Clay Men

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"The Clay Men are cheap, strong, contented immigrant labour imported en masse across the Unterzee. Are they really clay? Well, that's a very personal question. They don't ask you if you're really meat."[1]

Clay Men are animate statues from the living island of Polythreme.

Honest Workers[edit | edit source]

"IN POLYTHREME THE BED I SLEPT ON WAS A SLAVE. THE ROOM WHERE I SLEPT WAS HACKED FROM SCREAMING STONE. THE WATER I DRANK BEGGED ME TO STOP. THEY PAID ME IN COIN THAT PLOTTED MY DOWNFALL. THE MEMORIES ARE TROUBLING. THIS PLACE IS BETTER."[2]

Clay Men can be found working all over London, most often as hard laborers at Wolfstack Docks, or as guards and servants for businesses and society folk.[3] Most are shipped away from their home island of Polythreme soon after birth - stacked into piles and crates on cargo ships,[4][5][6] and imported to London by the Masters of the Bazaar under an arrangement that essentially makes them slave laborers.[7]

As a general rule, Clay Men are diligent and obedient workers who would never hurt anyone else without good cause;[8][9] they are making an earnest effort to ingratiate themselves and integrate into London. Sadly, however, responses to their efforts are mixed at best.[10][11][12] Clay Men are broadly treated as second-class citizens or soulless slaves,[13][12] and regularly face prejudice and violence[14][15] at a frequency only outpaced by the Rubbery Men. Many human laborers, like unionized dock workers, view Clay Men as threats to their job security;[16] human strikers may destroy Clay shipments, and occasionally smash the poor things themselves.[17] This is entirely unfair to the Clay Men, as they are slaves with no choice in the matter; since they have been forced into being the backbone of London's industries,[18] the process of emancipating one is deliberately difficult and slow,[19] and the only real hope for many Clay Men is to find a better master.[18] Free Clay Men are either exalted by their brethren or treated as ticking time bombs.[20]

Many Clay Men in London reside in the Clay Warrens, under Ladybones Road. The Warrens are a vast, ancient, and ever-shifting tunnel network[21] connecting thousands of years worth of settlement, and it is not unheard of for a long-forgotten colony of Clay Men (such as the Underclay Quarter)[22] to be excavated after untold amounts of time.[23]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Clay Biology[edit | edit source]

Anatomy[edit | edit source]

"A group stand with trowels and buckets, applying fresh clay skin onto fractures on each other's bodies. No job is ever quite perfect. Perhaps this is deliberate. Cracks and divots cover their bodies, especially the hands. Many Clay Men share similar faces – do they tell each other apart by the scars?"[24]

Clay Men are tall and muscular humanoids with grey "skin;"[25] their stature lends them incredible strength, stamina,[26] and durability,[27] but not much dexterity[28] or speed.[29] They are missing a few features that their King and creator seemingly overlooked, like nostrils,[30] but they have excellent night vision thanks to their glowing diamond hearts.[31] Individuals look superficially similar to each other,[32] but they all have unique sigils on their heads, which denote their names[33] as given by their King.[34]

Clay Men do not need to eat or drink;[35] anything they consume (wine included)[36] will simply sit in their bodies and rot away with nowhere to go.[37] However, they can eat gravel or mud to strengthen themselves,[38] and can also use clay to repair surface wounds[39] (though this cannot replace lost limbs or other organs).[40][41] Unfortunate Clay workers beyond repair are often chained and tossed into the Stolen River, as it would be cheaper for their boss or owner to simply purchase another one;[42] heavily damaged Clay Men are also ostracized by others of their kind.[43]

Death[edit | edit source]

"WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GO HOME, WHEN WE ARE DEAD, OR BROKEN. TO RETURN TO THE KING OUR HEARTS."[44]

A Clay Man who has gone Quiet

While the natural lifespan of Clay Men is long enough that the oldest have calcified and fused with the earth,[45] they can die (permanently) if they incur enough damage to vital structures, e.g. their equivalent of a trachea.[46] When a Clay Man dies, their heart is supposed to be collected and sent back to Polythreme.[47]

There is also a kind of mental death: Clay Men may “sink” into themselves,[48] entering a state of stasis brought on by being lost in their own thoughts,[49] and become Quiet.[50] They are then moved into the Quiet Quarter,[51] a cemetery within the Clay Warrens. Unlike human graves, the Quiet are not buried but left standing or sitting in their final pose,[52] so that those who knew them may come and pay their respects.[53]

Dreams[edit | edit source]

"But he faced an obstacle. Clay Men, as you must know, do not dream."[54]

