Editing The Fallen Cities

{{Uncited}}
{{Major spoiler}}[[London]] is not the only city to have been brought down to the Neath. Four other cities came before it, all traded to the Bazaar for their own various reasons. Very few wish to consider the possibility of any coming after.

Traces of these former cities can be found throughout London. The Fourth City is the most present by far, as a remnant stands just outside the city: [[the Forgotten Quarter]]. London is also in frequent contact and rivalry with [[the Khanate]], the floating city-state established by Fourth City refugees on [[the Unterzee]].

The process of Falling a city is as follows: [[the Masters of the Bazaar]] arrive at a powerful and well-populated city and broker a deal with its rulers, which often involves a tale of love. After the deal is brokered, the old city is drowned in [[The Echo Bazaar#The Taste of Lacre|lacre]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_down_into_the_depths|Look down into the depths|Fallen London|}} ''"Space is cleared as buildings crumble beneath the weight of the lacre, brick and stone and marble breaking into dust, churned up into the lacre and swallowed away."''</ref> killing nearly all of its inhabitants,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_out_across_the_zee|Look out across the zee|Fallen London|}} ''"A group of desperate survivors throng once-grand docks. (...) The lacre tide rises and soon all is washed away."''</ref> and the new one literally falls on top. The new city is then subjugated by the Bazaar, and business carries on as usual.

Extraordinary circumstances and the very impermanent nature of death in the Neath mean that certain people from the previous cities may survive long after their cities were crushed. The majority of these have left for the Tomb Colonies, however, as these cities stretch far back into antiquity. Anybody who could survive that long and still remain a part of Fifth City life is either incredibly wily, powerful, or simply useful.__forcetoc__

==The First City, date unknown==
''"Only two things are known to remain of the First City: the name, the Crossroads Shaded By Cedars, and the saying: even the First City was young when Babylon fell."''

[[File:Citycoin2.png|thumb|100px|First City coins.]]''"The first taught restraint..."''[[File:Citycoin1.png|thumb|100px|More First City coins.]][[File:Ruinsfirst.png|thumb|100px|Ruins of the First City.]]'''The First City''', known as the Crossroads Shaded By Cedars, was located in Ancient Mesopotamia.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Crouching_in_a_low_stone_building|Crouching in a low stone building|Fallen London|}} ''"the land between the Caspian and Mediterranean seas"''</ref> It may have been the Sumerian city of Uruk; some have debated, however, that it's the Akkadian/Hurrian city of Nagar (Tell Brak in modern Syria) in which the Eye Temple<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Interview_the_Manager_of_the_Royal_Bethlehem|Interview the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem|Fallen London|}} ''"He used to be a king, ruling from a temple made of eyes"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_for_the_manager|Looking for the manager|Fallen London|}} ''"I received him in the temple of eyes"''</ref> mentioned in ''Fallen London'' is located. The remnants of the city live on in [[Polythreme]]. Ruins and artifacts of the First City can also be found in the Hinterlands, especially under the [[The Magistracy of the Evenlode|Magistracy of the Evenlode]].

There are a few confirmed living survivors of the fall of the First City:

*[[the Royal Bethlehem Hotel#The Manager|The Manager]] of [[the Royal Bethlehem Hotel]], its priest-king.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden|Looking in the garden|Fallen London|}} ''"The priest-king wears white linen, and many layers of shining copper and brass jewellery. He is unmistakably the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel."''</ref> He may have inspired the myth of Gilgamesh (because of the latter's relationship with Enkidu and quest for immortality, with notable differences but some common themes), or perhaps he was merely an Akkadian/Hurrian king. The Manager is responsible for the fall of the First City, as he exchanged it for the life of his dying lover.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Meeting_the_King|Meeting the King|Fallen London|}}</ref>

*Polythreme's [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|King With a Hundred Hearts]]. If the Manager is an allusion to Gilgamesh, then the King is Enkidu, Gilgamesh's closest friend in the epic. However, the King himself tells of originally being a merchant from China<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden|Looking in the garden|Fallen London|}}</ref>, rather than being a [[Clay Men|creature of clay]] the whole time like Enkidu, and his relationship with the Manager was explicitly romantic. The merchant was dying of "fits", so the Manager brokered a deal with [[the Masters of the Bazaar]] to save his life. They accomplished the task by shoving a large jewel from [[the Mountain of Light]] into his chest, creating his current form.

*[[The Relickers#The Capering Relicker|The Capering Relicker]], who was the first to brew Hesperidean Cider. He is the Manager’s uncle.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Hand_over_a_roomful_of_scraps_for_a_Coruscating_Soul|Hand over a roomful of scraps for a Coruscating Soul|Fallen London|}}</ref>

*[[the Cladery Heir|The Cladery Heir's]] mother is from the First City, and she is spoken of as if she were still alive. She was the surgeon responsible for lobotomizing [[the Bazaar]], removing its urge to deliver messages.

