The Hinterlands
"From the comfort of your window seat, you can see abandoned railworks, broken masonry and torn-up earth – failed projects by various London authorities to expand westward. The darkness draws in as the train turns even more westerly: the smog from the furnaces of Hell extends far."[2]
The Hinterlands are the lands between London and Hell.
The West[edit | edit source]
"You are leaving London. Beyond are the outskirts of the Empire, and further still, the hinterlands of Hell."[3]
The Hinterlands are the huge swaths of land between London and Hell.[4] They are also called the Upper River, as the Stolen River flows through from Hell to the Unterzee.[1][5] It has two railways: the Moloch Street Express,[6] and the newer Great Hellbound Railway.[7] This far west, the Echo Bazaar has limited influence, but commerce is still possible via the Upper River Exchange.[8]
The Hinterlands are largely unexplored by London and rife with rumor and myth,[9] as any attempts to expand westward ended before they began.[10][11] This was rectified thanks to a deal brokered by Virginia during her tenure as Lord Mayor of London; she also founded the Ministry of Upper River Development, which issued Hinterland Scrip as currency for investors.[12][13]
Terrain and Features[edit | edit source]
"The fields are yellowing, scarred and scorched. Blackened windmills dot the landscape, as well as other less immediately identifiable machinery. It's no wonder all attempts to go west fail: the land repels settlement."[2]
"Where it says average slope – this was explained to me but I forgot to note this down, I'm terribly sorry – that is the average slope over time. The side of the mountain shifts. It sometimes elects to become, ah, a vertical wall."[14]
The Hinterlands are mostly empty,[15] consisting of rough and undeveloped scrubland[16] dotted with hills,[17] swamps, and ravines.[18] The air is rife with smog from Hell, blotting out the false-stars above,[19] and the ground below is packed with fossils and bones from creatures both great[20] and small.[21] The Hinterlands also house many anomalies, including mountains with ever-changing slope angles[22] and icy patches frozen by errant Discordance stones.[23] To top it all off, the region is patrolled by bandits and highwaymen,[24][25] as well as hostile wildlife like stray Terror-Birds[26] or worse monstrosities.[27][28]
In spite of the treacherous landscape, the Hinterlands are home to a variety of landmarks and locales. These include human settlements like Moulin[29] and Jericho Locks,[30] outposts of London and the Masters like Balmoral[31] and Station VIII,[32] remnants of the Fall of London like Burrow-Infra-Mump,[33] battlefields of the Campaign of '68,[34] and structures of Hellish origin, like Marigold Station,[35] the Edict of Towers,[36] and the tombs of deposed Grand Devils.[37][38]
History and Ruler[edit | edit source]
"It's too late. I can't stop you. Even if I head you off here, you'll route around there... it was always going to happen. We prevented it in the Second City, and in the Third, but now... The Creditor hungers, it thirsts, and the city is also mad..."[39]
Past Fallen Cities' exploration of the Hinterlands was mostly limited by the Echo Bazaar,[40] but some ruins still remain, such as the Sere Palace of Second City origin,[41] and remnants of the First City below the Magistracy of the Evenlode.[42] The Sleeping Merchant was a First City citizen who attempted to venture west, but his expedition ended in disaster.[43][44]
The custodian of the Hinterlands is the Creditor,[45][46] an earthly being who monitors all traffic through its realm,[47][48] and whose "face" is literally the Hinterlands' topsoil.[49] It enforces that travelers must not damage or change the Hinterlands too severely,[50][48] lest they face its immense power firsthand.[51][52]
List of Locations[edit | edit source]
A district in Ladybones Road.
A suburb of London.
Central hub of the Guild of Gondoliers.
An ancient courthouse and the furthest reach of London law.
Her Majesty's estate, which fell with London. Surrounded by moonlit woods.
A secretive factory run by the Masters.
A church in the wild.
A town near a waste marred by history.
A frozen, uninhabited wasteland.
The end of the line, the last stop on the way to Hell.
London's thriving, bustling, brawling harbor.
A center for the arts of Rubbery Men.
A resting point of Hillchanger Tower.
A meeting place of the Guild of Gondoliers.
A river for tribute of very strange fish.
An ever-burning water wheel.
An ancient forest, home to a ragtag band of exiled devils.
The resting place of the Sleeping Merchant.
An ancient palace surrounded by poisonous waters.
Thirsty for your lifeblood. Beware.
What once lived here?
Hell's rotten graveyard.
A mirror within a mirror within a mirror.
Littered with glass flowers.
Eternally ringing.
Dotted with infernal roses.
References[edit | edit source]
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