"Dreams of clay are largely invisible to the casual visitor in Parabola. Only a master of the craft could even glimpse one."[55]

There are contradictions between sources as to whether Clay Men can dream; in Mask of the Rose, it is explicitly stated that they have no need for sleep[56] and do not dream,[57] but they do in Fallen London, where their dreams are simply different and/or subtle enough to go unnoticed by other dreamers.[58][59] They can even consume prisoner's honey and be transported to Parabola.[60]

Culture[edit | edit source]

Language[edit | edit source]

"The next words are in grinding Loamsprach, remorseless as time's leaden passage. Moss makes a long, gurgling noise like the fall of rain upon a weathered statue. This is followed by a scraping sound, like the removal of the stone lid of a tomb. He finishes with a long graven groan, like the cleavage of a mountain."[61]

Clay Men speak English, and can usually be recognized easily by their DISTINCT AND PECULIAR SPEECH PATTERN.[62] They also have their own language called Loamsprach, which is described from an Anglophone point of view as thick, earthy, and cumbersome.[63][64] New words in Loamsprach are constructed by piling older words on top of each other,[65] and its meanings often emerge not from single terms, but from the interplay of neologisms and overlapping contexts.[66]

Loamsprach has a written form, which was devised by a certain merry gentleman.[67] However, most Clay Men remain illiterate in English, and those who can read and write are remembered as rare exceptions.[68] There was once an attempt to educate them: a school was built in the Clay Quarter, but it was eventually abandoned.[69]

Society[edit | edit source]

"A long, tedious day […] but your tenacity has paid off. Your head is crammed with recipes for argillaceous earth and useful phrases of Loamsprach. And you have discovered that Clay Men can love, although it’s not clear how they express their passions."[70]

Clay social hierarchy is relatively simple, so Clay Men may have trouble navigating humans' complex social webs.[71] Even far from Polythreme, Clay Men continue to observe the island's laws; those who break them are judged and punished by their own kind.[72]

Since they tend to be quiet, still, and inexpressive,[73] humans sometimes forget Clay Men are present and become careless with their secrets.[74] Clay Men do not seem to understand the concept of leisure,[75] but they are entirely capable of pursuing love and passion,[76][77] and they are also able to cry (their tears are mud).[78]

Unfinished Men[edit | edit source]

"Unfinished Men are Clay Men who lack something - sight, a voice, a hand, conscience, obedience. You can't really tell a crippled Clay Man from an Unfinished Man, except that ordinary Clay Men are never criminals. The distinction, unfortunately, often evades Constables and citizens alike."

"Some say that the essential thing all Unfinished Men lack is compassion. That it is the first thing to go. That's why their limbs begin to fall off, their senses to decay. 'That compassion is part of every Clay Man's fabric, that it is London that wrings it out of them."[79]

Jasper and Frank

Unfinished Men are exactly what they sound like: Clay Men who are missing something,[80] like "sight or a voice or sanity or a conscience."[81] However, the line is blurry between an injured Clay Man and an Unfinished Man,[82] so being "Unfinished" is better described as a state of mind[83] reached by attaining free will.[84] If a Clay Man believes they are Unfinished, then that will be the case.[85] Being Unfinished removes a Clay Man from the psychic network connecting all their kind[86] and results in their exile from Polythreme if they are still located there,[87] but for some, this is preferable to the constant noise of their peers.[86] Unfinished Men are seen as rebellious,[88] as some of them use their free will to become criminals, robbers, and pirates[89] - but this reputation appears undeserved as a generalization.

Jasper and Frank are two notorious Unfinished Men who work as enforcers for the Masters of the Bazaar; Frank is missing a hand, but it is not obvious what Jasper's Unfinished trait is.

The Sculptor, Of Sorts[edit | edit source]

Spoilers ahead: May include midgame or minor Fate-locked content.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"THE KING WITH A HUNDRED HEARTS IS OUR MAKER AND OUR SOUL. HE DREAMS US TO BEING. BUT NOT ALL HIS DREAMS ARE PLEASING."[90]

The King with a Hundred Hearts

The King with a Hundred Hearts is the progenitor of the Clay Men.[91] When he dreams, a piece of Polythreme breaks off to form a new Clay Man.[92] When that dream is a nightmare, a Clay Man is born Unfinished, with any physical differences reflecting the nature of the nightmare.[93][94] The King can give birth to multiple Clay Men at once.[95] Clay Men born from the same of piece of Polythreme are considered direct siblings.[96]

