Editing The Fourth City

{{Neath_Location|title1 = The Fourth City|image1 = Horsehead.png|caption1 = A Fourth City horsehead amulet. Art from FL.|location = [[The Neath]]
}}<blockquote>''"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.''"

''"...the fourth we remade..."''</blockquote>As the immediate predecessor of [[London]], the '''Fourth City''' has been well-studied, and the identities of both the city and those associated with it are known conclusively.  The Mongol capital of Karakorum fell to the Neath in 1254 CE, during the reign of Möngke Khan.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Silver_Tree|The Silver Tree|Fallen London}}</ref>

== The Fall of the Fourth City ==
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> Cheren and William 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><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> 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Rubruck William of Rubruck] reached Karakorum, where he found to his surprise that there was already a community of Christians present, including a few from his native France. Eventually, he 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 exactly became of Guillaume and William thereafter, but they are both long since deceased. William's soul was found in a [[Brass Embassy]] warehouse, alongside the soul of a Nestorian monk he met in Karakorum,<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."'' William is the emissary. The monk, described as a "Manichean" (the faith that gradually superseded Zoroastrianism) in William's account, was likely a Paulician instead. This Armenian branch of Christianity was considered heretical and comparable to Persian religions, as it purportedly had a dualist belief system.</ref> and his dreams are the probable origin point of [[October#Dreams Come True|Yesterday's Clerestory]] in [[Parabola]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Introduce_yourself_(to_October)|Introduce yourself (to October)|Fallen London}} ''"The Clerestory [...] is a Fourth City dream – a European monk who perished when that city fell. Somehow, his dream found itself in Parabola. "Happily for me, the Masters had had no purchase over him, and thus they have no idea this sanctuary exists.""''</ref> Cheren, who still mourns for Guillaume,<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}}''"The woman they call the Gracious Widow, weeping over old letters."''</ref> is still alive thanks to her peach brandy; she is now known as the [[Gracious Widow]].<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>

== Adversaries ==
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 name=":1">{{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.miraheze.org/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.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Great-Aunt_Beatrice%27s_Legacy|Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy|Fallen London}}’They say that he attempted a coup against the Masters of the Bazaar just before London fell.’</ref>
During its lifespan, the Fourth city tried and failed to invade the [[Elder Continent]].<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><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_aegis_of_aesthetics|The aegis of aesthetics|Fallen London}}</ref>

== Internal Turmoil ==
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]]. 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. In retaliation, 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]],<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> 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> 

Finally, after what may have been decades of upheaval, Yesterday's King rebelled against the Masters, who razed the Fourth City to the ground and began searching for a new city to buy.<ref name=":2" /> 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 ensuing 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> Its remnants can be found in the place Londoners call the [[The Forgotten Quarter|Forgotten Quarter]], and in the depths of [[Flute Street]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Great-Aunt_Beatrice%27s_Legacy|Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy|Fallen London}}’Great-aunt Beatrice was right. Flute Street is huge. But there are places where you can see evidence of the Fourth City.’</ref> Its survivors and descendants are spread between [[The Carnelian Coast|Port Carnelian]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_day_in_Murgatroyd%27s_Imperial_Tea_Shop|A day in Murgatroyd's Imperial Tea Shop|Fallen London}}</ref> [[Arbor]],<ref name=":1" /> and the [[Khanate]].

In the ''Sunless Skies'' timeline, after the gate to the [[High Wilderness]] at the [[Avid Horizon]] was opened, some of the Fourth City's survivors and descendants - at least the entire Eagle Clan, potentially all of the [[The Khanate|Khanate]], and some of the exiles of [[Khan's Shadow]] - passed through and established a new Khanate at [[Eagle's Empyrean]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Eagle's_Empyrean#The_Lane_of_Lions_and_Unicorns|London's Enclave|Sunless Skies}}</ref>

== Historical Inspirations ==
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakorum Karakorum] was the capital of the Mongol Empire for a brief period of time, built by Ögedei Khan, the third son of the legendary Genghis Khan. It was expanded by Möngke Khan, who was Ögedei's nephew and thus one of Genghis Khan's many, many grandchildren.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Rubruck William of Rubruck] was a Flemish Franciscan friar who embarked on a missionary expedition to Karakorum in 1253. Western knowledge of the city as it was in the days of Möngke Khan exists thanks to William's [https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rubruck.html extensive account of his journey], which he wrote for King Louis IX of France upon his return to Crusader territory in 1255. While there, he met a handful of other western Europeans who had been taken as captives from Hungary, as well as a community of Nestorian and Greek Orthodox Christians led by captives from Greece, Hungary, Russia, and the Caucasus.

William of Paris is another name recorded for the French metalsmith [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Boucher 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}} </ref> Boucher was indeed a captive of the Khan who lived in Mongolia thereafter, and according to William of Rubruck, he did craft a Silver Tree for the Khan. However, there are no records to indicate that Boucher and Cheren fell in love; in fact, historical records indicate that Boucher's wife and adopted son were with him at the court of the Khan.

==References==
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[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:The Neath]]
[[Category:The Fallen Cities]]