Editing The Fallen Cities

{{spoiler}}<blockquote>''"There were four cities before London. One day you may know all their secrets."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Walking_the_Falling_Cities|Walking the Falling Cities|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>[[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 a city’s Fall follows a grimly familiar pattern. First, the old city becomes unstable or difficult to govern.<ref name=":4">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Lost_in_Reflections|Lost in Reflections|Fallen London|}}''"His daughter had a wasting-disease that no doctor could cure... but the Masters of the Bazaar had come with their arts and their fungal elixirs, and made the Emperor a promise he couldn't refuse. She has her suspicions, does July. The timing of the disease is convenient – just as London becomes difficult for the Masters to control – and its symptoms resemble a certain Neathy poison. [...]"''</ref>The Masters deliberate, seeking a candidate that possesses a specific quality, though that quality may differ each time.<ref>{{Citation|https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#Stories|Mr Pages: Stories|Mask of the Rose|}}''"I assured them – when we chose London rather than another city – we said it was for her books. For her collection, her wealth, her hoard of printed things. Mr Fires alleged that this was a personal greed, but I assured them that I acted in the good of all."''</ref> They then arrive to broker a deal with the city’s rulers, offering a solution to a problem (one they may have caused).<ref name=":4" /> Love is often involved, though not always in a romantic sense. Once an agreement is made, the Contract is signed,<ref>{{Citation|https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#confirming_purchase|Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie|Mask of the Rose|}}''"Transaction recorded on vellum, violant-inked, in chancery hand, interlinearly transubscribed in the Normanated tongue of your Conqueror! In all matters conformant with legalities above and below, compliant even in the sight of Judgement!"''</ref>  and preparations begin. The rulers are usually given a brief window to ready their city,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Committee The Committee, Fallen London] "''<nowiki/>'The Queen is convinced the delegation has the ability to follow through on its promises, and has transferred ownership of the capital to our new friends. The Queen has negotiated a period of seven days before the transfer will take place. We are well aware of the potential for social unrest at this news, and on no account must this be allowed to jeopardise the exchange. The Queen therefore instructs the Government to decide how and when this information should be presented to the public.'"''</ref>though under urgent conditions, the Fall can be immediate. A swarm of biblical proportions descends, bats darken the sky,<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Recalling_the_Past#Introduction Recalling the Past: Introduction, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"The dimming of the sun at three in the afternoon. The sky turning the colour of rust. The horrible bang and the cloud of dust from the direction of Westminster. The tolling of the bells. The horseman who rode down the street, liveried in the garb of the palace, shouting: In her Majesty's Name, go indoors! And then the sky was full of bats."''</ref> the [[Stone Pigs]] reduce the old city to rubble,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom for a Pig|Fallen London|}}''"Some people call them Stone Pigs. When the Fifth City fell, they awoke. That's why the Fourth City doesn't exist anymore. They churned it into the ground."''</ref> its remains 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> the lacre tide drains down below,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inheritance|Inheritance|Fallen London|}}''"Lacre once coursed through those channels, [...] After it drowned the First City, it flowed away to some place beneath, and took the remnants of the city's people with it. There must still be traces of them."''</ref> and the new one literally falls on top.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Great-Aunt_Beatrice%27s_Legacy|Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy|Fallen London|}}''"He says, 'The rest of the city? Well, it's gone, isn't it? Your wretched London fell from the Roof and squashed it flat.' The King abates into melancholy. 'It's all gone. Flattened into the ground. Perhaps there's some remains left, deep down. You could look down where the Rubbery Men live. Yes. Go and bother them. Leave me to my dreams of fire...'"''</ref> The new city is then subjugated by the Bazaar, and business carries on as usual.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom for a Pig|Fallen London|}}''"[...] Beneath you is the Third City, as it was just after its fall. It hums and bustles, citizens scurry like beetles from a disturbed log – it seems Londoners were not the only people to swiftly adapt to the Neath."''</ref>

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.