Millennia ago, the King had a shard of the Mountain of Light implanted in his chest to revive him, and caused his transformation into the island of Polythreme.[97] Each Clay Man has a tiny fragment of this shard within their chest, serving as their primary source of vitality.[98] When a Clay Man dies, their heart shard is supposed to be collected and sent back to the King,[47] so that he can reincorporate it into himself.[99] The shared source of their diamond hearts connects every non-Unfinished[100][101] Clay Man in a crystalline psychic network.[102][103] To be part of this network is to obey and exist in harmony with the King and his commands.[104] As another consequence of this, they all share a single soul, which has the benefit of making devils uninterested in them;[105][106] additionally, some Clay Men born from the King's Memory Garden[107] carry his memories.[108]

Historical & Cultural Inspirations[edit | edit source]

The Clay Men of Fallen London draw clear inspiration from the golems of Jewish folklore. There are a variety of Talmudic and otherwise ancient stories about shaping life from clay, but the earliest source for the golem as we know it is a set of accounts from the 16th century that ascribe the same general story to two different great Rabbis. They are both said to have created a humanoid being from clay to protect their respective communities from violence and persecution. Drawing upon the mystical tradition of the Kabbalah, the Rabbi brought it to life by either placing an inscription in its mouth (in this version, the inscription may have included the true name of God that traditionally isn't said aloud) or carving it into its forehead (in this retelling, the word is emet, meaning "truth"). The Golem was a tireless servant; it could not speak, eat, or sleep, but obeyed the Rabbi without question. It performed menial tasks for him, and defended from harm - but after the danger had passed, it began to act unpredictably. One Shabbat, the Rabbi forgot to deactivate the Golem, and it went on a destructive rampage. He was forced to stop it by removing the inscription from its mouth (or altering the word on its forehead to met - "death"), after which it collapsed into a pile of clay.

