The Vake

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"On long evenings at the Medusa's Head, where the monster-hunters drink, they brag about the beasts they've bagged - the Cantigaster, the Eater-of-Chains, the Spider Council, Jack-of-Smiles in his many bodies. But no-one tells stories about the Vake: the Vake, for whose head the Department offers a standing reward of four million Echoes. Four million."[1]

"What is the Vake? They say it's not a monster at all. They say it's a man who dresses up as a bat. To, ah, prowl the city by night. But that would just be stupid."[2]

The Vake is a fearsome batlike monster that has an astronomical bounty on its head.

Death from Above[edit | edit source]

"When the Vake is mentioned, everyone goes quiet. No-one has any boastful stories. Why?"[3]

A... bat-man?

Even given the Department of Menace Eradication's tempting reward of four million Echoes, few monster-hunters in the Neath dare to confront the Vake.[4] In a roomful of grizzled professionals, merely speaking its name is enough to hush any boasting and merriment,[5] and none of them will have a good story to tell about it.[6] The Vake, after all, particularly enjoys preying upon those with enough hubris to hunt it.[7][8] London is not the first Fallen City to have been terrorized by this creature; accounts of the Vake's exploits stretch back millennia.[9] It hunted the Second City's royals,[10] and feasted on the Fourth City's remaining horses.[11]

The Vake does not act entirely alone: it has an unnamed Snuffer henchman who lures and prepares its prey,[12][13] and the Face and Teeth of the Foreign Office revere the Vake as their patron.[14] The Face are the more devout of the two,[15][16] and in return, they are granted protection... and cannibalistic hunger.[17]

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Portrait of the Beast.

"[A] furry leathery monstrosity, a black mouth crowded with bloody teeth that click like pincers, two eyes as hot and ancient as the stars."[18]

The Vake is an enormous, muscular creature with a tough furry hide and wings vast enough to blot out lamplight. It has a mouthful of independently mobile teeth, and its eyes burn with the cold brilliance of ancient stars.[19] The Vake's claws can tear through a human victim with ease,[20] and its teeth - which can still move while outside its mouth - can slowly dig their way into the hearts of those it has bitten.[10] Though it hunts at night, it is easily recognized by the beat of its wings, the foul stench of blood and guano, and its ear-piercing shrieks.[21]

The Vake seldom kills outright, and prefers to toy with its prey.[22] It stalks and torments its victims, mocking them with cruel laughter and ceaseless monologues.[23] These are not merely sadistic performances; the Vake also utilizes them to locate targets, since it hunts using echolocation.[24]

The Sound of Black Wings[edit | edit source]

"It's the Va... no, the prowling cloaked stranger is merely an imbiber of Black Wings Absinthe."[25]

Black Wings Absinthe.

A rare spirit sold only in a handful of London's wine shops and purchased only by the foolhardy,[26] Black Wings Absinthe is thick, dark, and perilously intoxicating. Each bottle is said to contain a drop of the Vake's blood.[27] Those who drink it are haunted by visions and memories belonging to the Vake,[28][29] causing them to take its guise in a sense[30][31] - wandering the city, issuing murderous promises to startled passersby.[32] Some of the stranger newspapers of the Neath have claimed to run interviews with the Vake, but these are otherwise ordinary individuals acting under the influence of Black Wings Absinthe.[33]

This drink forges a two-way link between imbiber and monster: the Vake's memories flow into the drinker, while their own dreams and recollections become open to the creature. Through that tenuous bond, the Vake learns to find its target.[34]

An Identity Uncovered![edit | edit source]

This section contains spoilers for the following Fallen London endgame content: Ambition: Bag A Legend!. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"You tell them your tale. The Vake is a Master of the Bazaar. It hunts them for its sport, and the bounty is bait. You tell them of your dreams, and your confrontation with Mr Veils."[35]

More wild and irrepressible than the other Masters, Mr Veils suffered greatly from being trapped inside a dark and musty cavern, surrounded by creatures it would not even consider worthy prey in its prime.[36] And then it came up with an idea. One day, the Department of Menace Eradication received a staggering new commission: four million echoes for the head of "the Vake," a giant winged creature that threatened the carefree lives of London's citizens.[37] The reward was so immense that some thought it a joke, but its authenticity was backed up by Veils itself. The Department even received a considerable sum in advance,[38] so the word about the mysterious creature and a bounty on its head spread quickly.

