Editing The Presbyterate

{{Major spoiler}}<blockquote>{{Neath_Location|image1 = |image2 =Pres chap gaz.png|caption1 = The Presbyterate Diplomat|location = [[The Elder Continent]]|alias = |allegiance = [[The Mountain of Light]]|notable_inhabitants =The Presbyter<br>
[[The Mountain of Light]]<br>
[[The Presbyterate Adventuress]] (former)<br>
[[The Seven Against Nidah]] (former)<br>
<s>Nicator</s> |music = }}''"The Presbyterate is not the Continent, but it dominates it. The Presbyterate's genius is its extraordinary heterogeneity. Seventy-seven kingdoms – men, [[Caution|Beasts]], stones, flowers – a hundred schools of war and a thousand schools of thought – but all united under the Presbyter's word. And behind the Presbyter, the College of Mortality."''<ref name="flint">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Presbyterate''' is a major power in the [[Elder Continent]], ruling over its territory of the same name. Seventy-seven kingdoms answer to its banners.
==None Shall Live A Thousand Years...==
<blockquote>
''"In the Presbyterate, in the South, we're close to the Mountain and far from the Sun. So we could live forever, were that permitted. It isn't."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/Presbyterate_Adventuress|Ask the Adventuress why you've been ambushed by assassins from her homeland|Sunless Sea|}}</ref></blockquote>
Thanks to the vitality of the [[Mountain of Light]], the Presbyterate is known for its less-than-mortal populace. While Londoners get some of the benefits of proximity to Stone, the closer one is, the better, and as such the people of the Presbyterate are even more resilient. They can be killed several times over, live for centuries,<ref name="hundred">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/Presbyterate_Adventuress|Ask the Adventuress why you've been ambushed by assassins from her homeland|Sunless Sea}}''"In the Presbyterate, in the South, we're close to the Mountain and far from the Sun. So we could live forever, were that permitted. It isn't."''</ref> or be sliced into mincemeat,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_duel_to_the_death_with_Feducci|A duel to the death with Feducci|Fallen London|}} ''"You exchange many blows in the dim light before Feducci falls for an elaborate feint. Your blade slams into his face and through his skull and he falls. Unwilling to take chances, you hack him into pieces."''</ref> and still recover with barely a headache.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_duel_to_the_death_with_Feducci|A duel to the death with Feducci|Fallen London|}} ''"A few days later he calls upon you. What? What unnatural vitality does this man possess? He dismisses all questions, but the huge chest of blood-gold goes some way to satisfy you. As he leaves, Feducci suggests that you would do well to visit his home, far across the Unterzee. You don't think he's speaking of the tomb-colonies."''</ref> That being said, even they have a limit before they succumb to death like everyone else;<ref name="sunlesssea.miraheze.org">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/Seven_Years_Later|Democratise death|Sunless Sea}}''"Your men stop fighting like soldiers and start fighting like butchers. Your victory is slow, but inevitable."''</ref> belief in the afterlife is rare.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London}} ''"I now believe in something beyond life – but that is a rare strange belief in the Bright Continent."''</ref> 