Clay Men also reflect the grim realities of transatlantic slavery, indentured labor, and discrimination and violence against the working class. They're shipped across the Unterzee in tightly packed crates, chained up and treated like cargo - comparable to the conditions enslaved Africans suffered through during the Middle Passage, crammed on ships across the Atlantic. The fact that the Masters deliberately drag out the process of emancipation mirrors the legal and bureaucratic hurdles used to preserve slave-based economies. Lastly, the claims from human workers that the Clay Men are "stealing their jobs" echo a particular flavor of resentment that was once aimed at slaves, and continues to be violently directed at immigrant and other racialized laborers to this day.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Sidebar Snippets: What are the Clay Men?, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Stories, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Discover the secrets of the Clay Men, Fallen London "They are the silent servants of the nobility, and the brute strength of Wolfstack Docks. But can they be trusted?"
  4. ↑ Carry Clay Men to London, Sunless Sea "Each one lies down in its appointed position next to the other, nested snugly, head by foot. "WE ARE FOR LONDON," one explains you."
  5. ↑ Even the odds in a clay dispute, Fallen London "Didn't we come across on the same boat? Stacked up on top of each other, we was. Me in the crate on top. Frank on the bottom. You in between, all snug."
  6. ↑ A Clay Man (Wreckers' Cove), Fallen London "They hung heavy chains around his crate, and packed it with straw to reduce chipping. He would be grateful, were someone to free him, but he expects nothing."
  7. ↑ Speak to everyone you meet, Fallen London "The thing that strikes visitors first is how few Clay Men walk the streets. There must be many more Clay Men in London than there are here. Your guide [...] tells you that most of them troop dejectedly into a steamer for London not long after they split off from whichever wall or flagstone gave birth to them. It's called the tithe, and it pays for the protection and favour of the Masters of the Bazaar."
  8. ↑ The life of a Clay Man, Fallen London "[…] A little quiet observation reveals that some Clay Men accept their bosses' ill-treatment uncomplainingly; some only grudgingly. […] Some, it turns out, keep pets, and care for them with something approaching tenderness."
  9. ↑ The life of a Clay Man, Fallen London "[...] Down at Wolfstack Docks, where most of them work, they're also employed as security guards. It's hard to see what's going on with two tons of angry clay blocking your view. But they do say that this obedience, [...] demonstrates a kind of free will."
  10. ↑ 'I OFFER JADE.', Fallen London "You accept the gift with a bow. As far as it's possible to tell, the Clay Man is pleased. 'GIFTS ARE CUSTOMARY,' he says. 'WE HAVE LEARNED THIS CORRECTLY. WE ARE BUILDING TRUST.'"
  11. ↑ 'I OFFER JADE.', Fallen London "You accept the gift, but your wariness must be visible to the Clay Man. 'WE MEAN ONLY RESPECT,' he says. 'WE WISH FOR MORE UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN US.'"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 'I OFFER JADE.', Fallen London "You don't stop to listen to the Clay Man, once you've made up your mind. You call for the Constables, who cart him off in chains quick-smart. Somehow, he managed to leave the purse of jade in your hand anyway. […]"
  13. ↑ The Entrance to the Clay Quarters, Fallen London "They work. They inhabit the Clay Warrens. Many in London see them as mere automata, slaves without souls. Is this true?"
  14. ↑ Do they drink tea?, Fallen London "The tea shop is in a quiet side street. The owner is refusing to serve a pair of Clay Men their pot of tea and sponge cake."
  15. ↑ Arm-wrestle a Clay Man, Fallen London "You took advantage of the poor fellow. You started before he was ready; you distracted him by singing energetically, and then by pretending injury; and you kicked him under the table. You are cheered, and bought drinks. Clay Men are not popular."
  16. ↑ Intercept a shipment of Clay Men, Fallen London "Mr Fires is importing Clay labour to replace the striking dockers. You know a Grizzled Union Leader who will pay generously to ensure the cargo never arrives."
  17. ↑ Refuse the job, Fallen London "The dockers may have a worthy cause, but murdering Clay Men is a step too far."
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Dismiss the ramblings, Fallen London "The Clay Men are the backbone of London, the unquestioning engine of industry. They are dependable. You say as much to the Injudicious Dockhand, who spits again "Not very comforting. They're not dependable, we depend on them.""
  19. ↑ Emancipate a Clay Man, Fallen London "Obtaining the necessary licences and certificates is exhausting – even by the Bazaar's baroque standards […] It's almost as if the Masters don't want Clay Men freed."
  20. ↑ Assist a Ragged-Sleeved Academic, Fallen London "You fill a notebook with observations. [...] The special status they award masterless Clay Men – somewhere between prophets and bombs. […]"
  21. ↑ The Entrance to the Clay Quarters, Fallen London "Beneath London are a myriad of tunnels dug deep into the earth. The Clay Men regularly close old entrances, and carve out new ones. It is rare that the same route down can be used twice."