Particularly sharp hunters had already figured out that the Vake is Veils; rather than wanting to die, it began preying upon those who would seek to slay it. It lured the unwary into Parabola using Black Wings Absinthe: a brew that grants a feeling of flight, visions of a hunt between stars, and eventually, glimpses of something winged following the drinker in the night.[39] Eyewitnesses of the Vake were mostly wiped out or scattered when the Fourth City collapsed, hence the fresh and exciting bounty on its head — but far from London, on the little island of Abbey Rock, lies the headquarters of a Sisterhood that has been training and preparing to kill this Curator for millennia.[40]

The Vake is just one of Veils' identities, but it has taken a forefront for the past few decades, and Veils' identity as a Master of the Bazaar has faded into the background.[41] This had almost no effect on its reputation in London; after all, it has always been cryptic, and Mr Wines might be the only one who notices that anything has changed beneath its heavy cloak.[42]

It's Baaaack![edit | edit source]

"The hunched shape continues to climb the chain, wings sweeping behind it. It meets your gaze with a furious glare. There is nothing behind those eyes except an intense and sincere desire to murder you and everyone you know."[43]

In the Sunless Skies timeline, the Vake left the Neath alongside a few of the other Masters.[44] It roosts in the Tower of Chimes (formerly the House of Chimes),[45] and has completely given itself over to bloodthirst[46] and brutal hunting games.[47]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Ambition: Bag a Legend! 0, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Sidebar Snippets, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Find out more about the Vake, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Ambition: Bag a Legend!, Fallen London "On long evenings at the Medusa's Head, where the monster-hunters drink, they brag about the beasts they've bagged – the Cantigaster, the Eater-of-Chains, the Spider Council, Jack-of-Smiles in his many bodies. But no one tells stories about the Vake: the Vake, for whose head the Department offers a standing reward of four million Echoes. Four million."
  5. ↑ Find out more about the Vake, Fallen London "When the Vake is mentioned, everyone goes quiet. No one has any boastful stories. Why?"
  6. ↑ Demand answers, Fallen London ""Sit down and shut up, you silly young pup." A Drunken Hunter is threatening to teach you a lesson unless you stop asking questions about the Vake. You'll have to show him the error of his ways!"
  7. ↑ Throw it into the dark, Fallen London "It sings a high and keening note that builds and echoes and redoubles from the cavern walls, filling every corner of the darkness with lament. It is an aching and terrible sound – the cry of hunters beyond number lured into the dark to be devoured. It is fear, transformed into music. It tells you more about the Vake than a dozen absinthe-fuelled hallucinations. It ends with an abrupt crunch."
  8. ↑ Demand answers, Fallen London "He knows two things about the Vake. One, that it finds and eats anyone who boasts about hunting it. Two, that it's "sort of leathery". But he has heard of someone who knows more..."
  9. ↑ Question the Scarred Naturalist, Fallen London "He will confirm that it's 'sort of leathery'. He is vague about whether it has the power of flight. He does mention in passing that it's been on or under the Earth for nearly four thousand years. He requires some assistance before he'll tell you anything else."
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Question the Scarred Naturalist, Fallen London "Finally, he talks a little about the Vake: about its leathery wings, with which it smothers its prey; about its teeth, which possess independent motion, and will break free to burrow into the hearts of those it bites, days later; about the hieroglyphic tablets from the Second City, more than three thousand years ago, which mention its taste for royal blood –"
  11. ↑ A cooling draught, Fallen London "fires in the dark fly north beneath our stony shell skim low and silent cross the wastes an army here in silk and fur entrenched and tented sleeping feel my shadow as i cross but do not wake the horses warlike stamp the stones strike sparks good sport for chasing !loose one! let it gallop keeping easy pace hot mind fearful chasing legs exhausted crumples !fall and feast!"
  12. ↑ The voice of the Vake, Fallen London "HUNTER MINE! QUARRY! IN STONE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! MY SERVANT! SNUFFER! PERFORATED! DEFACED! SPILLED! AS WINE! POWER! IN YOU! NO MATTER! NONE! I CAN FIND! ANOTHER! SLAVE! (MMM! SANDALWOOD!) WHEN! YOU ARE! DISPOSED! DIVIDED! DIGESTED! PREPARE NOW! HUNTER! I AM COMING! I! HAVE! CLAWS! FOR! YOU!"
