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| {{Character|title1 = |image1 = <gallery> | | {{Character|title1 = The Manager|image1 = mad.png|caption1 = A merry gentleman.|location = [[Fallen London]]|allegiance = [[The Calendar Council]]|alias = May |
| Mad.png|A merry gentleman
| | The Merry Gentleman<br> |
| May.png|May
| | The Priest-King of the First City|relationships = [[Polythreme#Welcome to Me|The King with a Hundred Hearts]] (lover) |
| </gallery>|location = [[Fallen London]]|allegiance = [[The Calendar Council]]|alias = The Merry Gentleman<br>
| | [[The Capering Relicker]]<br>(uncle)}} |
| May|relationships = [[The King with a Hundred Hearts]] (lover)
| | ''"He also chucks you under the chin, which is a little over-familar, but, well. His buttons are so very shiny. It's difficult to quarrel with a man of such shiny buttons. 'Thank you,' he says. 'I do hope you'll continue to enjoy your stay.'"''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Thank_the_manager|Thank the manager|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
| [[The Capering Relicker]]<br>(uncle)}}<blockquote>''"In the street, you pass a tall, cheerful man with a brisk manner, a stovepipe hat and a row of bright brass buttons down the front of his coat. He winks familiarly as you pass and spreads his hands: eight fingers."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_merry_gentleman|A merry gentleman|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel''', is the former Priest-King of the [[The Fallen Cities|First City]] and now operates the [[Royal Bethlehem Hotel]]. | |
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| == A Merry Gentleman ==
| | ''"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>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden|Looking in the garden|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
| <blockquote>''"He also chucks you under the chin, which is a little over-familar, but, well. His buttons are so very shiny. It's difficult to quarrel with a man of such shiny buttons. 'Thank you,' he says. 'I do hope you'll continue to enjoy your stay.'"''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Thank_the_manager|Thank the manager|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The Manager, as his title would suggest, runs the [[Royal Bethlehem Hotel]]: half resort, half recovery facility. He is most often encountered by the nightmare-addled,<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_merry_gentleman|A merry gentleman|Fallen London|}} ''"In the street, you pass a tall, cheerful man with a brisk manner, a stovepipe hat and a row of bright brass buttons down the front of his coat. He winks familiarly as you pass and spreads his hands: eight fingers." [Game Instructions: Your Nightmares are reaching a dangerous level.]''</ref> as a '''Merry Gentleman''' with eight fingers (in total, or on each hand?).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Is_he_here_too%3F_Even_here%3F|Is he here too? Even here?|Fallen London|}} ''"Outside the station, you pass a tall, cheerful man. His buttons wink. His gloves... yes. Eight fingers. Of course."''</ref> Upon closer and less sleep-deprived inspection, he appears elderly,<ref name=":2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Give_him_your_key|Give him your key|Fallen London|}} ''"For a moment, his airs leave him, and the fearsome manager is merely an old, olive-skinned man in a ridiculous frock coat."''</ref> with dark hair<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Take_your_seat_(2)|Take your seat (2)|Fallen London|}} ''"His dark hair is silvered in the beams of light from above..."''</ref> and an olive complexion.<ref name=":2" /> He dresses like an archetypal Victorian dandy: a stovepipe hat, a frock coat with very shiny brass buttons, gloves,<ref name=":1" /> a silver-capped cane.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Release_the_Manager_from_his_promise|Release the Manager from his promise|Fallen London|}}''"You meet him at the carnival, where his stovepipe hat bobs above the heads of the seething crowd. [...] "Marvellous!" he laughs, twirling his silver-capped cane."''</ref>
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| The Manager roams [[London]] at night in search of patients to collect and take to the Hotel for study.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_where_you_can_locate_the_players|Ask where you can locate the players|Fallen London|}} ''"The Manager: often perambulates London at night, searching for those afflicted, to collect for his hotel. You will need to be more than a little mad to find him."''</ref> He sometimes walks with a pet scarlet lizard,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition:_Meet_with_the_Manager_of_the_Royal_Bethlehem|Ambition: Meet with the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem|Fallen London|}} ''"He is out walking his scarlet lizard, searching for new guests for the hotel."''</ref> which he has nicknamed "pomegranate."