Editing The Roof of the Neath

|location=[[The Neath]]|alias=The Castles in the Ceiling<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Leaving_London|Light Fingers: Leaving London|Fallen London}} ''"But maybe something more awaits you in the Castles in the Ceiling."''</ref>|allegiance=Independent|notable_inhabitants=[[Starved Men]]<br>

[[Moon-Misers]]}}<blockquote>''"The stalactites drip down all around. There is nary a bat, nor the faintest wind. Here is a peace which one can never know in London, where there is always the maddening crowd bustling by, or hawkers screeching the virtue of rotten meat, or marsh-wolves interrupting your afternoon picnic."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Intrusion|Light Fingers: Intrusion|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

The '''Roof of the Neath''' is the boundary that separates the [[Neath]] from the [[Surface]].__FORCETOC__

<blockquote>''"The ceiling grows ever closer. The false-stars shine ever brighter. You are among stalactites which glisten with iridescent shine, and the unknown wonders of the upside down world!"''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Launch!|Launch!|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

The roof of the Neath is made of rock said to be "unfathomably" deep.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Knife_of_Lost_Sky|Knife of Lost Sky|Fallen London}} ''"Climb [...] to the roof of the Neath. Bore a shaft through uncountable fathoms of rock."''</ref> Its underside is dotted with stalactites,<ref name = "instrusion">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Intrusion|Light Fingers: Intrusion|Fallen London}} ''"The stalactites drip down all around. There is nary a bat, nor the faintest wind."''</ref> many of which are large enough to accommodate entire communities.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Attempt_an_emergency_retreat!|Attempt an emergency retreat!|Fallen London}} ''"The citadels are full of eyes – and limbs, crawling down stalactites towards you."''</ref><ref name = "tunnels">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Written_in_the_Glim|Written in the Glim|Fallen London}} ''"The Starved Men haul you [...] through slick-walled tunnels that squirm through the citadel like entrails."''</ref> Stalactites often fall from the roof to the lands down below;<ref name = "smashtile">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Smashtile_Alley|Smashtile Alley|Fallen London}} ''"Here the kiln-tenders bake brick, to feed the endless appetite for roof-tiles. One of the many perils of the Neath: stalactites that fall like god-flung stones [...]"''</ref> [[Godfall]] was one such stalactite that landed in the [[Unterzee]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Godfall#Interactions|Explore the Shattered Citadel|Sunless Sea}} ''"Before the stalactite was a monastery - before it ever fell from the roof [...]"''</ref> Falling stalactites are a known hazard in [[London]], with '''Smashtile Alley'''<ref name = "smashtile"/> and '''Stonefall Copse''' in the [[Forgotten Quarter]] being particularly infamous for this.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Stonefall_Copse|Stonefall Copse|Fallen London}} ''"A stalactite-pocked crater on the fringes of the Forgotten Quarter. Previously a place to avoid, lest one get one's skull caved in [...]"''</ref>

The roof can be accessed via dirigible, though London's dirigibles are managed by [[Mr Fires]], and unsanctioned trips to the roof are forbidden.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Written_in_the_Glim|Written in the Glim|Fallen London}} ''"It is forbidden to travel to the roof—" [...] "—Mr Fires oversees all dirigible traffic."''</ref> London's contact with the roof is largely minimal<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Share_your_personal_insights_into_the_Starved_Men|Share your personal insights into the Starved Men|Fallen London}} ''""You went to the Roof? Voluntarily?" [...] "But why? [...]"''</ref> barring enterprising academics<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London}} ''"A Probationary Professor is looking for assistants for a perilous venture. [...] she's looking to lead an expedition to the cavern roof."''</ref> and failed expeditions;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London}} ''"[...] a smaller experimental balloon from London, caught on the jagged edges of an unseen stalactite. It has been deserted for some time."''</ref> London's only known holding here is [[New Newgate Prison]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#New_Newgate_Prison|Where is New Newgate Prison?|Fallen London}} ''"They built the Fifth City's prison in a stalactite the size of a fair-sized village."''</ref> While the roof is extremely resilient, it has a few breaches: the Travertine Spiral and the [[Cumaean Canal]] can be used to travel to the [[Surface]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Your_beloved|Your beloved|Fallen London}} ''"The ways to the surface – the Cumaean Canal, the Travertine Spiral [...]"''</ref> and [[Aestival]] is an island in the Unterzee lit by [[sunlight]] from a hole in the roof above.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Aestival#Location_description|Location description|Sunless Sea}} ''"A great beam of sunlight bathes the island! [...] far above, there's a hole in the roof."''</ref>