  13. ↑ Listen to what he has to say, Fallen London "I have been grooming victims for the Vake since, oh, long before the Fall, but I've never found one as compliant as you, my friend. How you fetch and carry!"
  14. ↑ Uncle Archibald's Legacy, Fallen London "Past the pagoda now, where they assemble to sing to you. The sound is like a painting. A sculpture of air. You rush close over their heads and they scatter. The sculpture fades. It is a comforting thing to be worshipped."
  15. ↑ Mysteries of the Foreign Office, Fallen London "The diplomats and functionaries of the Face are going up to the roof, apparently to meet someone. With them is a nervous small boy you've not seen before. Avuncular diplomats take it in turns to pull his cheek and give him coins."
  16. ↑ Mysteries of the Foreign Office, Fallen London "[...] The boy starts to sing. [...] What a talent! Where did they find him? He looks like every other grubby urchin in London. [...] Each and every diplomat and functionary launches into song. They're pitch perfect! And what gusto! This is surely London's finest choir. [...] Something up there [...] a winged blackness. [...] It soars around the roof once, twice, thrice, drinking in the music. [...] Back down to tea and smiles. The urchin lad takes a few more coins and is sent on his way."
  17. ↑ Mysteries of the Foreign Office, Fallen London "[...] we in the Face suffer a certain affliction. You know that we have each performed for... the thing on the roof. It is our patron and protector, but there is a cost. We suffer terribly with nightmares. [...] But worse, we have... appetites. I mean to say, we're not like the face-stealing scoundrels of the Teeth. But... well, let's just say you'd better not share my lunch. You don't need that sort of vitality."
  18. ↑ Anticipate, Fallen London
  19. ↑ Anticipate, Fallen London "[...] The Vake shrieks [...] and for a moment in the blinding firelight you glimpse its face: a furry leathery monstrosity, a black mouth crowded with bloody teeth that click like pincers, two eyes as hot and ancient as the stars. [...]"
  20. ↑ Anticipate, Fallen London "There. The Vake smashes into you, but you are ready. Grappling the beast in a bear hug, you tumble with it to the ground. Massive, sour-smelling wings beat at your face. Claws rip down your thighs. Dear God but it is strong. Your strength is slipping, and its teeth are almost at your throat."
  21. ↑ The voice of the Vake, Fallen London "Something scrabbles on the stones and stirs the air with heavy wings. Something hisses in the dark. A repulsive smell of blood and guano fills your nose. The Vake: at last. But you still can't see the bloody thing. A voice, squeaky and gritty and incredibly loud, slices through the dark."
  22. ↑ Stand your ground!, Fallen London "Something huge and furred and stinking smashes into you and knocks you from your feet. Claws rake into your chest. You swing out wildly, but the attack is already over; the Vake has retreated for another charge. You have a horrible suspicion that the beast is merely playing with you."
  23. ↑ Stand your ground!, Fallen London ""EAT YOU! HOT AND WHOLE! RIBBONED PRETTILY! SLICED! CROSSHATCHED! TENDERISED! MY JUICY HUNTER! TRUSSED! MARINATED!" You raise your club and swing with every ounce of strength you have. It bounces harmlessly off leathery skin, but the Vake is deflected, at least. It screams with laughter as it whips past you."
  24. ↑ Anticipate, Fallen London "You block your ears against the Monster's raving monologue and concentrate. [...] Yes! The Vake's fragmented dreams, its screeching bark of a voice, its hunger and amusement click together like a perfect puzzle box. The screaming staccato, you realise, is nothing more or less than a hunting trick. Sound bounces. The Vake stalks its prey with the echoes of its terrible voice. [...]"
  25. ↑ The Cloaked Menace of Cake Street, Fallen London
  26. ↑ Procure Black Wings Absinthe, Fallen London "Thyrsus Wines is one of the few shops in London that sells Black Wings Absinthe. It's an elegant little emporium, nestled incongruously in the stink and screams of the Rendering Yards, south of Veilgarden."
  27. ↑ A toast to the Vake, Fallen London "Fascinating stuff. Each bottle, I'm told, contains a single drop of Vake blood. You must concentrate. Focus all your attention on the Vake, or you will simply wake up in a ditch at the centre of some difficult stories. Drink up!"
  28. ↑ A toast to the Vake, Fallen London "You drain the shot of absinthe in one gulp and pour another. Mmm. It is moreish stuff, fragrant on the nose, with a coppery undertone. You reach for a third shot, but the bottle slips from your hand. The cottage walls swell and explode into oily black fragments. You tumble howling into the abyss... night cool up here in the stalactites crumbling city below fold wings drop wind whips !glorious speed! there black speck among the tumbledown temples !prey! swoop silent to street level sandstorm in my wake closer jaws wide teeth primed she turns too late fall and feast and drink her down..."