The way the cities are brought into Neath have made the area that they Fall into like a layered cake. Each city fell on top of the old one, pushing it down into the ground. Direct descent through the layers is even possible in certain locations.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inheritance|Inheritance|Fallen London|}}''"[...] "This staircase led to the house's cellar, [...] until the cellar collapsed right over some Fourth City ruins. My mother bought the house." Your ears pop as you slide down the curved dome of a vast stupa into a temple. Deep inside the brightly painted ruins is a collapsed floor that empties you onto the remains of a stepped pyramid. "Third City," mutters the Archivist. The weight of the falling Fourth City caused a crack in the pyramid so wide that you are able to slip through it and onto the vast basalt head of a lion. [...] The three of you clamber down to the sand at the lion's feet. Before you is a tomb. "That leads to what's left of the First City," [...]"''</ref> Curiously, the interval between Falls has grown shorter over time.<ref>{{Citation|https://discord.com/channels/606151996663267338/728292783584051220/1121839533907005591|Former Developer Bruno Dias|on Discord|}}''"It's already implicit in a lot of the existing lore that the Masters are going through cities faster and faster with each one."''</ref> Each city has lasted less than the one before it. Some believe the final three cities may not even endure a full century under the Bazaar’s dominion.<ref>{{Citation|https://discord.com/channels/606151996663267338/728292783584051220/1121839713007972353|Former Developer Bruno Dias|on Discord|}}''"Obviously the first, second, and third lasted a lot more than the Fourth, and if you take it as given that the Sixth drops sometime in the mid-20th century, well, that's not even 100 years for London."''</ref>

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==The First City, ca. 27th century BCE==
<blockquote>[[File:Citycoin2.png|thumb|100px|First City coins.]]''"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."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#The_other_cities|Sidebar Snippets: What was the First City?|Fallen London|}}</ref>''

''"The first taught restraint..."''<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Bask_in_the_light_1|Bask in the light|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>'''[[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> Its ruler, desperate to save his dying lover,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden Looking in the garden, ''Fallen London''] ''"The traveller writhes and twitches on a stone slab, in some kind of fit. He looks wretchedly thin and haggard. A short step from death. The priest-king weeps over him."''</ref> struck a bargain with the Masters: the lover’s life in exchange for the city.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden Looking in the garden, ''Fallen London''] ''"Two figures step into the chamber, hunched and garbed in many-petalled black cloaks. Masters of the Bazaar. One carries a clay cup, the other an unlit candle. The one with the cup says, "I think we can be of service to each other. Allow me to propose an exchange...""''</ref> The Masters fulfilled their end by embedding a sherd of the Mountain of Light into the lover’s chest, transforming him into the living island of Polythreme. Though preserved, he was horrified by what he had become, and in his anguish, turned against the priest-king who had doomed him.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Meeting_the_King Meeting the King, Fallen London] ''"[...] The Masters took a diamond from the great glowing mountain in the South and gave it to me for a heart. They made me like this."''</ref> An astronomer, having foreseen the Fall, warned the people, prompting many to flee before the city's descent.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inheritance Inheritance, ''Fallen London''] ''"Astral clouds are billowing over the desert. The heavens are churning. You hurry back to the city and warn people that a calamity is coming. Many leave. The king summons you. Thinking he wants your help to evacuate, you go willingly. You are wrong. He has sold the city, and its people were part of the price. You have put the deal in jeopardy."''</ref> Blaming her for disrupting the deal and the lover's transformation, the ruler imprisoned her in a lightless dungeon,<ref>''[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inheritance Inheritance, Fallen London] "So dark is your prison that at first, you do not realise you are underground. One night, the king visits you. He exchanged the city for his lover's life, but something went wrong. Perhaps if there had been no exodus, his lover would not be – as he is."''</ref> then handed her over to the custody of [[Mr Apples]], who ensured she would suffer further.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inheritance Inheritance, ''Fallen London''] ''"The king gives you to a cloaked figure and asks it to make you feel his grief. The creature promises to prolong your torment. It knows about such things. The creature grinds a mountain into you and drowns you in memory-snow until you are filled with the sadness of the whole city. You never see the king again."''</ref> Among the few known survivors are the ruler himself, now the [[The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel|Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel]], and the transformed lover, now [[Polythreme]]’s [[The King with a Hundred Hearts|King with a Hundred Hearts]].