  22. ↑ Descend (Underclay), Fallen London "Past the arch, the stairs widen into a low chamber. Clay faces turn to regard you with solemn impassivity. They must be Unfinished Men to be hiding in the dark. Many are weathered and battered, older than London itself. Some say the Unfinished lack something essential, empathy perhaps; others say they should be shunned altogether. And then, some say that all they need is a little compassion shown."
  23. ↑ Descend to the Underclay Quarter, Fallen London "The Clay Men have always dug tunnels beneath London, and the Cities which fell before it. Many have been abandoned; many more forgotten. This one is old indeed, but still in use. Recently uncovered, its secrets are open for a brave Londoner to discover. But most keep away, fearful of what lies beneath."
  24. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London
  25. ↑ Take a stroll through the Quarter, Fallen London "Clay Men fill the tunnel mouths. They fold grey arms across grey chests. You will go no further today."
  26. ↑ Arm-wrestle a Clay Man, Fallen London "A much more challenging opponent. Clay Men are employed in the nearby docks to do the work of any three normal men... but they're not too bright."
  27. ↑ Find and deal with the latest edition of Smiles, Fallen London "[...] The Clay Men are very hard to kill but, except the Unfinished ones, remarkably docile."
  28. ↑ Dexterity, Fallen London "Clay Men have all the problems you'd expect handling knives, forks, knitting needles, and so on."
  29. ↑ Join the mob hounding them, Fallen London "[The Clay Men…] retreat […], but their kind are not fleet of foot. The festivities escalate to the cobble-throwing stage before the Constables arrive to break things up. Why did they bother? It's not like a thrown cobblestone will hurt them."
  30. ↑ Moss: Connection, Mask of the Rose "Me: What do you mean about compatibility? Moss: Only that I believe the union you are accustomed to presents difficulties for us both. We were made in the image of our King, but lack both knowledge and desire. A conjunction which seems vital to any possibility of the two of us conjuncting. Like our nostrils. I do not think he thought of such matters. I am unsure what would happen were we to progress."
  31. ↑ Moss: Miscellaneous Interactions, Mask of the Rose "Now, perhaps the candles? My eyes are very good indeed. The benefits of diamond..."
  32. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London "[...] Many Clay Men share similar faces – do they tell each other apart by the scars?"
  33. ↑ Moss: Purloined Books, Mask of the Rose "I could not help but read over your shoulder. The sigils on that book I cannot interpret. They resemble the one on my head. My King marks us in honour of himself. He chose mine for its resemblance to his own state. But I noticed an epigram in Loamsprach - and only one has ever bothered to invent a written form."
  34. ↑ Moss: Name, Mask of the Rose "Our names are given by the King. Once he has decided our purpose. My name reflects my proximity to the glories of my sovereign. In likeness and in deed."
  35. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "Clay Men don't drink of course, but water is useful stuff. A well is a focal point for a community, where happenstance might cause two paths to cross that would otherwise forever have remained separate..."
  36. ↑ Moss: The Repartee, Mask of the Rose "I suppose we were searching for common ground. Beyond this delightful bottle. Which has, alas, no effect upon my anatomy beyond a reddening of the clay."
  37. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London "He once poured soup down his throat. The broth now festers at a dead end just above his sternum. You can smell the rotting food in the stale air. If he breathed it would be even worse."
  38. ↑ Dexterity, Fallen London "After a few attempts at various crafts, Lyme produces a passable pair of crocheted mittens. He's making good progress with a spoon, too. It turns out that Clay Men sometimes ingest mud or gravel. It strengthens them."
  39. ↑ Assist at a mud-surgery, Fallen London "A clay mine tunnels towards the river. Injured clay men line its passages, trying to patch their wounds with deposits dug from the walls."
  40. ↑ Assist at a mud-surgery, Fallen London "[…] The patients here are desperate, but most are beyond help. You can fill cracks, but you can't replace lost hands. Or sculpt new eyes."
  41. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "We mix and apply cements to the injured. The labours of Clay Men incur a g-great deal of wear-and-tear: breaks and fractures and dents. Cements can slow the decline, or reduce the b-blemish of more unseemly injuries. [...] But every Clay Man has a different composition. Making matching, lasting cements is difficult. When I'm not at the h-hospital, I often work on concocting new mixes for the patients."
  42. ↑ Assist at a mud-surgery, Fallen London "A Clay Man who can't work has no use. He is chained and sunk in the river. It's cheaper to import a new one […]"
  43. ↑ Follow one of them, Fallen London "[…] He exchanges Loamsprach greetings with other Clay Men, and in the shadow of the rookery he trades nods with Jasper and Frank: a pair of notorious Clay Man criminals. [H]e studiously refuses to acknowledge a crumbling Clay Man […]"
  44. ↑ Ask what this has to do with the puppets, Fallen London