The Presbyterate's language, referred to as "the language of Adam,"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Bitter_Saker_Falcon|Bitter Saker Falcon|Fallen London}}''"It's written in the red ink of the Elder Continent. And in the language of Adam, their native tongue..."''</ref> is described as one that "jangles like bells of bronze."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}} ''""Then, as they say in the Presbyterate..." He speaks five words together, in a language which jangles like bells of bronze."''</ref> In addition to this biblical tongue, certain Presbyterate Passphrases are composed of bits of English, Latin, and the [[Correspondence]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Presbyterate_Passphrase|Presbyterate Passphrase|Fallen London}}''"Scraps of Latin. Half-drawn Correspondence sigils. Everyday phrases in English. What do they mean?"''</ref> 
==...Save The Powerful Few==
<blockquote>''""...each Presbyter is different, but each takes the identity of the last. Presbyters never truly die, even after a thousand years. At their 'deaths' they give up their names to join the College, who live nameless. The [[Snuffers|rebels]] who serve the Thief-of-Faces - they live faceless. I'm no friend to the College, you know that, but they have served our realm well - they are just...""''<ref name="homeland">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/Presbyterate_Adventuress|The Last Night: Record her memoirs about her homeland|Sunless Sea}}''"...each Presbyter is different, but each takes the identity of the last. Presbyters never truly die, even after a thousand years. At their 'deaths' they give up their names to join the College, who live nameless."''</ref></blockquote>The '''Presbyter''', or '''Prester''', is the leader of the Presbyterate, elected and dismissed through a ceremony that would be very fatal on the [[Surface]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Your_Salon:_invite_a_Presbyterate_Diplomat_as_a_guest_of_honour|Your Salon: invite a Presbyterate Diplomat as a guest of honour|Fallen London}} ''"The College of Mortality, which elects and dismisses the Presbyter in a manner which on the Surface would be very final."''</ref> After a Presbyter's term expires, they are sent to live nameless within the '''College of Mortality''', the Presbyterate's backbone and authority on life and death, and their successor inherits their identity.<ref name="homeland" /> There have been at least a thousand Presters.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Walk_the_dreams_of_the_Prester|Walk the dreams of the Prester|Fallen London}}''"In his dreams, the Prester is a thousand men. Some old, some young, some not men at all. Each walks, as though chained, towards a door, yawning like a grave. They are abed, they are at table, they are making laws, they are passing judgement, they are sleeping, loving, fighting, ailing. And always, the chain yanks them towards the door. You wake to hear its opening still resounding in your ears."''</ref> Both current and former Presters are ''incredibly'' immortal, though they can be overwhelmed by numbers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Seven_Years_Later|Democratise death|Sunless Sea|}}''"The once-Presters fight back. Their vitality is impossible. Bullets do not kill them, nor swords. Your men stop fighting like soldiers and start fighting like butchers. Your victory is slow, but inevitable."''</ref>

The College of Mortality is particularly infamous for a certain decree: '''''None shall live a thousand years'''''. Not even the Presters themselves are exempt from this rule, but, as stated above, they do not truly die when their time is up. The [[Presbyterate Adventuress]]'s father lived for twelve extra years, so the Presbyterate punished his transgression by forcing his children to live for only a hundred years. Anyone who lives longer than they should is ruthlessly hounded and arrested by the Presbyterate's powerful assassins,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/Presbyterate_Adventuress|Ask the Adventuress why you've been ambushed by assassins from her homeland|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The law for me is 'thou shalt not live a hundred years'. I'm out of time. That's why I left the Navy. The College will get to me - they always do in the end - and I can't keep letting other people die for me."''</ref> and in the words of the [[Bishop of St Fiacre's]]: ''"Death is the fist of the Presbyterate. One may not oppose death"''.<ref name="flint" />
==Nidah ==
<blockquote>''"Miles and miles. Every grain of sand another jewel. And lush lawns, plashing waterfalls, succulent fruit, clear fountains, flowers, silver pagodas, palaces, temples, all rise shimmering from the painted oases. Nidah."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Put_the_Shattered_Mask_back_on|Put the Shattered Mask back on|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>'''Nidah''' is the capital and central kingdom<ref name=":1" /> of the Presbyterate, located deep within the Elder Continent.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_with_the_Youthful_Naturalist_(Acceptance)|Speak with the Youthful Naturalist (Acceptance)|Fallen London|}}''"I have seen Nidah with my own eyes. His most sacred city. Fountains brimming with milk and honey. Streets paved with precious gems."''</ref> The city is surrounded by seven<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Edge_of_the_Desert_of_Delights|The Edge of the Desert of Delights|Fallen London|}}''"[...] But ahead! Spires twinkling over the dunes, the seven-walled city awaits."''</ref> massive basalt walls, and only its '''Persimmon Gate''' can serve as a point of entry.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Deal_with_Isery|Offer a preposterous price|Sunless Sea|}}''"Through the broken Persimmon Gate, still littered with corpses. The basalt walls at your back, now: black against the blazing shoulder of the Mountain."''</ref> While the city is described as a paradise, gorgeously paved with gemstone roads,<ref name=":2" /> it is also located dangerously close to the Mountain of Light, and eye protection is required to avoid certain doom.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/A_Deal_with_Isery|Offer a preposterous price|Sunless Sea}}''"And how it blazed! Bright as the sun's skin! Only your goggles of smoked glass kept your eyes from boiling."''</ref>

