The Sixth City

From The Fifth City Wiki

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

This page contains spoilers for the following Fallen London endgame content and Exceptional Stories: Ambition: Heart's Desire!, Ambition: Bag A Legend!, The City in Silver, and Lost in Reflections. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"What city do they intend to drop, then? Surely they don't think to get very many love stories out of Portsmouth or Bristol."[1]

The Sixth City is the next metropolis destined to be claimed by the Masters of the Bazaar. Currently, London stands as the Fifth City, having descended into the subterranean realm of the Neath in 1862. Its predecessor, the Fourth City, was Karakorum.[2]

The identity of the Sixth City remains a subject of intense speculation,[3] with countless rumors and theories circulating[4] — some even whispered by the genius loci of London itself.[5] And speculation is inevitable, as London endures calamity after calamity,[6] while certain of the Masters remain ever eager to replace the Fifth City with a new acquisition.[7][8]

In the Sunless Skies timeline, the Sixth City fell after London's escape to the High Wilderness.[9] By the time of the Neon Future, the Sixth City has come and gone, and the Seventh stands in its place.[10]

Paris[edit | edit source]

"The Masters have always been fond of Paris."[11]

Paris is the strongest contender for the title of the Sixth City, and its government is certainly not opposed to the idea. If a prospective buyer were to emerge, they would be open to negotiations[12] — and several Masters intend to do just that. Mr Veils has already laid plans to purchase the city,[13][14] while Mr Wines intends to make a bid in the future.[15]

All the signs point to Paris;[16] it is, after all, the City of Love. But not every Master agrees.

Istanbul (not Constantinople) and Other Candidates[edit | edit source]

"Istanbul has long been familiar with the Masters. They made offers for the city when it was only Byzantion, and again when it was Constantinople, and yet again when it belonged to Suleiman. Always the rulers refused to sell. But they recorded these attempts at purchase in a secret library at Topkapi, and trained the palace guard to strike without question at any visitor in a Master's robe."[17]

Istanbul has had a long history with the Masters, who have made several offers for it under its many names over the course of the last two millennia.[18] However, with the strength of the Ottoman empire waning against the continuous threat of Russian expansion, it might be in a position to consider the deal.[19] In another one of its plans to save London, Mr Fires has been in talks with an Ottoman dignitary, devising a plan to return London to the Surface in exchange for Istanbul.[20] However, the scheme was disrupted when the Dignitary's daughter fell gravely ill, diverting his attention but offering a chance at a more tantalizing bargain forged from love.[21]

Historically, Istanbul was officially called Constantinople or Kostantiniyye (in Arabic) until 1930, although it had been called Istanbul by Turks for centuries beforehand. It is implied that the name was changed sooner in the Fallen London timeline.[18] The joke was irresistible.