==The Second City, circa 1335 BCE==
<blockquote>[[File:Citytablet.png|thumb|100px|Relics from the Second City.]]''"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."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#The_other_cities|Sidebar Snippets: What's the problem with the Second City?|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"...and the second betrayed..."''<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>'''[[The Second City]]''' was located in ancient Egypt. The [[The Duchess|Duchess]], then a younger daughter of the Pharaoh, was formally betrothed to him by royal decree, yet her heart belonged to a humble scribe. In secret desire to escape her imposed betrothal and join her lover, she dispatched a cobra to poison the Pharaoh.<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> Almost immediately, remorse overtook her,<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> and she sought to undo her crime by bargaining with the Bazaar: she would surrender her entire city in exchange for her father’s life.<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 Second was the longest-lived of the Fallen Cities, enduring two millennia and four hundred years in the dark.<ref>"caught incarcerated caged two dozen centuries no space no space to spread my wings !unbearable! !release me! Spit venom at my judas gaolers may their kohl eyes gender worms may their bones burn in their flesh !unbearable! !release me!"</ref> Such longevity was no mere chance: in the early days following the city's descent into the Neath, the Masters were deceived by the [[The Sisters|Pharaoh’s Daughters]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Homecoming|Homecoming|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] your immense basalt paws [...] Your twin is at your side. [...] you watch as a funerary procession makes its way towards a temple. A group of hooded creatures [...] are led inside, and do not emerge for centuries.""''</ref> and imprisoned within the House of Feathers.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}}''"But the House of the Feather was opened before the Palace was completed. We four survivors fled. One remained with the City, while I retreated here."''</ref> Trapped there for centuries, the Masters, once they managed to break free, harbored an undying hatred for all things Egyptian.<ref name=":02">[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> Remnants of the city live on in [[Visage]] and [[Arbor]]; the [[Salt Lions]] hail from the city as well. Survivors of the Second City include the Duchess and most of her sisters, as well as the [[Cantigaster]]. 

==The Third City, 9th-10th century CE==
[[File:Idol.png|thumb|100px|A statue from the Third City.]]<blockquote>''"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."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#The_other_cities|Sidebar Snippets: What was the Third City?|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"...The third taught us hunger..."''<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>[[The Third City|'''The Third City''']] was Mayan. After the catastrophe of the Second City, the Masters grew desperate.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Homecoming|Homecoming|Fallen London|}}''""How dare you," rasps Mr Spices, though it lacks the will to punish the transgression. "You can't imagine it. Tricked by creatures as low as you. Led into a trap. Imprisoned for aeons. The furthest I have ever been from home. Forced to sacrifice—" Its words catch in its throat."''</ref> The priest-kings of the soon-to-be Third City, already aware of the Masters and their bargains, made an offer of their own:<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Capture_Third_City_Veils|Capture Third City Veils|Fallen London|}}''"THE OLD PRIEST-KINGS KNEW OUR KIND. WE WERE ALL GODS TO THEM. WE ALL ENTERED INTO THEIR BARGAIN. I ALONE SAW ITS BEAUTY."''</ref> the flesh of a god in exchange for the priest-kings' city. The Masters accepted.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom For A Pig|Fallen London|}}''"It isn't really much to pay. Not much to pay, not much at all. Especially since we won't pay, since someone else can take the fall to feed them, feed them something more. Just sign here. Right here. Above all, remember that this world is delicious."''</ref> [[Mr Eaten|Mr Candles]] was chosen for the sacrifice and agreed—unaware of the true cost. Mr Veils, the architect of the scheme, and the other Masters led Candles to believe only a small portion would be taken.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price,_the_price The price, the price, the price, the price, the price, the price, the price, the price, the price, the price, the price, ''Fallen London''] ''"They said – they called me by my name – I need only go up and the priests would take a little. The gratitude in their song! We embraced before I rose. You of cloth and shadow, you enemy, you proud-singer, you led the way. I will poison you with airs."''</ref> But when he ascended the temple, the priest-kings ambushed and devoured him alive. His mangled remains were discarded into one of the Bazaar’s lacre wells.<ref name=":13">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Pervert_your_studies Pervert your studies, ''Fallen London''] ''"He came up (you do not write) to offer a little. They hooked him (you do not declare) like a fish. Their knives (you do not suggest) were dark and sharp as the Mountain's daughter. He screamed then (you have not recorded) and they opened their mouths, red and white and rich with treasure. O but the feast was too short: sweet as the stars, bitter as the sun, all with that old redolence (which you might well footnote) of a certain ammonia. He breathed (your ink does not flow) until his vents were stifled with tears. If he had a soul (you might conjecture; you do not conjecture) it would have skipped and sizzled like rich blood on a griddle."''</ref> From that moment, what was left of him became Mr Eaten, a being of vengeance and madness haunting the Neath.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/ENDURE ENDURE, ''Fallen London''] ''"If the Sun is Its master, let the Sun be drowned [...] My hate will not be contained until the Sun is cindered and damned, until Its heart is empty as theirs. [...] The Message: no more."''</ref> As for the Priest-Kings, they ascended the Chain<ref name=":2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/You_have_rejected_wine_and_song|You have rejected wine and song|Fallen London|}}''"[…] the flesh and blood of the Twelve is intoxicating and transcendent. If you consume something greater, then you may incorporate it: unless it incorporates you. […] This is the lesson of Couriers. This is the lesson of the knives and the pool."''</ref> and became the God-Eaters.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_into_the_water_1|Look into the water 1|Fallen London|}} ''"A celebration! The God-Eaters lick their fingers, not to waste a scrap. They will live forever now. Much good will it do them."''</ref> 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, including [[The Tomb-Colonies#The First Curator|the First Curator]], and, of course, the God-Eaters themselves.