<blockquote>''"Bats flock around the dirigible as it rises toward the roof. The glimmer of the False-Stars becomes a glare. Stalactites hang like icicles of bone, the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

The roof may seem barren and remote,<ref name = "instrusion"/> but it is in fact teeming with life. [[Moon-misers]] are large insectoids that emit a bright glow seen from the ground, known in [[London]] as "false-stars."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London}} ''"I've not got overwhelming evidence yet, but I think that they've been purposefully bred. [...] part light fitting."''</ref><ref name = "respect">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London}} ''"Do you know about moon-misers? They're the false-stars on the cavern roof. [...] they're like giant insects. Size of a cow [...] Glim is the bits of their carapaces they shuck off."''</ref> They travel across the roof by digging their legs into rock,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London}} ''"A moon-miser crawls ahead [...] powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."''</ref> and shed their carapaces in a process called "glim-fall," raining down shards of glim for gatherers to collect.<ref name = "respect"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Glim-fall!|Glim-fall!|Fallen London}} ''"Glim-fall! [...] The creaking and whistling from above presages a [...] fall of glim. Man the nets!"''</ref> The roof is also inhabited by [[Starved Men]], who use the [[Shapeling Arts]] to warp and transform themselves.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Advise_Dr_Vaughan_to_join_the_Starved_Men_(The_Hybrid_Speaks)|Advise Dr Vaughan to join the Starved Men (The Hybrid Speaks)|Fallen London}} ''"Push the boundaries of flesh. Transform, rather than conform. Shatter the Chain."''</ref> They travel the roof via blimps,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London}} ''"The Starved Men have their own method of flight. Two oblong sacks are sewn tip to tip, [...] inflated [...] affixed with six slim rods, [...] a kind of cage the Starved Men fit into; they then propel themselves from stalactite to stalactite, floating across."''</ref> rope bridges,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London}} ''"Thick strands of rope [...] You have seen such ropes elsewhere, used as bridges by the Starved Men."''</ref> or by climbing "spider-like,"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Wander_as_lonely_as_a_cloud|Wander as lonely as a cloud|Fallen London}} ''"A lone wandering Starved Man crawls 'spider-like' along the roof [...]"''</ref> and they carve and tunnel through stalactites to form massive citadels to reside in.<ref name = "tunnels"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Upwards_(Story)|Upwards (Story)|Fallen London}} ''"Stalactites hang [...] the citadels of the Starved Men carved into them, empty windows like yawning eye sockets."''</ref> The powerful [[Gods of the Unterzee|zee-god]] [[Storm]] is said to be the "god in the roof",<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_fallen_stone#Story_description|A fallen stone#Story description|Sunless Sea}} ''"The god in the roof! Storm is angry!"''</ref> but the details of this are... unclear.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What%27s_this%3F_1|What's this? 1|Fallen London}} ''"This is not what I expected at all. The cavern should be smooth, as befits the cradle of my mind."''</ref> Regardless, certain objects that fall from the roof are considered "gifts" from Storm by [[Urchins]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Chimney_Pot_Wars|The Chimney Pot Wars|Fallen London}} ''""Something fell from the roof," she tells you. "A gift from the old god that lives there. [...]"''</ref>

