The Ragged Crow

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"We enter the Stormbones. St Eligius sends his fire to dance on the air, on deck. Very far away we see the great light of the Ragged Crow."[1]

The Ragged Crow is an enormous lighthouse in the northwestern Unterzee.[2] It is described as ancient, but its origins are unknown.[3] It is a key landmark for zailors that pass nearby,[2] and it attracts dangerous, ship-sized Tyrant-Moths like literal moths to a flame.[4]

The Undercrow is a cavern below the Zee's surface that links to the lighthouse above. It is choked with smoke and fog, and its sole inhabitants are moths and the lighthouse's keeper,[5] an extremely old tomb-colonist formerly known as Lorenzo of the Seven Against Nidah.[6][7] He uses a complex pulley system to deliver flammable fungus to the lighthouse's burner, and the resulting smoke has preservative properties.[8] The Undercrow is closed off to visitors,[9] though in the past, the Presbyterate Adventuress was able to gain entry to the Ragged Crow and climbed up the stairs to the light.[10]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Stormbones, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stormbones, Sunless Sea "We enter the Stormbones. [...] Very far away we see the great light of the Ragged Crow."
  3. ↑ Follow that ship!, Fallen London "They interpose the ancient lighthouse of the Ragged Crow between your vessels, and dart between the ice floes when the great light obscures them from view."
  4. ↑ Tyrant Moth, Sunless Sea "Location: Ragged Crow"
  5. ↑ Port description, Sunless Sea "A deep, well-lit cavern, thick with a fungal smoke and cave moths. Far above, a lighthouse fire burns. The scent of it is curiously medicinal. [...] Farther into the fog, you can make out laboured breathing."
  6. ↑ Approach a voice from the fog, Sunless Sea "No tomb-colonist ever looked as ancient or unwell as the Almost Dead Man before you. Grey, bloated, and nearly embalmed by the fungal smoke [...]"
  7. ↑ Ask the Almost Dead Man to rejoin the Seven Against Nidah, Sunless Sea "Once, he was Lorenzo, their Guide."
  8. ↑ Assemble a Port Report, Sunless Sea "A ramshackle array of pulleys allows the Undercrow's reclusive resident to feed the fire above. The herby smoke of the fungal fire has preservative qualities, [...] the fire distracts the more aggressive moths and warns ships far above."
  9. ↑ Explore the fog, Sunless Sea "A hollow voice rings down through the fog. "No visitors!" [...] "No use for new faces," [...]"
  10. ↑ The Last Night: Record her memories of her travels, Sunless Sea "[...] when the way to the Ragged Crow opened, and we went up the stairs together to the light [...]"
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