Editing The Skin of the Sun

{{major spoiler}}
<blockquote>{{Neath_Location|caption1=The Skin of the Sun, a reminder of sunset.|location=[[Parabola]]|alias=The Sun-in-the-Sky<br>
The Daughter's Dream|allegiance=[[Fingerkings]]|notable_inhabitants=[[Fingerkings|The Boil of Calamities]]|image1=BazaarsunEdited.png}}''"The light is blinding, blazing, familiar. As your eyes adjust, you realise that you are walking upon a great globe of shining glass. Far above you, there is no familiar stone ceiling... Nor even a sky. Just a dizzying verdant expanse of upside-down jungle."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Skin_of_the_Sun|Light Fingers: The Skin of the Sun|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Skin of the Sun''' is an impression of the [[Sun]] that provides daylight to the skies of [[Parabola]].__FORCETOC__

== Incandescent ==
<blockquote>''"Beneath the skin of dreams, behind the faces of mirrors, an orange sun sails in a fervid sky."''<ref name="irem mirror marches">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Irem#The_Mirror-Marches|The Mirror-Marches|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Parabola medium.png|alt=An orange jungle filled with mirrors.|thumb|100px|The Mirror-Marches]]
The Skin of the Sun is a enormous, [[cosmogone]] bulb that sails across the glasslike skies of [[Parabola]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cosmogone-filled_Mirrorcatch_Box|Cosmogone-filled Mirrorcatch Box|Fallen London}}''"Filled to the brim by the Parabolan sun."''</ref><ref name="climb dome itself cats">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Climb_the_dome_itself_(Cats)|Climb the dome itself (Cats)|Fallen London}}''"The sky above you is a sheet of glass; the Parabolan sun, a bulbous thing that squirms in its place in the sky."''</ref> It is forged of iron and glass,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom for a Pig|Fallen London}} ''"Another sun rises inside your head. Iron and glass, [...]"''</ref> and it apparently bulges from the Parabolan skyscape itself,<ref name = "climb dome itself cats"/> sometimes resembling a massive lens.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Affair_of_the_Impatient_Apprentice|The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice|Fallen London}} ''"[...] up to the glassy, effulgent lens that passes for the sun."''</ref> As cosmogone is the color of remembered<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Page_from_'The_Neathbow':_Cosmogone#Items_description|A Page from 'The Neathbow': Cosmogone|Sunless Sea}}''"C lights COSMOGONE, the colour of remembered suns. The fecund, the foetid, the fungal: these flourish in the glow of cosmogone."''</ref> rather than true sunlight,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Fill_your_Mirrorcatch_Box_with_the_light_of_the_cosmogone_sun|Fill your Mirrorcatch Box with the light of the cosmogone sun|Fallen London}}''"People wouldn't pay what they pay for true sunlight, but it has its uses nonetheless."''</ref> the Skin of the Sun is more of an unsettling shade of orange,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dream_of_Arbor_in_the_company_of_the_Injurious_Princess|Dream of Arbor in the company of the Injurious Princess|Fallen London}} ''"[...] a queasy orange glow in the sky, [...]"''</ref> but it is still capable of lighting and heating almost all of the Parabolan landscape. Only certain locations like the [[Moonlit Chessboard]] are not touched by its light in any capacity.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Visit_the_Moonlit_Chessboard|Visit the Moonlit Chessboard|Fallen London}}''"Most of the time, Parabola is lit by its cosmogone sun. But some places are in permanent moonlight, colourless. If you walk towards this change in the light, you find your way more quickly."''</ref> 

Despite being in the realm of dream, the Skin of the Sun appears to follow a typical daylight cycle. As it sets, stars may appear in the Parabolan night sky, and a moon may rise to take its place. At first, the Parabolan moon might resemble a man,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_at_the_moon|Look at the moon|Fallen London}}''"And there's a man in the moon, tonight. His grey face smiles down upon you."''</ref> but at a second glance, it might resemble a sleeping, curled-up cat.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Night_is_falling|Night is falling|Fallen London}} ''"Pinpricks of light [...] in the darkening sky. Stars! [...] a crescent moon rises. [...] don't resemble a man, or anything else so much as a cat, curled up asleep."''</ref>