During the events surrounding the [[London Horticultural Show]], a massive stalactite was dropped onto London by invading Starved Men,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Stalactite|Stalactite|Fallen London}} ''"Stalactite [...] A plunging eclipse. [...] Piercing pillar of rock. [...] A vasty knife to pierce London's skin."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/State_of_Emergence|State of Emergence|Fallen London}} ''"The inside of the stalactite drips with amber. A hand emerges [...] Another hand [...] A gangly figure [...] Another follows, then another [...] more figures extrude themselves from fissures in the rock. [...] Starved Men. You've seen them [...] on your expeditions to the roof."''</ref> who sought to reshape the city to survive the [[The Fallen Cities|Fall]] of the [[Sixth City]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_War_in_London_2|The War in London 2|Fallen London}} ''"London is overrun. Buildings, their quoins and cornice stones made flesh, ripped open and left to bleed."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_why_the_Starved_Men_attacked|Ask why the Starved Men attacked|Fallen London}} ''""What is seen can be changed. All things can be changed. [...] this body, it has fared ill with past changes." [...] "This is not a body, it's a city," blusters the Commodore. [...] "Yes. We sought to reshape the city, to help it avert a greater change which it could not endure. [...] We were helping—" [...] "You were tearing down our homes and tearing up our people." [...] a flash of a very human expression. Shame. "We wished to prevent [...] The city's next great change, [...] How many has it been now? Four?" [...] there was no time – we had to act, before..." [...]"''</ref> After these Starved were forced to surrender,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Give_the_order|Give the order|Fallen London}} ''"There. Walking out of the shadows. Six of them, [...] "Hold," says your gruff second. "I think... I think they're surrendering." [...] They cooperate as the monks of Godfall bind their many hands at the wrists. [...] they do their best to show willing, the hairy one generally guiding the others."''</ref> the [[Starved Lithologer]] revealed that another group of Starved were planning on boring a hole in the roof to direct [[sunlight]] onto London. Their weapon was an oculus of shaped flesh through which they would focus sunlight,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_up_(What_Lies_Above)|Look up (What Lies Above)|Fallen London}} ''""They are preparing," says the Starved Lithologer. "We were not fast enough. We did not do enough." [...] "They have been digging upwards. They mean to... assist the city in a thorough metamorphosis." [...] "The sun," says the Commodore. "The b____y sun.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Also_Into_You|Also Into You|Fallen London}} ''"A great ocular mass. A distended cornea the size of the [airship] itself [...] Helping these things hold their strained shape as they prepare to channel inimical sunlight."''</ref> and though the roof was successfully breached,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Last_Orders|Last Orders|Fallen London}} ''"The skin on the ceiling parts, [...] a core of stone – falls from the roof. And what follows [...] Sunlight. A tiny beam [...] The light touches the rock [...] From being magnified and projected down, even as it burns out its channel."''</ref> the weapon was ultimately thwarted.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Fly_the_(Airship)_straight_into_the_Starved_weapon|Fly the (Airship) straight into the Starved weapon|Fallen London}} ''"You hold the course. You make yourself a dart. A missile of wood and flesh and fabric. A spear, thrown from London, to put one in the eye of those who would unmake it."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_End,_at_Last|An End, at Last|Fallen London}} ''""I know what it looks like when a city ends. It looks worse than this from here." [...] "And better.""''</ref> In the aftermath, Starved Men worked to repair the gap using the [[Shapeling Arts]]. However, according to the Lithologer, the roof would have healed on its own anyway; in their words, this is because the roof, and the Neath itself, are alive.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inquire_about_the_state_of_the_Roof|Inquire about the state of the Roof|Fallen London}} ''"When last you saw it – in a blaze [...] golden light – it was in a state of [...] disrepair. [...] "The Roof is healing." [...] "It is like a body." [...] "The oculus was a wound. The light, an infection. We help, too," [...] "with amber from the forgetting-places, and arts of unscarring. But the wound would heal without us." [...] "The Neath lives. This is one of the things we know that you, perhaps, do not.""''</ref>