To reach Nidah by land, one must brave the following challenges, according to Isery of the [[The Isle of Cats|Isle of Cats]]:<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/Engineering_the_Downfall_of_Nidah|Secure the route to Nidah: plot a course across three deserts|Sunless Sea}}</ref>
*'''The Desert of Eyes''', "''where eyes bloom in the sands. Their regard strips all pretence, reducing the traveller to a state of foetal self-loathing."''
*'''The Listening Desert''', ''"where earthquakes pursue the unwary."''
*'''The Desert of Delights''', ''"the touch of its sands is indescribably engrossing."''
Within Nidah lies the College of Mortality: grim and grey on the outside, and heaven itself on the inside. And within the College lies a door to the '''Garden''', where true immortality can be found.<ref name="sunlesssea.miraheze.org" />

==The Kingdoms of the Presbyterate==
<blockquote>''"Drowned Mereid, though risen, was once a kingdom of the Presbyterate. Yet there are always seventy seven kingdoms, with neither interruption nor interregnum. Was another found and drafted into its place?"''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Tease_out_the_subtleties_hidden_in_Presbyterate_nomenclature|Tease out the subtleties hidden in Presbyterate nomenclature|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The Presbyterate has seventy-seven kingdoms, yet we know of relatively few, with a handful more alluded to but never named.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Arrange_an_interlibrary_loan_with_Port_Carnelian|Arrange an interlibrary loan with Port Carnelian|Fallen London|}}''"[...] Hunting, Archery, Metallurgics, Chivalric Behaviour, Calisthenics, and Gourmet. Once, a particular text intimates, there were kingdoms in the Presbyterate dedicated solely to each of these arts."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sift_the_waters_of_Adam%27s_Way|Sift the waters of Adam's Way|Fallen London|}}''"There is a kingdom of the Animescent, who bathe daily in the waters. Their wounds are ignited, burn, and slough off, leaving the skin fresh, to burn anew. This account is written by a notorious liar, however, who faked his own death by animescence in order to wed a Conflagrati queen. She later drowned him for his troubles."''</ref> Those who venture beyond [[Adam's Way]] into the heart of the Continent will encounter wonders and dangers beyond anything they could ever imagine...