==The Fourth City, 1254 CE==
<blockquote>[[File:horsehead.png|thumb|100px|A relic from the Fourth City.|link=Special:FilePath/Cityhorsehead.png]]''"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.''"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#The_other_cities|Sidebar Snippets: Fourth City relics|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"...the fourth we remade..."''<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>'''[[The Fourth City]]''' has been well-studied, and many of its survivors are known to London - for instance, the [[Gracious Widow]]. It was the capital of the Mongol Empire, and fell just over six hundred years before London.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|The Silver Tree|Fallen London|}}</ref> The romantic entanglement between Princess Cheren, the Khan’s favored daughter, and William of Paris, a captive sculptor,<ref>{{Citation|http://silvertree.storynexus.com/|The Emissary's Secrets: Ambush|Silver Tree|}}''"'My cohorts and I would buy this city. We want to take it somewhere it would live forever. The story of the Princess, the Sculptor, and their love is delicious.'"''</ref> as well as the fraught 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><ref>{{Citation|http://silvertree.storynexus.com/|The Emissary's Secrets: Ambush|Silver Tree|}}''"'My cohorts and I would buy this city. We want to take it somewhere it would live forever. The story of the Princess, the Sculptor, and their love is delicious.'"''</ref> [[Mr Wines]] was dispatched to initiate negotiations 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> An invasion by the Khan’s relatives 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), provided a timely opportunity. Mr Wines sought to use this conflict to pressure the Khan into selling the city.<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> The siege soon turned against the defenders;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom For A Pig|Fallen London|}}''"A field where every flower is an arrow-shaft. They stick where they have landed, stabbed through dead bodies and dirt. Another volley launches. Generals thunder commands. And now the horses join the fray as storm-clouds roll across the sky; and soldiers charge soldiers, and pray they will not be the first to die."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom For A Pig|Fallen London|}}''"Fires, fires in the dark, leaping across the land. Crane your neck. Watch the inferno rise. Above the walls, into the dark, until the stars are embers and the heat has lashed and lashed your face again. Crackled and cooked. Listen, and you may hear screams before the fire's roar engulfs them too."''</ref> grievously wounded and desperate to save his city and his daughter, the Great Khan accepted the Bazaar’s offer.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom For A Pig|Fallen London|}}''"You have no time. We have the paperwork. Can you not hear them knocking down the walls? Soon everything you know and love will fall. But every fall is not alike, great khan. Remember, please remember, above all, that there are worse fates, far worse fates for a city, than selling it to the Bazaar."''</ref> As a result, both Karakorum and its besiegers were drawn into the Neath.<ref>{{Citation|https://silvertree.miraheze.org/wiki/I_stayed_and_fought_for_the_city|I stayed and fought for the city|The Silver Tree}}''"[...] And now the fighting slows, as the warriors drop their weapons, citizen and besieger alike, to stare at the sky. Their wings are everything. There is no earth. There is only this: a peaceful, starry sky, cold as distant love. Time passes. Time has passed. It is very dark in Karakorum now. [...]"''</ref> Unlike the rulers of other fallen cities, the Khan did not survive to witness the outcome. He succumbed to his wounds shortly after signing the deal.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wisdom Wisdom, ''Fallen London''] ''"The wind passes over, and the sun is still. The earth is freshly turned. The cup has fallen from your hand. Let it lie still." [This option gives you airag.]''</ref><ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Truth Truth, ''Fallen London''] ''"I know, I know. It can be hard at first. Be at peace. You need never move from this place. Yes, this red rock. The grass will cover you. Your ribs will give rest. We will raise stones to honour you, who saw the sky."''</ref> While physical remnants exist in London's [[Forgotten Quarter]], its true legacy continues in the [[Khanate]].

