so enraged by their own ugliness that they kill those who observe them. But these apples can show you the way..."''</ref>

==Strange Dangers==
<blockquote>''"On rare days, an impossible tempest sweeps out of the Elder Continent: a wild wind carrying the scent of boiling honey and a storm of molten wax. Ships that fall prey to the Wax-Wind float like filthy icebergs in the Unterzee, their crews confined in wax, mouths fixed in endless screams."''<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>

It should go without saying that the Elder Continent is not a very safe place. People who harvest the massive mushrooms that grow here often suffer from '''Lung-Bloom''', especially in places like [[Varchas]] where fungal blooms are common. A chronic condition, Lung-Bloom begins as a bad cough, but soon progresses into growths of fungus on one's extremities, before sprouting out of other orifices. Yikes.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Charitable_Hospital|The Fungal Infections Ward|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

The '''Wax-Wind''' is a flood of molten wax that engulfs ships zailing near the Elder Continent.<ref name="sidebar">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets|Sidebar Snippets|Fallen London|}}</ref> Contact with the Wind is invariably fatal, as it can melt the very skin off one's bones.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Accept_the_Wax-Wind|Accept the Wax-Wind|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Presbyterate is capable of invoking the Wax-Wind against its enemies, whether as a form of warfare,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/A_Verger_in_Coral|What became of their endeavour?|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> or as a means of execution.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Vespertine,_Irresistible|Order Vespertine, Irresistible|Fallen London|}}</ref> Strangely, this wind may manifest in far-off places like [[Polythreme]]; this may have something to do with the unnatural vitality there.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Wax_Wind_Comes|The Wax Wind Comes|Fallen London|}}</ref> According to certain stories, the Wax-Wind is actually the weeping of [[Stone]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}} ''"Two things which are not Mysteries [...] the Wax-Wind is her weeping."''</ref>

Falling asleep in the deeper regions of the Elder Continent can be dangerous, as one might encounter the '''Conjunction of Fancies''', where the dream-realm of [[Parabola]] presses against the skin of the world.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}} ''"This is the Conjunction of Fancies, when the dream-realm of Parabola presses against the membrane of the world."''</ref>

And one must not forget [[Animescence]], the soul-burning affliction endemic to the Continent...
==References==
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[[Category:Places]]

[[Category:The Neath]]
[[Category:The Elder Continent]]