*Nidah is considered the central and ruling kingdom of the Presbyterate.<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Engineering_the_Downfall_of_Nidah|Defeat the Presbyter's armies: commit a spy network|Sunless Sea|}}''"The Presbyterate's military is a patchwork of feudal obligations and treaties agreed between its seventy-six sub-kingdoms."''</ref>
* '''[[Caution]]''' is the City of Beasts, home to a hundred different tongues.
*'''[[Arbor]]''' is split between dream and reality, and full of roses.
*'''[[Vesture]]''' is a kingdom of silkweavers - and the spiders that produce their silk.
*'''[[Huz]]''' is perhaps more of a hive than a kingdom.
*The people of '''[[Skite]]''' have lost their immortality privileges - and their ability to heal from their wounds at all.
*'''[[Cline]]''' is a kingdom of snails, whose inhabitants have all grown spiraling shells.
* '''Rimer''' is a city beyond Caution.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sift_the_waters_of_Adam%27s_Way Sift the waters of Adam's Way, ''Fallen London''] ''"According to an acid-stained codex, a ship was once raised in Parabola that could sail the Writhing River with ease. By difficult glasswork, it was brought into the Neath, to attempt the same on Adam's Way. It was said to have made the journey between Apis Meet and Caution, but sank at the city beyond, whose name is Rimer. It is also said that the Rimers sunk the ship, from which to make an ark."''</ref>
* '''Ossuary''', the Hidden Nation, worships Stone with intricate maps made of bone.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Contemplate_False_Globes Contemplate False Globes, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Hidden Nation of Ossuary makes its maps of scrimshaw and ivory. It conceals them in psalters and breviaries, dedicated to the holy light of the Mountain. Within the bindings, you make out the borders of the Presbyterate, carved in pale bone."''</ref>
* The '''Court of the Wakeful Eye''' is a princedom of [[tigers]] that swears fealty to the Presbyterate,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Exile%27s_Chalice|The Exile's Chalice|Fallen London|}} ''"Our nation: the Resplendent Court of the Wakeful Eye, this little striped kingdom under the Prester's aegis."''</ref> but may have lost its status as one of the 77 officially designated kingdoms.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Port_Carnelian|Recruit a new Healer to the Seven|Sunless Sea|}} ''"The tigers of the Carnelian Coast were once one of the seventy-seven kingdoms of the Presbyterate. [...] Their titular leader is the Banded Prince [...]" [Editor's note: The Court of the Wakeful Eye is consistently described as such in Sunless Sea, but in Fallen London, they call themselves a Kingdom. This may be a change in status, or an inconsistency or timeline divergence.]''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Recruit_the_Banded_Prince|Visit him in the fungal jungle|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Here, my people are unwelcome in our own land. If I help you take Nidah, my price is this: a new kingdom on the bright slopes of the Mountain. Where we can bask and roam eternally."''</ref>
*'''[[Grandinia]]''' has been consumed entirely by fungus, but somehow it lives on.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Thing_That_Came_in_From_the_Fog|The Thing That Came in From the Fog|Fallen London|}} ''"'The kingdom is called Grandinia,' says the Mithridate. 'And it lives. Rotting, entombed, Grandinia lives on.'"''</ref>
*'''Ixander''' had close contact with the [[The Third City|Third City]], but is no longer recorded and may no longer exist.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Consult_the_texts_of_the_Grand_Sanatoria Consult the texts of the Grand Sanatoria, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Withered Illuminator guards her texts closely, until you slip her a third gin. Then, dozing, you are at liberty to read. The Third City, it seemed, had frequent contact with a place known as Ixander, which is now no longer recorded."''</ref> 
*The drowned island of '''[[Mereid]]''' was once a Presbyterate kingdom.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Tease_out_the_subtleties_hidden_in_Presbyterate_nomenclature|Tease out the subtleties hidden in Presbyterate nomenclature|Fallen London|}} ''"Drowned Mereid, though risen, was once a kingdom of the Presbyterate. Yet there are always seventy seven kingdoms, with neither interruption nor interregnum. Was another found and drafted into its place?"''</ref>
*'''Verdigris''' is described as a "hollow nation," and is said to have been ruled by [[Nicator]].<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Perform_a_study_of_the_vintages_of_the_Presbyterate Perform a study of the vintages of the Presbyterate, ''Fallen London''] ''"This dusty bottle […] distilled by Nicator himself, when he ruled the hollow nation of Verdigris. Or […] his nine day reign upon the Hidden Throne […] Or perhaps […] when he reigned as Presbyter […] the wine, […] like all revealed mysteries, proves disappointing."''</ref>
It is not clear whether the city of [[Varchas]] is also a Kingdom of the Presbyterate, but its people embark on pilgrimage to the Mountain of Light.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Pilgrimage_to_Amaradri|The Pilgrimage to Amaradri|Sunless Sea|}} ''"It seems as though half the city has joined the Pilgrimage to the Mountain of Light"''</ref>