==The Fifth City, 1862 CE==
<blockquote>''"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."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#The_other_cities|Sidebar Snippets: Look: an eye.|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"...The fifth will live on in the heart of the Sun..."''<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>[[London|'''The Fifth City''']] became the home of the Bazaar just over forty years ago. There are numerous living survivors of the [[The Fall of London|Fall of London]]. When the [[The Consort|Prince Consort]] fell ill with typhoid and died in 1861,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..." [Editor's note: This is a snippet from a [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-death-of-prince-albert/15721531/ newspaper] announcing the death of Albert in 1861]''</ref> [[The Empress|Queen Victoria]] was shattered. Her overwhelming grief drew the attention of the Masters,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Nobody can enter. Nobody can leave. Except for the thing on the roof. Have you witnessed its wings? Amongst the towers, perching, preening, entering and leaving when its talons tap the shuttered windowpane. Tap, tap, tap. Let me in. I have come bearing gifts. Tap, tap, tap. Let us in. We have come bearing gifts."''</ref> who offered to preserve him in exchange for everything she owned, including London.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#confirming_purchase Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Her consort was dying. A loss not to be contemplemitted. We preserved him. In exchange: everything else she possessed. London and all that lies in fluminate propinquity, together with the oddments of the imperial hoard."''</ref> Victoria agreed. Parliament was informed<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Committee The Committee, Fallen London] "''<nowiki/>'The Queen is convinced the delegation has the ability to follow through on its promises, and has transferred ownership of the capital to our new friends. The Queen has negotiated a period of seven days before the transfer will take place. We are well aware of the potential for social unrest at this news, and on no account must this be allowed to jeopardise the exchange. The Queen therefore instructs the Government to decide how and when this information should be presented to the public.'"''</ref> but chose to keep silent, fearing unrest.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Committee The Committee, ''Fallen London''] ''"Some felt there would be riots in the street; a revolution in the French style. Others believed that the Queen's bargain included the lives of Londoners, their dreams—[...] Their love stories. We didn't know what the Masters were capable of, and we feared total destruction. It was a capitulation. Every day since, I have thought of the children who might have chosen a life under the sun, but instead were forced into darkness. [...]"''</ref> On February 14, 1862,<ref>{{Citation|https://images.mmorpg.com/features/7108/images/fallenlondon2.jpg|"London Stolen By Bats!"|Failbetter Games}}</ref> the Masters returned and took the city into the Neath, crushing the ruins of the Fourth City beneath it. It is widely known that the Empress arranged the Fall to save her beloved Prince Consort. The Consort seems rather wan, however, and something else has already befallen the rest of the [[The Royal Family|royal family]]...