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Bloody_Wallpaper|The Bloody Wallpaper|Fallen London|}}</ref> He cultivates his choicest selections from his guests in his Garden of Nightmares,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition:_Arm_Yourself_Against_the_Garden_of_Nightmares|Ambition: Arm Yourself Against the Garden of Nightmares|Fallen London|}} ''"The Manager's position affords him many privileges. One of the chiefest is his opportunity to harvest choice nightmares from his guests. Once he has studied, categorised and collected them, he fosters the most lurid and horrid in a hidden sanctuary: the Garden of Nightmares."''</ref> a moonlit dream-garden in [[Parabola]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition:_The_Garden_of_Nightmares|Ambition: The Garden of Nightmares|Fallen London|}} ''"A silver gate leads to the Garden's Heart. It creaks musically as you push it open. Jade-green grass is bathed by silver moonlight. Violet roses and amber poppies peek from the flowerbeds."''</ref> In addition to his study of nightmares, he has a great fondness for ancient mysteries and lore.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Buy_a_permanent_reservation_at_the_Royal_Bethlehem_Hotel|Buy a permanent reservation at the Royal Bethlehem Hotel|Fallen London|}}''"The Merry Gentleman is known to have a taste for mysteries. [...] this will allow you to purchase a Reservation at the Royal Bethlehem for less than the Bazaar price." [Requires Antique Mysteries]''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Convince_the_Manager_of_the_Royal_Bethlehem_to_train_you|Convince the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem to train you|Fallen London|}}''"The Manager listens [...] as you relate the glories of ancient cities. [...] When you finish, he applauds – the sound echoing in the dark and quiet London streets. "One day," he says, "I shall join their ranks. Oh, what a romantic ruin I'll make.""''</ref>
| | '''The Manager of the Royal Beth''', also known as '''the Merry Gentleman''', is the Priest-King of the [[The Fallen Cities|First City]]. His lover was the King with a Hundred Hearts. He is responsible for the First City's Fall, as he sacrificed it in return for the King with a Hundred Hearts' life when the latter was dying of "fits".<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden|Looking in the garden|Fallen London|}}</ref> Despite the King's hatred for [[Polythreme|what he has become due to this deal]], the Manager still loves him after thousands of years.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Meeting_the_King|Meeting the King|Fallen London|}} ''"I no longer love him. How could I, after what he had done to me? But his love abides, over the sea in London."''</ref> |
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| The Manager also acts as '''May''' of the [[Calendar Council]];<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Try_your_best_to_sleep|Try your best to sleep|Fallen London|}}''"A man [sits] with you. […] You must last until the Liberation." […] "I am weary. I suspect that, even after the Liberation, I still will be. It may free everything, but not everyone." He plucks two brass buttons from his coat and lays them over your eyes."''</ref> his book in the [[Agendums of Ascent]] records stories of forbidden and tragic passion.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendar_Code|The Calendar Code|Fallen London|}}''"These are powerful tales: of hands touching for the first time on carnival rides; of intimacies stolen by doors which listen. The ecstasies captured in the middle section give way to a sombre conclusion: stories of old lovers separated by dark waters, and of hearts turned to stone."''</ref>
| | As of now, he also acts as '''May''' of [[the Calendar Council]], and gives his dark blessings to aspiring [[revolutionaries]] of renown.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Try_your_best_to_sleep|Try your best to sleep|Fallen London|}}</ref> His book in the Agendums of Ascent keeps stories of forbidden and tragic passion.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendar_Code|The Calendar Code|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
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| == As For Man, His Days Are Numbered... ==
| | He is also certainly a player of [[the Marvellous]], and his desire is to share [[Polythreme|his lover's fate]] by becoming a second living city. This may be a reason why he collects diamonds, since all he needs is a diamond from [[the Mountain of Light]] to replace his heart.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_the_Manager%27s_heart%27s_desire|Ask about the Manager's heart's desire|Fallen London|}}</ref> Besides these, he has quite an appetite for mysteries and ancient lore.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Buy_a_permanent_reservation_at_the_Royal_Bethlehem_Hotel|Buy a permanent reservation at the Royal Bethlehem Hotel|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Convince_the_Manager_of_the_Royal_Bethlehem_to_train_you|Convince the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem to train you|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