==Influence Abroad==
<blockquote>''"The Mithridate Office fabricates misleading stories about the Continent, in order to confuse foreigners. To this end, they often employ foreigners."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>'''The Mithridate Office''' is a branch of the Presbyterate that fabricates false stories of the Elder Continent to confound and mystify foreigners; hilariously, they often employ foreigners themselves for this very purpose.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London}} ''"The Mithridate Office fabricates misleading stories about the Continent, in order to confuse foreigners. To this end, they often employ foreigners."''</ref> Their workers, '''Mithridites''', pay their clients in a currency called Formulum.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Consult_primary_sources|Consult primary sources|Fallen London}}''"[...] They pay in Formulum, a currency which bears the image of a city, colonnaded and imposing. Currency must be minted somewhere..."''</ref> There are known branches in [[Apis Meet]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London}} ''"(In Apis Meet) Afternoon: Work for the Mithridate Office [...] The Office maintains a proud building at the head of Surcease Street."''</ref> and [[London]]. The branch in London on Surcease Street,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Thing_That_Came_in_From_the_Fog|The Thing That Came in From the Fog|Fallen London}}''"The Mithridate Office on Surcease Street boasts a rotating cast of liars, frauds, propagandists and story-spinners. It's differentiated from most government departments by the fact that they're good at it."''</ref> staffed almost entirely by London natives,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Thing_That_Came_in_From_the_Fog|The Thing That Came in From the Fog|Fallen London}}''"During your first two appointments, you're quickly able to ascertain that the Mithridates you're speaking to are secretly lifelong Londoners. [...]"''</ref> has been known to lure unsuspecting Londoners into becoming hired mercenaries on Presbyterate warships, like [[The Delight|the ''Delight'']].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_the_Second_Sacristan|Ask about the Second Sacristan|Fallen London}} ''"She goes on to explain how the Mithridate Office enlisted mercenaries for the College of Mortality. "The money? Too good to refuse." But despite Nidah's deep coffers, their soldiers, their ships, they only sent one agent of their own. "Wanted to avoid official deployment, which is why the Commander hired so many low-life criminals – such as yours truly." When she first met the Prester's Hand, in a dilapidated warehouse near the docks, she found the shabby scenery "funny" after the riches the Mithridate Office had promised. Other zailors were there. Then the Sacristan opened a bag filled with masks. "After that, none of us cared about the money anymore.""''</ref> This Office also frequently hires pirate ships from [[Gaider's Mourn]] to zail under their flag and enforce their will.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Open_fire!_(A_Bounty_Upon_Your_Head)|Open fire! (A Bounty Upon Your Head)|Fallen London}} ''"Despite flying the flag of Nidah, this vessel is from Gaider's Mourn. Another crew hired by the Mithridate Office, no doubt."''</ref>

A former director of the Mithridate Office apparently chose to retire to the faraway [[Shepherd Isles]], and may be responsible for the inhabitants' fondness for telling tall tales.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Adam%27s_Way#Adam.27s_Way|Listen to a storyteller|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

'''The Order Vespertine''', a powerful group of [[Knife-and-Candle]] players, based their traditions and fighting techniques on the Presbyterate's traditions and rites.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London}} ''"...they draw their traditions from the traditions of the Presbyterate. [...] Knife-and-Candle is more than a game [...] it is a rite. Their rites are [...] a twisted shadow of the Presbyter's laws.""''</ref>
==THE PRESTER SAITH==
*''No Man Shall Live a Thousand Years''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Engineering_the_Downfall_of_Nidah|Defeat the Presbyter's armies: foster a popular uprising|Sunless Sea|}} ''"[...] an order of the first Presbyter, written long ago in Nidah. "No man shall live a thousand years." [...] their Presbyters don't die when they live to a thousand, but instead retire to the College of Mortality to advise the next ruler [...]"''</ref>
*''She Who Commands The Principle Of Victory May Feast On Its Spoil'' ('''The Privilege of Victory''')<ref name="fallenlondon.wiki">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Season_of_Sceptres|The Season of Sceptres|Fallen London}}</ref>
*''She Who Hath Become A Tyrant May Be Toppled To Dine Upon The Ashes'' ('''The Edict of Policraticus''')<ref name="fallenlondon.wiki" /> 
*''She Who Rules in Deed, Rules in Law'' ('''The Doctrine of Eminence''')<ref name="fallenlondon.wiki" />
*''You shall harm no thing that flies, for they carry with them the airs of the Garden. No bee, no bird, no bat. Only to my servants is it given to hunt them, and that only for my table. Yet I am generous: all shall feast.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Vespertine,_Perilous|Order Vespertine, Perilous|Fallen London}}</ref>''
*''The [[Thief-of-Faces]] shall not be suffered to return to the Garden, nor its chattels, nor its [[Snuffers|children]]. It has taken from us that which is precious and returned only lies and empty fires. It shall be locked in a [[The Prison of Flint|prison of flint]], and it shall know no light.''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Vespertine,_Merciless|Order Vespertine, Merciless|Fallen London}}</ref>
*''When I die, yet shall I not die. The hour of my death shall be chosen, yet no man shall choose it. I am eternal, and yet my reign in circumscrib'd by law and Fate. I will feast at my funeral, and my child shall be my cup-bearer.''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Vespertine,_Monstrous|Order Vespertine, Monstrous|Fallen London}}</ref> 
*''In the Garden is the Design; in the Garden occurred the Ascents; in the Garden were selected the Shames. Therefore none shall enter it without that they be blinded with thorns and bound with the '''Three Oaths'''. And should any seek to alter the Design or repeat the Ascent or uncover the Shames, they shall be given to the Wax-Wind.''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Order_Vespertine,_Irresistible|Order Vespertine, Irresistible|Fallen London}}</ref> 
*''None shall set foot in Nidah save he that was born there. He who violates this law shall be cast into the deepest deep, and always forsaken.''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/The_Flinty_Latitudinarian|Welcome Batuk back to the Seven Against Nidah|Sunless Sea}}</ref>
*''Every Planet In Fixed and Solitary Orbit: intrigue between nations is forbidden.''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_House_of_Silk_and_Flame|The House of Silk and Flame|Fallen London}}''"He turns and holds the Princess' gaze: "The Prester Saith: Every Planet In Fixed and Solitary Orbit: intrigue between nations is forbidden."''</ref>
==One of the Three Oaths==
<blockquote>''"...that my word shall bind me. My promise shall outlast my flesh, and the very flesh of the world. Even when I am dust it will bind me, with red gold and a wind of wounds. If I break it, let my crown burn. Let my flesh run like wax. Let me hunger, and let nothing sate my hunger except my own skin and the marrow of my bones..."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/%22Swear_by_one_of_the_Three_Oaths!%22|"Swear by one of the Three Oaths!"|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

