The Bishop of Southwark

> *"He hammers on your door. "Hurry up in there! It's all pagans and turnips out here! And it's cold.""*
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## The Bishop of Southwark

* Fallen London
* Election
* Mask of the Roses

### Related

The Bishop of St Fiacre'sVirginia

**The Bishop of Southwark** - or Reginald, to his friends - is a powerful figure within London's Anglican Church. He is known for his boisterous character, his short temper, and his love of wrestling.

## The Battle-Bishop

> *"Show me your worth, sinner!"*
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Reginald was the eldest of an unknown number of siblings. He is known to have attended university, though not which one, and was once a member of the Young Stags before devoting himself to a religious career. His father initially disapproved of his son’s vocation; at the time of the Fall, he was a priest working for the St Albans Protomartyr church as a canon.

When London launched the Campaign of 1868 and invaded Hell, Reginald decided to become a chaplain for the regiment in which his father had once served. He accompanied a scouting patrol near the front, and stopped to pick an infernal rose - which suddenly burned up, permanently leaving a scar on his forearm. Reginald's screams of pain alerted the Devils, and they captured the whole troop. To add insult to injury, a goat-demon pulled Reginald's horse from under him and ate it. After being captured, all of his comrades lost their souls, but he instead was sent to row a Brass Trireme. While captured, he went on a hunger strike, refusing to eat the food of Hell to keep his soul intact. In a state of hunger and delirium, he signed a contract that allowed him to keep his soul, and go back to London. Though this spared his life and immortal soul, he is ashamed of this decision, calling himself a craven for it.

The Bishop ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of London in 1894, under the slogan "For God's sake!" His agenda was to diminish the presence and influence that the devils have over London. However, it appeared that part of his campaign was financed by some devils themselves.

## A Tamer of Beasts

When not busy sorting the affairs of the church, invoking his martial prowess to disrupt the machinations of Hell, or debating the Bishop of St Fiacre’s, Reginald spends his time in the fourth coil of the Labyrinth. Here he feeds all sort of animals to a winged bat in a barn, producing strange new creatures in the process; the Bishop is trying to breed a Hound of Heaven, which could be used to detect devils. Ultimately, he would like to invade Hell once again, to take back what was lost the first time.

## Personal Affairs

The Bishop has engaged in two relationships with men in the past. The first was an Irishman called Michael, who had "eyes like flames" and was Reginald's partner at the time of the invasion of Hell. The second was called James; the relationship ended on bad terms, and the Bishop surmises he is now a revolutionary.

The Bishop and Virginia, as might be expected given their respective histories, rather dislike each other.

## References

2. ↑ You did hear that right, *Fallen London*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"I was newly ordained back then. The army was in dire need of chaplains for the campaign and so I accepted a commission. My father had never wanted his eldest in cloth, but he was pleased with me ministering to his old regiment."*
4. ↑ The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *The Bishop grows sentimental. He speaks of the holiday feasts of his youth, the banquets at his college. When you leave into the dim drizzle, such times seem impossibly far away.*
5. ↑ The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"I don't mind embarrassing myself. Put on a funny hat and wave a thing on a stick around and sing? I got up to worse in the Stags. […]"*
6. ↑ Dear Reggie, *failbettergames.com*
7. ↑ The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"Few made it into Hell at all. I was in the vanguard. New orders that scouting patrols had to have a priest."*
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"I saw a rose that I thought Mi... it doesn't matter why, but I picked it. The d\_\_\_\_\_ thing burst into flames and seared my arm! If only I'd kept quiet! But I was weak and I cried out and gave us away. The whole troop was captured."*
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Breed the Plated Seal 5, *Fallen London*
10. ↑ The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"The rest of the men had their souls pulled out, but not me. They sent me to row in the galleys. And they made me sign a contract! What a fool! What a weakling!"*
11. ↑ The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"I was starved and half-mad when I signed their contract. I would not eat the food of Hell. All I knew at the time was that it would allow me to leave with my soul. That such a craven should rise to the mitre..."*
12. ↑ The Bishop of Southwark 4, *Fallen London*
13. ↑ Learn more about the Bishop's platform, *Fallen London*
14. ↑ The Bishop of Southwark's Campaign 1, *Fallen London*
15. ↑ Broker peace between Bishops, *Fallen London*
16. ↑ "Remind me, your Grace...", *Fallen London*
17. ↑ Theological Husbandry, *Fallen London* *"We have a plan. Pious sons of the Empire all, but I won't tell you any names. We're going to win where we lost back in '68. We're going to show them our mettle, once and for all. We're going to storm Hell, and I intend to be in the first rank."*
18. ↑ Breed the Somnolent Hyaena 6, *Fallen London*
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Breed the Rubbery Hound 2, *Fallen London* *"You ever been to Ireland? Savage place, of course, but beautiful. I met someone there once. He had eyes like fires…"*
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *"I never married. I've loved two... I've loved two men. […]Michael is probably still in Ireland, I think, or Rome. James... James is down here. Hell of a brain on the man, but he's given to extremes. Probably a bomb-thrower by now. We didn't part as friends."*
21. ↑ The Brass Grail (Story), *Fallen London* *A hiss of steam escapes from Michael's eye as you and the Bishop turn away.*
22. ↑ Persuade the Bishop of Southwark, *Fallen London*