*The Yearning Custodian, who was born in the First City and initiated the Marvellous in the Third. He now resides in the Root of Need in [[Parabola]], and is the Keeper of the Marvellous and chronicler of its history and rulings.

So-called First City coins, which apparently are recent fakes, are used in the Marvellous as a substitute for ’fragments of a primal power’. They are traditionally exchanged in sets of thirty, the number of silver coins Judas was paid for betraying Jesus.

==The Second City, circa 1335 BCE==
''"Never mention the Second City to the Masters of the Bazaar. [[Mr Wines]] will look at you narrowly and give you its worst vintage. [[Mr Cups]] will fly into a rage. [[Mr Veils]] will harangue you for your discourtesy. [[Mr Iron]] will say nothing, only write down your name with its left hand."''

''"Certain of the Masters of the Bazaar - [[Mr Stones]], [[Mr Apples]] and Mr Wines, and possibly others - seem to have a particular contempt for Egypt and the Egyptological. Perhaps they're simply reacting to the fashion for the Pharaonic that overcame London before the Descent. But it's unusual that they should care."''
[[File:Citytablet.png|thumb|100px|Relics from the Second City.]]''"...and the second betrayed..."''[[File:Ruinssecond.png|thumb|100px|Ruins of the Second City.]]
'''The Second City''' was Amarna, briefly the capital of ancient Egypt under Akhenaten. The remnants of the city live on in [[Visage]] and [[Arbor]].

A living survivor of the fall of the Second City is [[The Duchess|the Duchess]], a daughter of Akhenaten who orchestrated the fall ostensibly to save her lover's life. He was transformed into [[the Cantigaster]] by the Masters, saving his life from a snake bite at a heavy price. The princesses of the Second City "chained" the Bazaar in an event called the Treachery of Sands, leaving the Second City in place for millennia. Thanks to this, the city had an extremely antagonistic relationship with the Bazaar and the Masters, and many of its denizens also ran schemes that jeopardized the Bazaar's mission. The consequences of Amarna's long stay in the Neath would be felt later.

Four sisters of the Duchess also survived the Fall, but the eldest, Meritaten, sacrificed her life so that the Masters could be trapped in a tomb called the House of the Feather. Meketaten, the second of the six sisters, is the Obstinate Adoratrice, intent on finishing her older sister's work in building the Palace of the Rising in [[Parabola]]. The Mother Superior of [[Abbey Rock]] is the third; the Duchess is likely the fourth (though there is some older text mentioning that she is the youngest). The fifth, Neferneferure, became the first Roseate Queen of [[Arbor]]. The youngest sister, Setepenre, is said to have died on the Surface, as she did in real life.

Some of the Duchess's sisters still live yet, but their work will live on for much longer in [[Parabola]], where the eldest two built the Skin of the Sun to house the Second City's refugees and shine [[cosmogone]] false-sunlight across the dream-realm.

==The Third City, 800s-900s CE==
''"No-one talks much about the cities that preceded London. The Third City seems to have been acquired a thousand years ago. It had five wells, they say. And the weather was better."''
[[File:Idol.png|thumb|100px|left|A statue from the Third City.]]''"...The third taught us hunger..."''[[File:Ruinsthird.png|thumb|100px|Ruins of the Third City.]]
The '''Third City''' was Mayan. It may have been Chichen Itza, Tikal, or Calakmul; this last city is located next to the modern settlement of Hopelchén, whose name does mean "five wells". The majority of [[the Tomb-Colonies]] are built upon Third City architecture and mythology.

There are a handful of living survivors of the fall of the Third City: [[The Tomb-Colonies#The First Curator|the First Curator]] and [[The God-Eaters|the God-Eaters]], for example. To sink this city, the Masters offered the flesh of a [[Mr Eaten|god]] to the three leaders of this city, turning them into the monstrosities they are now. As for the god, let's just say it is very, ''very'' perturbed.

==The Fourth City, 1254 CE==
''"Who carves horse-head amulets out of bone? Whoever lived in the Fourth City. If all the Fourth City amulets on sale are real, they must really have liked horses.''"
[[File:horsehead.png|thumb|100px|left|A relic from the Fourth City.|link=Special:FilePath/Cityhorsehead.png]]''"...the fourth we remade..."''[[File:Forgottenquarter2.png|thumb|100px|The Forgotten Quarter.]]
As Fallen London's immediate predecessor, the Fourth City has been well-studied. On the surface it was Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire; it fell to the Neath during the reign of Mongke Khan, just over six hundred years before London.