  29. ↑ Absinthe sends the hunter yonder, Fallen London "You are sinking into the floor, and the floor is an ocean, and you are falling from the ocean into an endless sky lit up with... stars remember stars above below before the coldest hunting ground then called !seduced! !ensnared! a symbiote afloat our everhungry home nestled nested now in cedars cast down the benighted i will be their dragon soar and slaughter scratch in blood the memory of stars"
  30. ↑ The Cloaked Menace of Cake Street, Fallen London "It's the Va... no, the prowling cloaked stranger is merely an imbiber of Black Wings Absinthe."
  31. ↑ Spread some money around and find out, Fallen London "You buy a number of dinners for journalists and endless drinks for witnesses, and at last the truth becomes apparent. A devilish spirit has become popular among the braver society rakehells. Imbibers of this Black Wings Absinthe are seen prowling the city in black cloaks, harassing honest citizens. This probably accounts for all the Vake sightings. You do procure a bottle of the stuff in the course of your investigations."
  32. ↑ An interview?, Fallen London "'The problem with this city is EAT YOU! HOT AND WHOLE! RIBBONED PRETTILY! that there is no sense of duty to one's fellow GRIP! RIP! FLENSE!'"
  33. ↑ An interview?, Fallen London "The fellow is clearly drunk, and accusing an innocent hansom-driver of fraud, kidnapping and cag-maggery. An interview might be a lark, if you can keep up with the sable menace."
  34. ↑ Listen to what he has to say, Fallen London "The absinthe connection is a two way process, of course. Have you not felt the Vake crawling through your nightmares, these last few weeks, learning how you taste? No? Ah well. You will meet it very soon."
  35. ↑ Uncle Archibald's Legacy, Fallen London
  36. ↑ Embattled with Curator Mr Veils, Fallen London "It sees you. It simply doesn't take a great deal of interest. You, at your size, don't pose much threat. The Curator has not had much conversation with humans."
  37. ↑ A standing reward of four million Echoes, Fallen London
  38. ↑ Put your trophy on the clerk's desk, Fallen London "You open your mouth. She holds a hand up. "It has been years since we posted the reward," she says. "We had some funds set aside, but they were used, when no one stepped forward... and of course that was never the full amount, as the rest was to be paid by the Bazaar and backed by Mr Veils...""
  39. ↑ Something tapping at the window, Fallen London "You surface from a half-forgotten dream of flying. Tap tap on the glass. Something at the window casts a scythed shadow on the floorboards. You leap out of bed and throw open the casement, but there's nothing there."
  40. ↑ Ask her about Sinning Jenny, Fallen London "When you fight something for three millennia, you may find the end of the war unbearable. […]"
  41. ↑ And then there are three, Fallen London "The sound grows louder and more compelling. For a moment more, the Vake withstands it. But then its huge and monstrous body explodes into many beings, as if it had been so many rats in a Veils-Velvet suit. Most of the creatures are small or weak or ill-formed, no larger than a common bat. These die gasping. So does the one that looks like Mr Veils, in the dress of a Master of the Bazaar. It is as tall as you are, but it collapses inward, vacant."
  42. ↑ Stop and look through a distracting mirror 1, Fallen London "As you watch, however, a second master – Mr Fires – works at the back of the Decoy Mr Veils. There is the sound of a crank turning, and a thud that sounds like a clay heart beating sluggishly. Then the false Mr Veils takes a seat behind the counter of the shop. It is ready to sell velvet scraps; or at least, to be present while a shop clerk takes care of such services as counting and change-making and speech."
  43. ↑ Stay rooted in reality, Sunless Skies
  44. ↑ Ask about the other Masters?, Sunless Skies "So in secret, a few of us followed you to the sky. Most of us did so quietly."
  45. ↑ Heave-ho!, Sunless Skies "Something hunched and tattered crawls from the broken hole, its limbs unpleasantly long, its movements erratic. Shaking powdered glass from its leathery wings, it hooks one claw around your chain. It raises its head. Its screech is the sound of death in the dark."
  46. ↑ Stay rooted in reality, Sunless Skies "The hunched shape continues to climb the chain, wings sweeping behind it. It meets your gaze with a furious glare. There is nothing behind those eyes except an intense and sincere desire to murder you and everyone you know."
  47. ↑ Kill the creature, Sunless Skies "A claw taps a playful tune against glass. Shave-and-a-haircut— Then the window shatters. The abomination slides into your locomotive, thrashing, scrabbling, unfurling until it fills the corridor. Its screeches lash you, scar your mind. Bullets merely crumple on its hide."
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