== The Sixth City, and the Seventh?==
<blockquote>''"The Masters have always been fond of Paris."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/...acquire_a_Sixth_City|...acquire a Sixth City|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"...and the sixth..."''<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Who knows what the [[Sixth City]] will be? There are rumors that the Masters might buy Paris<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Lost_in_Reflections|Lost in Reflections|Fallen London|}}’’"It's a knot of... I don't know, exactly. Imaginary magpies. Feathered dreamsnakes. It collects memories. […] it sends me back a black bird with a dream of the future."’’</ref><ref name=":3">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sinning_Jenny%27s_Finishing_School|Sinning Jenny's Finishing School|Fallen London|}}’’Paris now and Paris to come. […] "The Sixth City. […] then, at the passing of the Comet in the 21st century, Moscow falls, and only Berlin remains in the light of the Sun."’’</ref> - no wonder, for after all, Paris is the City of Love. As for the [[Seventh City]], there are similar whispers of Moscow, when "the Comet" - perhaps Halley's Comet - passes in the 21st century...<ref name=":3" /> But these are mere speculations, and time is known to be treacherous; it could just as well be Berlin in the 1980s.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Neon_Future A Neon Future, ''Fallen London'']</ref>

== Real-Life Inspirations ==
Across history, numerous settlements have been built directly atop the ruins of predecessors, creating what archaeologists call “[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_%28archaeology%29 tells]." Each layer of a tell accumulates from demolished buildings, whether felled by conflict, fire, flood, or simply dismantled to make way for something new, mixed with windblown soil, animal activity, or flood‐deposited silt. Rather than excavate down to bedrock, inhabitants often leveled low spots by adding earth, rubble, or organic fill, gradually raising the ground. When a disaster, such as a siege, earthquake, or conflagration. collapsed walls into charred timbers and stone, later builders simply erected new structures atop the debris. In sacred precincts, temples or shrines were rebuilt precisely where their foundations lay, preserving ritual continuity even as each generation shaped the mound higher. Over centuries, this cycle of construction, destruction, and leveling produces a vertical “layer cake” in which every horizon corresponds to a distinct era of occupation.

Many tells formed because the original site offered enduring advantages. A defensible hilltop, a river crossing, or a reliable spring could make relocation unattractive even after a catastrophic collapse. Take Jericho, one of the earliest known urban centers: its perennial spring in an otherwise arid region ensured that successive communities, from Natufian hunter‐gatherers through multiple Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age phases, clustered around the same spot. In Mesopotamia, for example, Uruk and Babylon each reveal dozens of occupation layers. Uruk’s deposits stretch from the Ubaid period (around 5000 BCE) through the Neo‐Babylonian era, with every mudbrick foundation and temple reconstruction adding height to the mound. In Babylon, the Etemenanki ziggurat was built, destroyed, and rebuilt so many times that its ruins now lie meters beneath later streets. At Tell Brak in northeastern Syria, archaeologists have identified at least five distinct urban phases during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. When sunlight and weather collapsed earlier mudbrick palaces, new thoroughfares simply covered the sunken courtyards; by the Late Uruk period, Brak had swelled to over 130 hectares, its layers preserving centuries of architectural evolution. Even when a site does not produce a classic tell, similar layering can persist beneath modern cities. In London, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londinium Roman Londinium] was founded over a Celtic settlement on marshy ground. After the Roman evacuation, Old English “Lundenwic” was sited nearby, eventually reusing Roman roads and walls. As medieval, Georgian, and Victorian London grew, new streets and buildings rose over layers of Roman timber wharves, medieval clay, and more recent foundations. Today, engineers tunneling for Crossrail or upgrading sewers constantly navigate a patchwork of Roman drainage channels, medieval wells, Victorian sewers, and 20th-century steam pipes, all stacked like an urban stratigraphy.

Building atop earlier layers often made practical sense: clearing away every stone from a ruined wall is labor‐intensive, whereas salvaging blocks and timbers for reuse saved time and resources. In flood‐prone regions (for example, along the Euphrates or the Nile), annual inundations deposited fine sediments over ruins, which were then built upon as waters receded. In temperate climates, windblown dust and leaf litter gradually uplifted abandoned courtyards and streets, so new construction simply began atop that natural infill. Religious and cultural continuity also played a role: Mesopotamian ziggurats were ritually tied to their specific location, prompting every new dynasty to rebuild on the sacred foundation rather than relocate. Medieval European churches often incorporated the walls or foundations of earlier basilicas or Roman temples to maintain sanctity and legitimacy. Over time, these practical, symbolic, and geographic factors combined to create settlements where each stratum marks a discrete cultural horizon, whether a new ruling dynasty, an architectural innovation, or a devastating siege,

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