The Khan's favorite daughter, the princess Cheren (or Shirin), sought the recipe for an immortality-granting drink made of peaches.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|The Lore of the Peaches|The Silver Tree|}} ''[…] and a reference to peaches that gave ‘vita sine finem’-Life without end…''</ref> She designed an elaborate silver fountain called the Silver Tree, and constructed it with the help of a captive of the Khan, the sculptor William of Paris<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree| William the sculptor |The Silver Tree|}}</ref> (likely known to the real world as Guillaume Boucher).<ref>{{Citation|https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/abs/guillaume-boucher-a-french-artist-at-the-court-of-the-khans-by-leonard-olschki-baltimore-the-johns-hopkins-press-1946-viii-125-p-illustrations-250/F1FCC5CFC1DC679FA82D8BCEA6FB8137|Guillaume Boucher|Cambridge University|} ''"I was introduced to William of Paris after I had seen his masterpiece, the Silver Tree."''</ref> Cheren and Guillaume fell in love, but the Khan would never allow them to marry.<ref name=":02">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|The Story of the Fountain|The Silver Tree|}}''"The Princess had designed the Silver Tree. She and the Sculptor were in love. The Khan would never allow them to marry."''</ref> Their plight and the tense relationship between Cheren and her father<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|The Ending for the Khan and his daughter|The Silver Tree|}} ''"'Cheren is wilful, but I do love her above all else,' said the Khan. 'My father is flawed, but I do love him very dearly,' said the Princess."''</ref> drew the interest of the [[The Masters of the Bazaar|Masters]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|Karakorum was too powerful|The Silver Tree|}} ''"Love - love is the key. It overcomes religion, politics, self-preservation. It is the end of all things. Let us discuss the city's loves, and how we may use them…"''</ref> and [[Mr Wines]] was sent to start the negotiation for the eventual purchase of Karakorum.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|I Confronted the Emissary|The Silver Tree|}}'' "[…] In fact, you may call me by my true name, now: Mr Wines, at your service! […]"''</ref>

In late December 1253, the missionary and explorer William of Rubruck<ref>{{Citation|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Rubruck#Travels|William of Rubruck|Wikipedia|}}</ref> reached Karakorum and eventually was accepted into the court of Mongke Khan. There, he learned of a plot between the Khan's sons to instigate an invasion from Cathay<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|I Confronted the Emissary|The Silver Tree|}}''"The invading forces must have come from Cathay, from the most belligerent branch of the Khan's family.''"</ref> (China), which Mr Wines planned to exploit to push the Khan into selling Karakorum.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree| 'This city will betray you...' |The Silver Tree|}}'' "He told me that letting him buy the city was the only way to save it - armies from Cathay and Persia marched on it even now." ''</ref> As the city stood on the brink of destruction, Karakorum was sold and transported to the Neath, thwarting the invasion. Accounts vary as to what became of Guillaume and William thereafter, but Guillaume is now deceased<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree| I chose to trust the Princess |The Silver Tree|}}’’They call the Princess the Widow now, since William’s death.’’</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Aid_the_Widow_(12_FATE)|Aid the Widow (12 FATE)|Fallen London|}}''"A poet once told me that only two things are eternal: love and sorrow. It is the purpose of poets to make nonsense sound like wisdom. He was demonstrably incorrect about love."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mix_it_with_an_old_wine|Mix it with an old wine|Fallen London|}}</ref> and William is either soulless or deceased, considering his soul was found in a [[Brass Embassy]] warehouse.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Great-Aunt_Beatrice%27s_Legacy|Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy|Fallen London|}}''"A few of them have labels. Byzantine merchant – murderer. Zoroastrian heretic. Papal Emissary – see special file 14."''</ref> Cheren is still alive thanks to her peach brandy, and is now known as [[the Gracious Widow]].<ref name=":0" />

Since Mongke Khan was not granted any sort of immortality and several Khans ruled after him, the era of the Fourth City was filled with tumult and power struggles, and several factions warred with it over its history:

*the [[The Copper|Copper]], who stuck to the ways of the Third City and may have been connected to [[the God-Eaters]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Chalcocite_Pagoda_2|The Chalcocite Pagoda 2|Fallen London|}}</ref>
*the [[The Rosers|Rosers]], who hired devils to teach them the ways of [[Parabola]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Sanctuary_of_the_Crimson_Petals_1|The Sanctuary of the Crimson Petals 1|Fallen London|}}</ref> and eventually fled into [[Arbor]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Solve_the_Mystery_of_the_Rosers_(The_Waswood)|Solve the Mystery of the Rosers (The Waswood)|Fallen London|}}</ref>
*the [[Sorrow-Spiders|Motherlings]], who worshipped [[Sorrow-Spiders|sorrow-spiders]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Tomb_of_the_Silken_Thread_2|The Tomb of the Silken Thread 2|Fallen London|}}</ref> and were able to create spider-councils by weaving the spiders' legs together.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Eagle%27s_Empyrean#The_Visa_Checkpoint|A strand of the web |Sunless Skies|}}</ref> The wife of the last Khan was one of the Motherlings.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Tomb_of_the_Silken_Thread_1|The Tomb of the Silken Thread 1|Fallen London|}}</ref>
*[[Yesterday's King]] led a rebellion against the Masters at the Widow's behest, leading to the city's downfall.

One of the last Khans of the Fourth City, called the '''True Khan,''' had a vision of his city's eventual demise, and left with his loyal followers to build [[the Khanate]] across the Zee, attempting and failing to invade [[the Elder Continent]] along the way<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_aegis_of_aesthetics|The aegis of aesthetics|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Examine_a_Relic_of_the_Fourth_City|Examine a Relic of the Fourth City|Fallen London|}}''"It is undeniable that the Many-Fingered Kings drove the Fourth City to war with Hell."''</ref> but founding what we now call [[Port Carnelian]] in the process.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Write_a_history_of_the_Khanate%27s_failed_invasion_of_the_Elder_Continent|Write a history of the Khanate's failed invasion of the Elder Continent|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Great Khan's departure left the '''Last Khatun''' to rule over the Fourth City; she made a crown of [[Fingerkings]] to gain wisdom, but unwittingly became their puppet, so the inhabitants of the city rebelled and trapped her within a statue.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What_is_the_object_of_your_campaign%3F|What is the object of your campaign?|Fallen London|}}</ref> It may have been during this time of ophidian influence that the Fingerkings encouraged the Fourth City to invade [[Hell]], an effort that failed disastrously.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Investigate_the_Fourth_City%27s_War_against_Hell|Investigate the Fourth City's War against Hell|Fallen London|}}</ref> And it was definitely at this point that Yesterday's King rebelled against the Masters, who razed it to the ground and began searching for a new city to buy.

After this upheaval, the Fourth City was dissolved in [[The Echo Bazaar|lacre]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_down_into_the_depths|Look down into the depths|Fallen London|}}</ref> and most of it was crushed by the fall of London.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Great-Aunt_Beatrice%27s_Legacy|Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy|Fallen London|}}''"This must be the Fourth City, Karakorum. Or what remains after it was crushed under the 'surface' of the Neath when London fell."''</ref> There were many survivors, however, and its remnants live on in London's [[The Forgotten Quarter|Forgotten Quarter]] (the only intact portion of the Fourth City), in [[The Carnelian Coast|Port Carnelian]], in [[Arbor]], and in [[the Khanate]].

In the ''Sunless Skies'' timeline, after the gate to the [[High Wilderness]] at the [[Avid Horizon]] was opened, most of the Fourth City's survivors and descendants passed through and established a new Khanate at [[Eagle's Empyrean]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Eagle's_Empyrean#The_Lane_of_Lions_and_Unicorns|London's Enclave|Sunless Skies|}}</ref>

==The Fifth City, 1862 CE==
''"The city around the Bazaar is called the Fifth City because, they say, it's not the first the Bazaar chose as a home. You can still turn up bricks from the older cities, now and then. Look: here's one marked with an eye."''

''"...The fifth will live on in the heart of the Sun..."''

There are numerous living survivors of the fall of [[London]]. It is widely known that [[The Traitor Empress|Queen Victoria]] arranged the Fall to save her Prince Consort, as poor Albert was dying of typhoid fever. The Consort seems rather wan, however, and [[The Shuttered Palace and the Empress's Court|something else]] has already befallen the rest of the royal family...

== The Sixth City, and the Seventh?==
''"The Masters have always been fond of Paris."''

''"...and the sixth..."''
[[File:Eiffeltower.png|thumb|100px|''We'll always have Paris.'']]
Paris will probably, assuming no one derails the Masters' plans, be the Sixth City. No wonder, for Paris is the City of Love.

As for the Seventh City, nothing is really known for sure - but rumors fly about Moscow...

''Some content from NiteBrite; most information from [//community.failbettergames.com/topic23-fallen-cities-a-great-many-spoilers.aspx http://community.failbettergames.com/topic23-fallen-cities-a-great-many-spoilers.aspx].''

==References==
[[Category:Other Things of Significance]]
[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:Formatted]]

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