  45. ↑ Confessions from the Stone, Fallen London "[...] This wall holds a dozen Calcified Men, ancient Clay Men so old that they have fused with the rock. Minerals gleam on their brows and over their shoulders; stalactites grow from their noses and lips. Away from the King With a Hundred-Hearts, this is the closest apotheosis that the Calcified Men can achieve: to become one with the stone. Before passing on, however, they must unburden themselves of their secrets."
  46. ↑ Go to their assistance, Fallen London "No, down here they're zeebats. Their high-pitched cries draw you to the ruined body of a Clay Man, throat ripped out, eyes gazing sightlessly up at the twinkling lights in the Neath roof. The marsh-wolves didn't touch him after the bites […]"
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Ask what this has to do with the puppets, Fallen London "WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GO HOME, WHEN WE ARE DEAD, OR BROKEN. TO RETURN TO THE KING OUR HEARTS."
  48. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "'He rarely emerges from his home, and seldom speaks. If he cannot be coaxed from his solitude, I fear he will sink into himself, as clay men eventually do, and never emerge. [...]'"
  49. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "He was always a thinker. One day, his thoughts sank too deep, and he has been this way since. I hope that one day he will shake his shoulders, as once he did when rousing himself. That he will stand again, and speak. That things will go back to the way they were."
  50. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "But I have to warn you: there is no lasting way back for the Quiet. If this works, it will be for a few minutes at most."
  51. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "In the case of Clay Men who have sunk into themselves, as Mr. Berke did, a funeral is a simple affair. They are carried – in this case by Applewick on one side and Mr. Chope on the other, with Polliver and Crispin following behind – to the Quiet Quarter, where they are set at rest."
  52. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "You accompany the humble progression to a distant, dusty cavern forested with still Clay Men: standing or sitting, with bowed heads, with chins on hands, with brows creased in thought. As if at any moment they might shrug, stretch, and go on with their lives."
  53. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "A handful of Clay visitors are there, paying respects to Quiet that they knew. Your group finds a sheltered corner of the cave with a stone shelf for Mr. Berke to sit on, and sets him in place. Applewick lays a wreath of mushrooms at his feet. Mr. Chope leaves it alone. And that is all."
  54. ↑ May, Mask of the Rose
  55. ↑ A Clay Man, Fallen London
  56. ↑ Moss: Miscellaneous Interactions, Mask of the Rose "Now, I shall let you sleep. I understand unlike myself, you have need of it."
  57. ↑ May, Mask of the Rose "But he faced an obstacle. Clay Men, as you must know, do not dream."
  58. ↑ A Clay Man, Fallen London "Dreams of clay are largely invisible to the casual visitor in Parabola. Only a master of the craft could even glimpse one."
  59. ↑ A Clay Man, Fallen London "Most dreams are sensations or events or places. [...] A Clay Man's dream is nothing of the sort. It is topography; it is a feature of the terrain, almost imperceptible, rumbling under the surface. [...] The water that pours out onto the terrain smells intensely of petrichor, and carries with it the tiniest bit of the Mountain's light."
  60. ↑ Take Jasper and Frank to your Base-camp, Fallen London "Their impassive facade begins to crack when you take them back to your Lodgings, and offer them honey. "Never tried it" says Frank dubiously. "I don't have good dreams," adds Jasper. In the end it takes a great deal of Dutch courage to entice them to partake. Upon stepping into the jungle of Parabola, Jasper lets out a startled oath; Frank masks a startled yelp with a cough. You pretend not to notice, and lead them on the dreaming paths to your base camp."
  61. ↑ Moss: Conclusion, Mask of the Rose
  62. ↑ The Clay Coalman Needs Your Help, Fallen London "He has a voice like boulders. "SEE A LOT IN THIS JOB. HAD SECRETS. LITTLE STASH. NO MORE. ROBBED.""
  63. ↑ Loamsprach, Fallen London "This Clay Man is nervous, but willing to offer you lessons in his language in exchange for secrets. It's a tongue of thick, earthy syllables, like boots wading through sucking mud."
  64. ↑ Loamsprach, Fallen London "[…] Loamsprach is weighty, cumbersome, its grammar twisted like the roots of an ancient oak, its cadences straining, like that oak being slowly torn from the soil. Still, you're beginning to learn. […]"
  65. ↑ Assist a Ragged-Sleeved Academic, Fallen London "You fill a notebook with observations. The way new Loamsprach words are constructed by setting old words on top of one other. [...]"
  66. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London "Loamsprach layers upon itself; its meaning arises from neologisms and overlapping contexts. This text contains an undercurrent of revolt. The writing uses the atmosphere to plead for other Clay Men to come to the Scholar and, like his subjects, don the flesh. Only then, this writer argues, will they understand their true position in London. The writer repeatedly refers to boundaries and margins of all kinds."
  67. ↑ Moss: Purloined Books, Mask of the Rose "Moss: But I noticed an epigram in Loamsprach - and only one has ever bothered to invent a written form. Loosely translated, it means 'If our waking lives are enchained, then to dream is an act of revolution.'"