==Historical and Cultural Inspirations==
Since the early days of Christianity, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyter presbyter]" has been a term for its clergy, specifically for a senior member or elder. This term (which comes from Greek) is also the origin of the word "priest," with which it is synonymous in English. In modern times, the collective - "college" - of Catholic priests is referred to as the "presbyterium," "presbytery," or - ah, there we are - "presbyterate."

The Presbyterate takes heavy inspiration from the medieval legend of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John Prester John], which was a primary driving factor behind European exploration of the Old World. Prester John was said to have been a Nestorian (Eastern Christian) king who ruled a vast and splendid kingdom somewhere in Asia. Much of this legend was inspired by early Christian missionaries' travels to places like India, but it was fueled further by a (definitely forged) [https://blackcentraleurope.com/sources/1000-1500/a-letter-from-prester-john-ca-1165-1170/ letter to the Byzantine emperor] in 1165 that supposedly came from Prester John (Presbyter Ioannes) and described the marvels of his kingdom. 

Since many of the stories that were confabulated into this legend over time came from the spread of Nestorianism in central Asia, this was also the reason that William of Rubruck was sent to Karakorum to seek an audience with the Mongol Empire - an event reimagined in ''The Silver Tree'' as the catalyst for the Fall of the [[Fourth City]]. There is a single nod to the legend of Prester John in ''Fallen London.''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Deduce_obscure_conclusions|Deduce obscure conclusions|Fallen London}} ''"Further study reveals a banquet held in Prague, under the auspices of the notorious Rudolf II. Discreet emissaries sent below, chasing rumours of Prester John beneath the world. As a legend it has its uses: as the known edges of the world expand, the Prester can be moved to somewhere it is less obvious that he is not."''</ref>

Several statements within "The Letter of Prester John" correlate with the imagery of the Elder Continent. Of interest:<blockquote>''If you truly wish to know the magnitude and excellence of our Highness and over what lands our power dominates, then know and believe without hesitation that I, Prester John, am lord of lords and surpass, in all riches which are under the heaven, in virtue and in power, all the kings of the wide world. Seventy-two kings are tributaries to us.''</blockquote>There is actually text in ''Sunless Sea'' that states there are 72 kingdoms in the Presbyterate, but this is corrected to 77 elsewhere in the game and in ''Fallen London.'' The implication is that originally this was a more direct reference, which was amended because Seven is the Number.

