The Wreck of the Berrenger

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"A vast wreck, larger than any other locomotive you've seen. ... An Albion flag flies, tattered almost beyond recognition. ... The Berrenger, reads the nameplate, though some wag has appended a question mark. As you approach, you see figures scrambling behind guardrails; revolutionary slogans graffitied across every rusted surface. The Berrenger is still very much occupied."[1]

The Wreck of the Berrenger is a locomotive that has become stranded in Eleutheria.

A Lively Hub of Debate[edit | edit source]

"The Berrenger's rusting innards have been hollowed. The walls and floors of a dozen interlocking corridors have been methodically stripped away, carving a vast hive-like atrium draped with ladders and criss-crossed with rope bridges. Anarchists bustle back and forth between a circle of iron doors below. The largest are labelled "LABORATORIES," "FORUM," and "HALL OF DEBATE."[2]

The Berrenger once flew Albion's flag, but is now home to a cohort of revolutionary scholars. Its owner, the Unassailable Founder, gathered its residents together for a great expedition - but her initial goal failed, and she now seeks new direction.

Inspired by the ways of the island of Visage,[3] the Berrenger's residents choose one of four masks and assume a role: the Aspirant (listener),[4] the Supplicant (speaker),[5] the Scintillant (experimenter),[6] or the Recalcitrant (debater).[7] The topics discussed are wonderfully diverse and often forbidden - ranging from the history of Eleutheria and the Halved,[8][9] to Parabola[10] and the Discordance,[11] to the Liberation of Night.[12] That said, being cooped up on a shipwreck for a while leaves some scholars feeling a bit bored of agreement; one Recalcitrant aboard the Berrenger, who argues against the existence of the expedition itself,[13] is implied to be the Jovial Contrarian.[14]

The Founder's Mission[edit | edit source]

"'We planned to pledge ourselves to the service of the Halved.' Her mouth tightens. 'It didn't work out.'"[15]

While still in the Neath, the Unassailable Founder encountered the great eye on the floor of the Unterzee and was marked by its owner, the Halved.[16] As an Admiral of the Royal Navy,[16] the Founder had no trouble stealing a locomotive for her own goals after the Avid Horizon was opened;[17] while she was compelled to travel to the High Wilderness and search for the Halved,[18] it refused to accept her and her crew for reasons unknown.[19] Without its guidance, the Founder opted to disguise her fully functional locomotive as a wreck and gradually prepare herself for an opportunity to go to war.[20] In the meantime, she oversees the Berrenger's academic discourse in the hopes that it will guide her decisions.[21]

The Founder's bat mask is inspired by the original role of the Bat on Visage; she felt that her defection from the Admiralty made it an appropriate choice.[22]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Wreck of the Berrenger, Sunless Skies
  2. ↑ A Teeming Wreck, Sunless Skies
  3. ↑ Ask why her mask is different from the others, Sunless Skies "'My father was a diplomat for London. In my formative years, we were stationed on an island called Visage, far out to Zee. The locals' lives revolved around the mask they wore. We chose our faces for ourselves. I was keen to implement something similar here.'"
  4. ↑ Switch to the Mask of the Aspirant, Sunless Skies "A sculpted silver rose, blank, eyeless, mouthless. "The Aspirant listens," says the Founder. "And blossoms." "
  5. ↑ Switch to the Mask of the Supplicant, Sunless Skies ""The Supplicant's job is to talk," says the Founder, fastening the mask of a hideously-toothed angler fish over your face. "And, perhaps, entice." "
  6. ↑ Switch to the Mask of the Scintillant, Sunless Skies "A woman's face, wreathed in glorious flames. "The Scintillant learns through experimentation," says the Founder. "Putting aside concern for the safety of others or themselves." "
  7. ↑ Switch to the Mask of the Recalcitrant, Sunless Skies "A snarling face halfway between bulldog and gargoyle. "A difficult role," cautions the Founder. "A squabbler.""
  8. ↑ Listen to the lecture on 'the Binary', Sunless Skies "Beneath the cries of her detractors, you only manage to catch snatches of the Supplicant's lecture. Apparently when the Halved had a twin, it was collectively called 'the Binary'. "
  9. ↑ Listen to the lecture about the storyteller, Sunless Skies ""Stories are dangerous and they spread, but they are not quite like fire. They transform rather than destroy. When the Halved was halved, as it mourned the loss of its twin, someone told a story that changed its mind. And when its mind changed, so did everything, for everyone in Eleutheria. "
  10. ↑ Am Ambitious Experiment, Sunless Skies The Place-Behind-Glass. The Is-Not. The Scintillants started investigating its mysteries when they first occupied the Laboratories.
  11. ↑ Listen to the old woman's lecture, Sunless Skies ""Some stars abandon the immutable light of their brethren for a more nuanced philosophy. The old language no longer suffices; heretical concepts exist for which it cannot provide signifiers. [...] These traitor-stars adopt another language. Or perhaps another dialect? The Discordance.""
  12. ↑ Listen to the muscular man's lecture, Sunless Skies "The huge man, though erudite, does not have much to say. He delivers nothing but smooth propaganda about the heroism of the Liberation of Night, the progress it makes in scouring an increasingly-empty sky, and the limitless tyrannies of its enemies. "
  13. ↑ "The Berrenger is a waste of time, and should be destroyed.", Sunless Skies "While we're sitting here debating the merits of destroying this place, there are agents of the Liberation out there engaged in direct action against the Judgements."
  14. ↑ "The Berrenger is a waste of time, and should be destroyed.", Sunless Skies "A Recalcitrant rolls forward on his wheelchair and states his position cheerfully, despite the roars of outrage."
  15. ↑ Ask how the Berrenger ended up in Eleutheria, Sunless Skies
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Ask about the mark on her neck, Sunless Skies ""Before we reached the Wilderness, I was an Admiral in London's fleet. While patrolling the Unterzee, we came across something under the water. A scar, or an eye, or – something. I dived to investigate. I still don't understand what happened down there, but I met something far greater than myself. And I came back with this." She brushes the eye on her neck with a fingertip."
  17. ↑ Ask how the Berrenger ended up in Eleutheria, Sunless Skies ""The Berrenger was a dreadnought developed in secret to guard against star-madness," says the Founder. "On its maiden voyage, I stole it. "It was easy enough. I was the Admiral placed in charge of the bl__dy thing." She snorts. "While we patrolled a quiet corner of Albion, I convinced my crew of the merits of the Liberation. After a mostly bloodless mutiny, we embarked on a pilgrimage to Eleutheria."
  18. ↑ Ask about the mark on her neck, Sunless Skies ""Years later, in the Wilderness, I took charge of London's greatest dreadnought, still in early experimental stages. That's when the eye opened. At that moment I knew, deep in my bones, that I had to seek out Eleutheria.""
  19. ↑ The Secret of the Berrenger, Sunless Skies ""After I stole this dreadnought from the Empire, I went to the Halved to pledge my allegiance." [...] "But the Halved would not accept me. I was devastated."
  20. ↑ The Secret of the Berrenger, Sunless Skies "The hull can be fixed in a day; the rust was applied by paintbrush. The Berrenger is ready for war, as soon as I decide war is more important than debate."
  21. ↑ The Secret of the Berrenger, Sunless Skies "I turned the Berrenger into a hub of discussion, hoping that one day, we would come to a consensus that could guide me."
  22. ↑ Ask why her mask is different from the others, Sunless Skies "She adjusts her bat-mask. "This represented the worst of outsiders, the exile who brought nothing but misfortune and death. After I turned traitor and left the Admiralty, it seemed an appropriate statement.""
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