Independently of Mr Fires' plan and the apparent agreement over Paris, Mr Wines is also investigating Buenos Aires as a candidate, and at least one other Master is considering Berlin.[22]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Remind it of all you and Mr Fires did to further its preservation, Fallen London
  2. ↑ The Silver Tree, Fallen London "It’s the 13th century, and the Mongol Empire covers half the world. Its capital is the city of Karakorum [...] But the incendiary relationships between the Khan, his ambitious daughter and a patriotic spy threaten to tear the city apart."
  3. ↑ Tracking down the monarch of the past, Fallen London "But they won't be laughing long. A devil came here yesterday. [...] One up to his neck in the intrigues of the Masters. Asked me a lot of questions about my little coup. I think he wants to try his hand. Where do you think the Sixth City will be?"
  4. ↑ London in Disarray (Pre-PoSI), Fallen London "The Stone Pigs are awake, or the Sixth City is imminent, or Storm has risen from his slumber, or Salt has turned his gaze towards the city."
  5. ↑ Remind it of all you and Mr Fires did to further its preservation, Fallen London "What city do they intend to drop, then? Surely they don't think to get very many love stories out of Portsmouth or Bristol."
  6. ↑ The Precipice, Fallen London "London is burning. The east of the city is gone, wiped away by the column of searing light that still extends from the Roof. [...] The beam sweeps west [...], but the waters are already rising. That ammonia tang [...] London burns, and London will drown."
  7. ↑ Demand admission as a Master of the Bazaar, Fallen London "Irrelequential. We have all observed the sympdicators. The city's duratinuance is coming to a end. We should hasten our preparations for its successor."
  8. ↑ The devil you don't know, Fallen London "And that means our exiled captain won't provide [Mr Stones] with the troops it wants. It'll just have to wait for its blessed Sixth City."
  9. ↑ Ask about the other Masters?, Sunless Skies "Most of my colleagues remained behind, fat and sleek and content at the heart of the new Sixth City."
  10. ↑ 'For the memory of London.', Fallen London "Learning the fate of past Fallen Cities – and the fate that awaits one's own city – changes a person. Some choose to ignore it; some fall into despair. You made a plan. That plan did not come into fruition for London. It did not come into fruition for the Sixth."
  11. ↑ ...acquire a Sixth City, Fallen London
  12. ↑ ...acquire a Sixth City, Fallen London "Soon a disparate cabal of delegates parrot your words in the Chambre des Députés. Interest grows. As an exploratory measure, the Deuxième Bureau – France's military intelligence agency – sends a liaison to assist your efforts."
  13. ↑ Face the Surface Veils in a Parisian Salon, Fallen London "[…] Veils of the Surface, trying to perch on a Louis Quinze chair without breaking its legs into socially awkward splinters; while a grey-faced diplomat speaks low and fast in French, outlining the terms of surrender. Is this what will be, what is, what might be? An attempt that was already made and already failed?"
  14. ↑ Outflank Surface Veils, Fallen London "The intriguer Mr Veils is outlining what might be gained from the sale of Paris. It speaks of fabulous rewards: wealth and influence, immortality and the secrets of the stars, vengeance on enemies and the salvation of the beloved."
  15. ↑ Lost in Reflections, Fallen London "The Emperor is meeting Mr Wines under a different name: M. Mourvèdre. She has always thought this one is the most dangerous of the Masters, for all its jokes and toasts and gifts of wine. It seems amiable; it seems sympathetic. This must be why they've sent it to gull the Emperor into surrendering his city to the Bazaar."
  16. ↑ Sinning Jenny's Finishing School, Fallen London ’’Paris now and Paris to come. […] "The Sixth City."
  17. ↑ Investigate the Ottoman interest in the Neath, Fallen London
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Investigate the Ottoman interest in the Neath, Fallen London "Istanbul has long been familiar with the Masters. They made offers for the city when it was only Byzantion, and again when it was Constantinople, and yet again when it belonged to Suleiman. Always the rulers refused to sell."
  19. ↑ The Scheme of a Phoenix (Storylet), Fallen London "The Ottomans appear to have been moved by desperation: Russia is applying pressure to the Ottoman Empire; the Ottomans can no longer call on British defences. That gives them a reason to want London back on the Surface."
  20. ↑ The Scheme of a Phoenix (Storylet), Fallen London "Mr Fires corresponded by ciphered note with someone […] That person led Mr Fires to dream of a future in which London was lifted back to the Surface […] With the sun overhead, there would be no risk of anyone leaving the factory […] Has that scheme continued?"
  21. ↑ Find out why the Ottomans dropped the plan, Fallen London "The dignitary negotiating with Mr Fires has a daughter. She is dying, but slowly, of a long disease. He has had no time to think of the Scheme recently. […] His only thought is his daughter's relief, while she yet lives."
  22. ↑ The Scheme of a Phoenix (Storylet), Fallen London "They have heard rumours of Masters in Paris, in Berlin, and in Buenos Aires. Argentina appears to be Mr Wines' particular project."
Retrieved from "https://thefifthcity.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Sixth_City&oldid=21733"