  68. ↑ In the Seventh Sorting Hall, Fallen London "Beautiful penmanship, isn't it, Frank?" asks Jasper. "Shame we're too illiterate to read it," Frank replies. "Whenever Mr Stones wants privacy, we always seem to misplace our educations." (The exchange is sarcastic.)
  69. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London "Winding through the tunnels, the Theseusian leads you deep into the Clay Quarter. You have not seen a soft cheek for an hour. He stops outside an arched opening. A sign hangs above, unreadable from age. "A SCHOOL, AT ONE POINT. LONG BEFORE I ARRIVED, THERE WAS A MISTAKEN BELIEF AMONG HUMANS THAT WE REQUIRED EDUCATION.""
  70. ↑ Scour the bookshops, Fallen London
  71. ↑ Social hierarchies, Fallen London "Clay Men don't have the same kind of convoluted social structures as people. You need to help him understand what he's dealing with."
  72. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London ""I BROKE A LAW. THE OTHERS JUDGED I WAS NO LONGER FIT TO BE COUNTED AMONG THEM." Others? Is there a Clay Council? Are there Clay laws? "THE LAWS TRAVELLED WITH US. WE INTERPRET THEM AND PASS JUDGEMENT TOGETHER.""
  73. ↑ Take a stroll through the Quarter, Fallen London "Rows of clay men – statue-still and statue-silent – fill a gloomy gallery. The oldest are bundled in cobwebs. The more recent spare you a bland glance, then sink back into their thoughts; stones into a pond."
  74. ↑ Coax society secrets from the Clay Men, Fallen London "The things they must have heard! If only they realised they'd heard them..."
  75. ↑ Leisure, Fallen London "A foreign concept to Clay Men. […] but once you've explained […] people shouting aren't in pain and the people racing aren't running away from something, he relaxes. There's even a spark of something close to enjoyment in his eyes by the end of the day."
  76. ↑ Scour the bookshops, Fallen London "A long, tedious day […] but your tenacity has paid off. Your head is crammed with recipes for argillaceous earth and useful phrases of Loamsprach. And you have discovered that Clay Men can love, although it’s not clear how they express their passions."
  77. ↑ An intriguing resemblance, Fallen London "You overhear snippets […] Enough to gather that life is by no means easy for the two of them. True love is not always enough to overcome the grind of poverty and deprivation. Still, they seem happy. Would the Comtessa's story have been similar?"
  78. ↑ Root out the Unfinished Men, Fallen London "One Clay Man breaks down in muddy tears. [...] You notice he's missing a finger, and signal the Constables. [...] But you can't help feeling you've picked out an innocent by mistake."
  79. ↑ Unfinished Men, Fallen London
  80. ↑ Unfinished Men, Fallen London "Clay men that lack something. Something tangible, usually. Sometimes something else, too. But why should this make them so dangerous?"
  81. ↑ Deal with Unfinished Men, Fallen London "Unfinished Men are Clay Men who lack something, like sight or a voice or sanity or a conscience. A spate of robberies and assaults in the Hill has been traced to Unfinished Men operating under cover of the rescued Clay Men."
  82. ↑ Root out the Unfinished Men, Fallen London "Unfinished Men usually have something physical missing, as well as the sinister elements in their clay souls. But it is possible to mistake a maimed Clay Man for a malignant Unfinished one."
  83. ↑ The Clay Man's Arm, Fallen London "[...] He worries that to be Unfinished is an inescapable sentence. Worse, it could simply be an outlook. [...] Perhaps he has always been this way. Regardless, he encloses a gift as a thank you, of sorts."
  84. ↑ Moss: Concerns, Mask of the Rose "I disagreed with a principle of his, for the very first time. What, I barely remember. I realised in one, wonderful, moment that I was not him. I was separate. Myself. I came to him in all innocence, eager to tell him this new, splendid thing. You can imagine, I think, his reaction."
  85. ↑ Sever unwanted allegiances, Fallen London "Some truths are forged from desire; others, belief. The Clay Man desires freedom, but believes that he is bound to his kin. You are a tide of evidence and argument, eroding these beliefs like the zee gnawing at a cliff. The nature of conformity; that small chip on his forearm; the absence of his mark on certain certificates of import. Perhaps, you suggest, he has always been Unfinished? Desire begets a new truth. His mind is a lone holdfast, bright and peaceful."
  86. ↑ 86.0 86.1 Sever unwanted allegiances, Fallen London "The Solitary Clay Man is not Unfinished – but perhaps would like to be. He wishes for freedom from the voices of his peers."
  87. ↑ Moss: Concerns, Mask of the Rose "Me: The King was surely jealous when you revealed yourself an individual. Moss: The quality that had me exiled is prized in your city. It marks me as Unfinished: imperfect. I doubt the King will receive me again."
  88. ↑ Gather intelligence, Sunless Sea "The King with a Hundred Hearts rules from his palace above the city. He is never seen. He makes no treaties with other lands. But there's unrest in the air. The Clay Men you speak to are obedient and humble, but they speak nervously of those who are not: the maimed, the rebellious, the Unfinished..."
  89. ↑ Root out the Unfinished Men, Fallen London "Unfinished Men usually have something physical missing, as well as the sinister elements in their clay souls. But it is possible to mistake a maimed Clay Man for a malignant Unfinished one."
  90. ↑ Go looking 2, Fallen London