== The Coiling Spire ==
<blockquote>''"The 'sky' around the sun appears to be glass, too. A giant glass dome from whose upper reaches the sun has bubbled forth. And above you - well, below you - an enormous, twisting stone spire stretches toward the ground, like an umbilical cord connecting the jungle and the sun."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Contemplate_your_predicament|Contemplate your predicament|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Cosmogone.png|alt=A yellow-orange letter C.|thumb|[[Cosmogone]]]]
The '''Coiling Spire''' is a massive stone structure that spans the distance from the Skin of the Sun to the ground.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Descend_the_Coiling_Spire_(DO_NOT_TARRY)|Descend the Coiling Spire (DO NOT TARRY)|Fallen London}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Contemplate_your_predicament|Contemplate your predicament|Fallen London}} ''"[...] an enormous, twisting stone spire stretches toward the ground, "''</ref> It has a winding ramp, with a groove carved within it from years upon years of serpentine transit and use.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Atop_the_Spire|Light Fingers: Atop the Spire|Fallen London}} ''"A groove that's been worn into the rock as though by [....] the passage of serpents)."''</ref> Cosmogone is a color that is irresistible to the denizens of Parabola,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Set_of_Cosmogone_Spectacles|Set of Cosmogone Spectacles|Fallen London}}''"The lenses are the colour of remembered sunshine, which the things behind mirrors find irresistible."''</ref> but the Skin of the Sun remains outside the reach of living [[Fingerkings]], as they can never touch sunlight.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sleep%27s_fortress_(Parabola-Linen_Suit)|Sleep's fortress (Parabola-Linen Suit)|Fallen London}}''"They hunger for her, the citizens of Parabola, but they can never touch sunlight."''</ref> Thus, Fingerkings who feel they are nearing their end embark on a pilgrimage of sorts to reach the Skin of the Sun, a journey which apparently kills them permanently.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Irem#The_Mirror-Marches|Bargain for a Parabox|Sunless Sea}}''"“Yes,” the serpent says dreamily, “I go to meet the Skin of the Sun. I will die. The space I leave will remain in this box.""''</ref> 

=== The Boiling Sky ===
<blockquote>''"This is not your place. This is their domain. They may allow your kind to trespass across the rest of their kingdom, you slumbering oafs, you mortal morsels, but not here, not the hallowed spire. Insolence! Blasphemy!"''<ref name="boiling sky">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Boiling_Sky|Light Fingers: The Boiling Sky|Fallen London}}</ref>

''"As suddenly as a stormcloud, a boiling stew of vast, interweaving coils has filled the sky from horizon to horizon. Somewhere in the boiling mass, fangs are drawn – long and sharp as winter."''<ref name="boiling sky"/></blockquote>[[File:Fingerking.png|alt=A green serpent.|thumb|A [[Fingerking]].]]
The Skin of the Sun and the Coiling Spire are locations of great importance to the [[Fingerkings]], who consider them sacred.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Boiling_Sky|Light Fingers: The Boiling Sky|Fallen London|}} ''"This is not your place. This is their domain. They may allow your kind to trespass across the rest of their kingdom, you slumbering oafs, you mortal morsels, but not here, not the hallowed spire. Insolence! Blasphemy!"''</ref> As such, trespassing in these places without express permission from the Fingerkings can lead to serious trouble.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Be_introduced_to_the_enormous_snake|Be introduced to the enormous snake|Fallen London}}''"Orts. Boil. A Spire. Be cautious of these beings and places. Show respect, and do not make demands unless you are willing to bargain."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Recognise_an_Ophidian_Gentleman|Recognise an Ophidian Gentleman|Fallen London}} ''"[...] they will grant you safe passage here only if you please them."''</ref> Both locales are guarded by the aptly-named '''Boil of Calamities''',<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Study_the_Boil_of_Calamities|Study the Boil of Calamities|Fallen London}}''"[...] you surmise that the Boil of Calamities is the protector of both the Parabolan sun and the Coiling Spire that connects it to the world below."''</ref> an extremely powerful entity that appears as an enormous, spiraling serpent made of smaller, interwoven serpents, large enough to block out the sky.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Boiling_Sky|Light Fingers: The Boiling Sky|Fallen London|}} ''"As suddenly as a stormcloud, a boiling stew of vast, interweaving coils has filled the sky from horizon to horizon."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Grab_the_bell_from_Poor_Edward%27s_hand|Grab the bell from Poor Edward's hand|Fallen London}} ''"[...] the Boil knots in anguish. [...] spiralling like an unravelling rope, it departs [...]"''</ref> This being protects its territory with ferocity and zeal,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Recognise_an_Ophidian_Gentleman|Recognise an Ophidian Gentleman|Fallen London}} ''"[...] be careful of the Boil of Calamities. It is fierce about its territory."''</ref> and anyone who even steps within its purview unauthorized risks being hunted down with extreme prejudice.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Make_a_convincing_case_to_the_Court_of_Cats|Make a convincing case to the Court of Cats|Fallen London}} ''"[...] your intrusion on the Skin of the Sun, and your subsequent pursuit by the Boil of Calamities, [...]"''</ref> 

The Boil's reasons for protecting the [[Parabolan]] sun so fiercely are many; after all, it laid the egg that would become the Skin of the Sun, though the egg itself was heavily modified before it became what it is now.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Make_a_convincing_case_to_the_Court_of_Cats|Make a convincing case to the Court of Cats|Fallen London}} ''""It also is the mother-father of the egg that is the Parabolan sun," [...] "Though others played a part in that, too.""''</ref>

== Sunrise ==
<blockquote>''"This is Parabola. We found it in dreams and brought light to it. The ushabti were built to construct a new home for the Second City, where we could live forever beneath the skin of the sun. The night was the bringer of dreams and thus sacred to us. But this Palace was never completed."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}}</ref>