| <blockquote>''"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>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden|Looking in the garden|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The Manager is responsible for the Fall of the [[First City]], which he sold in exchange for the life of his lover, the [[King with a Hundred Hearts]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_merry_gentleman|A merry gentleman|Fallen London|}} ''"The traveller writhes and twitches [...] in some kind of fit. He looks wretchedly thin [...] A short step from death. The priest-king weeps over him. Two figures step into the chamber [...] Masters of the Bazaar. [...] The one with the cup says, "I think we can be of service to each other. Allow me to propose an exchange...""''</ref> The process of resurrecting his lover was an imperfect one, and the King with a Hundred Hearts now lies at the heart of the island of [[Polythreme]], as a living city and the progenitor of the [[Clay Men]].{{Fact}} Despite everything, the Manager still loves him thousands of years later,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Meeting_the_King|Meeting the King|Fallen London|}} ''"I no longer love him. How could I, after what he had done to me? But his love abides, over the sea in London."''</ref> and has taken up playing the [[Marvellous]] with the goal of sharing the King's fate and becoming a second living city.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_the_Manager%27s_heart%27s_desire|Ask about the Manager's heart's desire|Fallen London|}} ''"My needs are simplicity itself. I want a bright diamond. I will make it my heart and grow from there into something strange and wild. Like my beloved. I will carry the seed of a new city. Perhaps I could be of sandstone and gold. That would look very splendid, don't you think?"''</ref>
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| | In [[Parabola]], he keeps the Garden of Nightmares.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition_%E2%80%93_Arm_Yourself_Against_the_Garden_of_Nightmares|Arm Yourself Against the Garden of Nightmares|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
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| | He is described as having eight fingers<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_merry_gentleman|A merry gentleman|Fallen London|}}</ref> (though unclear if in total or on each hand) and a penchant for the dandyish side of the Fifth City's fashion, trying to blend in with his eccentric stovepipe hat, brass-buttoned frock coat and silver-capped cane.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Release_the_Manager_from_his_promise|Release the Manager from his promise|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
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| His uncle is the [[The Relickers|Capering Relicker]], the man who brewed the first Hesperidean Cider.<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> | | His uncle is the [[The Relickers|Capering Relicker]], the man who brewed the first Hesperidean Cider.<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> |
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| == Historical and Cultural Inspirations == | | == Real-Life Inspirations == |
| If the Crossroads Shaded by Cedars (the [[First City]]) is Uruk - though we don't know for sure, besides that it was from Ancient Mesopotamia - then the Manager would be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgamesh Gilgamesh], the King with a Hundred Hearts would be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enkidu Enkidu], and the Capering Relicker would be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utnapishtim Utnapishtim]. These three are key players in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh Epic of Gilgamesh]. That said, the King with a Hundred Hearts' origin is different (in the ''Fallen London'' universe, he is a traveler from China<ref>https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Looking_in_the_garden</ref>), and most of the main events of the Epic aren't mentioned in the story of the First City. | | If [[the First City]] is Uruk - though we don't know for sure - then the Manager is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgamesh Gilgamesh], the King with a Hundred Hearts is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enkidu Enkidu], and the Capering Relicker is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utnapishtim Utnapishtim]. These three are key players in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh Epic of Gilgamesh], the events of which led to the sale of the First City in the ''Fallen London'' universe. Though the King with a Hundred Hearts' origin is different, the story of the First City followed the real-world epic closely until the death of Enkidu. In this universe, though, Gilgamesh was so desperate to have his friend Enkidu back that he was willing to give [[the Masters]] his city as a price. |
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| == References == | | == References == |