In addition to expounding upon the virtues of his people and the abundance of gems and riches in his kingdom (both things that are mirrored in Presbyterate law and imagery), Prester John's letter also feeds into Christian immortality mythos, perhaps the defining feature of the Presbyterate. Some details of the following passage are echoed at the foot of the Mountain of Light and in the rivers that emanate from her wounds:<blockquote>''...the foot of Mount Olympus, from where a clear spring issues, containing all kinds of pleasant tastes. The taste however varies each hour [...] and flows out by a waterway for three days, not far from Paradise, from where Adam was expelled. If someone who has fasted for three days tastes of this spring, he will suffer no infirmity from that day on, and will always be as if he were thirty-two years old, however long he may live.''</blockquote>"Prester John" additionally assures that his palace will take care of all in need:<blockquote>''And that palace will have such a grace conferred to it by God that there no one will ever be hungry, no one will be sick, nor will anyone, being inside, die on that on which he has entered. And if anyone has the strongest hunger and is sick to the point of death, if he enters the palace and stays there for some time, he will leave satisfied, as if he might have eaten one hundred courses of food, and as a healthy as if he might have suffered no infirmities in his lifetime.''</blockquote>This is further reflected in Presbyterate propaganda, in statements like "The Prester's table is large; everyone in the world has a seat."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Worship_with_the_Devoted_Deckhands|Worship with the Devoted Deckhands|Fallen London}}</ref> and "Yet I am generous; all shall feast."<ref name=":0" /> Not to mention that the heavenly (but illusory) food served on the Delight makes the player character wonder "what miracles must appear at the Prester's own table."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Take_food_and_drink|Take food and drink|Fallen London}} ''"And the flavours you taste! Nectar. Ambrosia. Marvels on the tongue. If the Prester's Hand serves such delicacies here, then what miracles must appear at the Prester's own table?"''</ref> The relentless poaching of birds by His servants to adorn His banquet table certainly drives home the rest of the point about feeding the hungry.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Examine_the_birds|Examine the birds|Fallen London}} ''"Eagles enchained. Peacocks leashed. Blackbirds captured to bake into a pie. Bats to roast, goshawks and geese to baste, swans to marinate in nightingale gravy, with butterflies and frost-moths breaded, fried, and sprinkled for a crisp garnish. Perhaps the creatures know their destinies. Perhaps that's why they flap their wings and thrash against the bars. Bloody feathers. Screeches. Claws scratching for liberty beyond their reach."''</ref>

Over time, as Europeans explored Asia and gained an understanding of its geography and political landscape, the exact location of Prester John's kingdom shifted. Theories began to arise that it was actually in Ethiopia or the New World, and as the possibilities dwindled, the promise of the great Christian king lost its meaning. When it came to the Americas, meanwhile, the legend of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Dorado El Dorado] took precedence as a motivator for exploration. Iberian explorers' motives for exploring and conquering the Americas were intrinsically Christian, but they stemmed more from the militant-missionary reasoning that drove the Crusades and the Spanish Reconquista; the legend of El Dorado lacked the same goal of Christian dominion, and instead used indigenous people's stories as fuel for greed and conquest. Thus, rather than El Dorado, the remainder of the Christian inspiration for the Presbyterate probably comes from scholarly attempts to locate the Garden of Eden.

While we don't usually go into discussion of the metatextual variety, there is a case for an exception here. Out-of-universe, all of these stories inspired the Presbyterate. But in-universe, considering the prescience of the Mithridate Office, it could be argued that the Presbyterate seems to be ''aware'' of these Christian legends, and has actively formed its image and propaganda to Londoners and other Europeans around these legends.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Deduce_obscure_conclusions|Deduce obscure conclusions|Fallen London}}''"Further study reveals a banquet held in Prague, under the auspices of the notorious Rudolf II. Discreet emissaries sent below, chasing rumours of Prester John beneath the world. As a legend it has its uses: as the known edges of the world expand, the Prester can be moved to somewhere it is less obvious that he is not. "''</ref> The masked zailors of the Delight see the ship as being full of mythical treasures and foodstuffs, like nectar and ambrosia (which are Greek, but something a literate Londoner would know about). They see its captain as an image of a robed and haloed Christian saint, and even the Mountain itself as a fairly close reflection of Prester John's description of his kingdom as dripping in jewels. 

Did the Presbyterate call themselves something else a long time ago, when a different image would have enticed the people of the Neath? Or was Prester John always real, his kingdoms a strange and eldritch mirror of Christian ideals lurking in the Neath? Of course the presence of the literal Garden of Eden within the Prester's domain points to the latter, these are still questions worth asking.

==References==
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[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:The Elder Continent]]
[[Category:The Neath]]