''"We will not see another day, for every day will be a night. Let every night, then, be a day, in dreams that stream with bright sunlight. Pray to the gods that rule the day. Pray to the gods that rule the night. Blow the glass, blow until it glows, and raise it high into the sky."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom for a Pig|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Ushabti.png|alt=An Egyptian figurine.|thumb|An Ushabti.]]
Once upon a time, Parabola was "a twilight place."<ref name=":0" /> During the time of the [[Second City]], the sisters of the [[Duchess]] sought refuge for themselves and the city's people in [[Parabola]], away from the influence of the [[Bazaar]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}} ''"The Palace of the Rising was to be a refuge from the Masters and the Bazaar."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Homecoming|Homecoming|Fallen London}} ''"The jungle below is bathed in orange light [...] you see people basking in your glow. They are seeking refuge from something [...]"''</ref> after trapping the [[Masters]] within a tomb flanked by the [[Salt Lions]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Homecoming|Homecoming|Fallen London}} ''"[...] your immense basalt paws [...] Your twin is at your side. [...] you watch as a funerary procession makes its way towards a temple. A group of hooded creatures [...] are led inside, and do not emerge for centuries."''</ref> To bring light to Parabola, the sisters commissioned an artisan of the [[The Neathbow|Neathbow]], later known as the '''Mistress of the Skies''',<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mistress_of_the_Skies|Mistress of the Skies|Fallen London}}''"I do not remember the name I had before, [...] and I did not choose this one. In my city, royalty declared themselves gods, for if they were not gods, they were just people who lived in splendour whilst others did their bidding. I am far from royalty, but I did conceive a sun. The name was given to me. I resisted. Not well enough."''</ref> to craft an artificial sun.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mistress_of_the_Skies|Mistress of the Skies|Fallen London}}''"I come from a city of sun and sand and edifices, [...] I was a person of no consequence until I discovered an aptitude for a certain kind of engineering. The spectrum in the Neath has peculiar properties, and I became adept at putting them to use. It made me useful to people of great consequence. They used me, and used my creations to take power they believed was theirs."''</ref> With the aid of ushabtis, she undertook the task.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mistress_of_the_Skies|Mistress of the Skies|Fallen London}}''"I have heard of it, [...] Built by ushabti, yes? Like my sun. [...] Do you know what ushabti are? They are servants, buried with royalty, created to serve their masters for eternity. And when the royals force these servants to build edifices in their names, they are credited with great vision."''</ref> The precise details of the Parabolan sun's construction are unclear, but it seems that the sisters modified the egg of the Boil of Calamities in its shell,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Climb_the_dome_itself_(Fingerkings)|Climb the dome itself (Fingerkings)|Fallen London}} ''""The sun was born," [...] "With certain modifications. Those women augmented it in the shell.""''</ref> resulting in the egg presumably hatching into an object made of glass.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Study_the_Boil_of_Calamities|Study the Boil of Calamities|Fallen London}} ''"[...] ("the Boil of Calamities, Lord of the Seething Sky, wept a drop of shining glass...") [...]"''</ref> The citizens of the Second City then proceeded to construct and raise the Parabolan sun using a ritual involving glassblowing and prayer,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom for a Pig|Fallen London}} ''"Pray to the gods [...] Blow the glass, blow until it glows, and raise it high into the sky."''</ref> and the newly-born sun scorched the Parabolan landscape and melted the colors of the sky itself.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig|My Kingdom for a Pig|Fallen London}} ''"Another sun rises inside your head. Iron and glass, smouldering in a dream [...] Palm trees bow and shrivel in the heat. [...] withering grass. Colours run down the sky's face [...]"''</ref>

Following the construction of the Skin of the Sun, the sisters then attempted to build a large palace for the citizens of the Second City in Parabola, so that they could live in sunlight once more.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}} ''"This is Parabola. We [...] brought light to it. The ushabti were built to construct a new home for the Second City, where we could live forever beneath the skin of the sun."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}} ''"A new sun was raised in the sky so the citizens might walk in light again."''</ref> Unfortunately, their plans fell through and the sisters were forced to flee, leaving the whole project unfinished.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}} ''"But the House of the Feather was opened before the Palace was completed. We four survivors fled."''</ref> Over time, the Parabolan sun began to break down with age,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}} ''"But time conquers all. The sun here is failing, [...]"''</ref> growing cracks that leak [[cosmogone]] vapor.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London}} ''"A vast globe of cracked glass, embedded in the roof, leaks cosmogone vapour."''</ref> Eventually it may fail entirely, plunging Parabola into twilight once more.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Attendants|The Attendants|Fallen London}} ''"We found it in dreams and brought light to it. [...] The sisters found it in twilight and in dreams. [...] This was a twilight place that the Second City made brighter."''</ref>

== References ==
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[[Category:Parabola]]
[[Category:Places]]