  91. ↑ Go looking, Fallen London "THE KING WITH A HUNDRED HEARTS IS OUR MAKER AND OUR SOUL. HE DREAMS US TO BEING. BUT NOT ALL HIS DREAMS ARE PLEASING."
  92. ↑ The walls are rattling, Fallen London "The stones of one wall collapse into dust, leaving a naked Clay Man sprawled in a heap. The Clay Man looks at his hands, horrified. "I AM ONE," he rumbles, "I AM NOT WE NOW. I HAVE BUT ONE HEART.""
  93. ↑ But where?, Fallen London "You race over to the street of crumbling white walls. One shatters into dust and stone shards and a Clay Man. He screams, "NO! THE MOTHS ARE EATING ME! GET THEM OFF!" You can see that the Clay Man is Unfinished – he is missing tiny chunks from myriad places, all over his stony body."
  94. ↑ Go looking, Fallen London "THE KING REMEMBERS DAYS OF SUNLIGHT AND FLESH. WHEN YOUR CITIES WERE YOUNG. HE UNDERTOOK A GREAT JOURNEY WESTWARDS, PAST THE END OF THE WORLD. HE DREAMS OF THE HORRORS OF THAT JOURNEY, AND THE UNFINISHED COME. THE UNFINISHED ARE NOT MEEK. WE ARE NOT SATISFIED. WE WILL BRING CHANGE TO OUR BROTHERS."
  95. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London ""That is no statue. It is Mr. Berke, my..." he utters a groaning word in loamsprach. "We were born of the same stone. He indicates a streak of silicate under his waistcoat, stretching from under one arm to the opposite shoulder. "The same vein of quartz ran through all three of us." [...]"
  96. ↑ A Life of Clay, Fallen London "The statue in the square is none other than Mr. Berke, a clay man lost in his own thoughts. He was the Clay 'brother' of Applewick and Mr. Chope. Both of them are devoted to him. Might that simple fact overcome their antipathy?"
  97. ↑ Looking in the garden, Fallen London "So, you've seen my story. China and then the Crossroads Shaded by Cedars. And then the Masters of the Bazaar. My lover saved me, in a manner of speaking. My fits would have killed me, so he bargained that we should both endure the ages, in return for his city. But the Bazaar isn't kind. Look what it did to me. The Masters took a diamond from the great glowing mountain in the South and gave it to me for a heart. They made me like this."
  98. ↑ Ask what he means by 'blasphemy', Fallen London "[...] The Clay Culprit [...] describes the land and regent of his home: Polythreme, and the King with a Hundred Hearts. He depicts, in graven tones, a vital and glittering diamond, riven with cracks but ever-growing new facets. His Clay brethren, he says, are born from the land, which is Polythreme and also the King, each of them containing a single mote of that diamond. "HIS HEART IS OUR HEART. AND OUR HEARTS ARE FACETED LIFE.""
  99. ↑ Ambition: Heart's Desire – Completing the King, Fallen London "Sensing the warmth of the shard, they crowd about you. You are reminded of street children, thronging around a lady too generous with her charity. "You have it," comes the King's voice, from everywhere at once. "Give me back my curiosity." A bald marble statue of a thinker steps forward. It opens its moon-white mouth."
  100. ↑ From across white walls, Fallen London "The newborn Unfinished Clay Man is wary and doesn't seem to sleep, but he's also staying away from his Clay brethren. Perhaps it's them he wants to avoid."
  101. ↑ From across white walls, Fallen London "TAKE ME FROM HERE. I WILL NOT BE A SLAVE TO THE BAZAAR. I WILL SMASH MY HEAD FIRST. THE BAZAAR WANTS US. THOSE WHO ARE BORN OF NIGHTMARE. WE ARE STRONG AND WE UNDERSTAND FEAR. WE KEEP THE OTHER SLAVES FRIGHTENED."
  102. ↑ Sever unwanted allegiances, Fallen London "All minds are susceptible to the shifting shapes of truth – this is fundamental to your craft. All opinions can be changed; all intent diverted. But within the heart of the Solitary Clay Man is something crystalline and geological – a sliver more like geography than psychology, reaching out and connecting him to his peers. Its bright tectonics will not be swayed by your words, no matter how cunning"
  103. ↑ Sever unwanted allegiances, Fallen London "The Solitary Clay Man describes his connection to his kind: a web of glimmering motes, each a mind, stretching back to his fatherland. "IT IS SO... NOISY," he rumbles."
  104. ↑ Moss: The Census, Mask of the Rose "I am not Unfinished. I still serve the King. To be Finished is to be complete. To be complete is to be in harmony with His grace."
  105. ↑ Dealing with the deviless, Fallen London "...Polythreme, eh? That place is best forgotten. Never seen a soul stretched that thin. I'm not even sure it was a real soul to begin with. And really, should table fittings talk back to one? They should not."
  106. ↑ The Affable Monsignor has a particular taste for the '44, Fallen London “…and it’s strange of the fellow to care. Why he was insisting that Clay Men only have a single soul between them is beyond me. But, have you noticed that they are untroubled by devils for the most part?”
  107. ↑ Give surface-silk to Clay Men, Fallen London "HE WAS SEPARATED FROM THE STATUE GARDEN, [...] HE KNOWS THE OLD THINGS WHEN WE WERE ONE."
  108. ↑ Give surface-silk to Clay Men, Fallen London "A Clay Man runs the silk length through his thick fingers. His lips crack in a smile and he closes his eyes. He speaks in the voice of a human man. "Silk, silk. So long ago. Such a journey westward with the precious cargo. They said the world wasn't that big, but we came to the shores of the inland sea, where they'd never even seen silk..."  He falls silent, and his brethren gaze on him in wonder and awe."
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