The Fallen Cities

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London is not the only city to have been brought down to the Neath. Four other cities came before it, all traded to the Bazaar for their own various reasons. Very few wish to consider the possibility of any coming after.

Traces of these former cities can be found throughout London. The Fourth City is the most present by far, as a remnant stands just outside the city: the Forgotten Quarter. London is also in frequent contact and rivalry with the Khanate, the floating city-state established by Fourth City refugees on the Unterzee.

The process of Falling a city is as follows: the Masters of the Bazaar arrive at a powerful and well-populated city and broker a deal with its rulers, which often involves a tale of love. After the deal is brokered, the old city is drowned in lacre, killing nearly all of its inhabitants, and the new one literally falls on top. The new city is then subjugated by the Bazaar, and business carries on as usual.

Extraordinary circumstances and the very impermanent nature of death in the Neath mean that certain people from the previous cities may survive long after their cities were crushed. The majority of these have left for the Tomb Colonies, however, as these cities stretch far back into antiquity. Anybody who could survive that long and still remain a part of Fifth City life is either incredibly wily, powerful, or simply useful.

## The First City, ca. 27th century BCE

*"Only two things are known to remain of the First City: the name, the Crossroads Shaded By Cedars, and the saying: even the First City was young when Babylon fell."*

   *"The first taught restraint..."*

        **The First City**, known as the Crossroads Shaded By Cedars, was located in Ancient Mesopotamia and was most likely the Sumerian city of Uruk. (While there is an Eye Temple in *Fallen London*, the real-life Eye Temple located at Tell Brak is named after the thousands of eye figurines found within, rather than eyes in the walls as described in-game, so we believe this is a coincidental similarity given the sheer amount of evidence pointing toward Uruk.) The remnants of the city live on in Polythreme; ruins and artifacts of the First City can also be found in the Hinterlands, especially under the Magistracy of the Evenlode.

There are a few confirmed living survivors of the fall of the First City:

* The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel, who was once its priest-king. He is most likely Gilgamesh, from the Sumerian epic, considering the full tale of how he sold the First City to save his lover.

* Polythreme's King With a Hundred Hearts. If the Manager is Gilgamesh, then the King is Enkidu, Gilgamesh's closest friend in the epic. There are divergences from the tale; the King himself tells of originally being a merchant from China, rather than being a creature of clay the whole time like Enkidu, and his relationship with the Manager was explicitly romantic. The merchant was dying of "fits," so the Manager brokered a deal with the Masters of the Bazaar to save his life. They accomplished the task by shoving a large jewel from the Mountain of Light into his chest, creating his current form.

* The Capering Relicker, who was the first to brew Hesperidean Cider. He is the Manager’s uncle, and he might perhaps be Utnapishtim, who in the epic was granted immortality by the Sumerian gods as a reward for preserving humankind through a great flood.

* The Cladery Heir's mother is from the First City, and she is spoken of as if still alive. She was the surgeon responsible for lobotomizing the Bazaar, removing its urge to deliver messages.

* The Yearning Custodian, who was born in the First City and initiated the Marvellous in the Third. He now resides in the Root of Need in Parabola, and is the Keeper of the Marvellous and chronicler of its history and rulings.

There are also a number of rumors about other living survivors; a Salty Fabulist claims there is a priest living on an atoll, who challenges all those who encounter him to tell him a true lie. Those who cannot answer the riddle must stay on the atoll with him.

So-called First City coins, which apparently are recent fakes, are used in the Marvellous as a substitute for ’fragments of a primal power’. They are traditionally exchanged in sets of thirty, the number of silver coins Judas was paid for betraying Jesus.

## The Second City, circa 1335 BCE

*"Never mention the Second City to the Masters of the Bazaar. Mr Wines will look at you narrowly and give you its worst vintage. Mr Cups will fly into a rage. Mr Veils will harangue you for your discourtesy. Mr Iron will say nothing, only write down your name with its left hand."*

*"Certain of the Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Stones, Mr Apples and Mr Wines, and possibly others - seem to have a particular contempt for Egypt and the Egyptological. Perhaps they're simply reacting to the fashion for the Pharaonic that overcame London before the Descent. But it's unusual that they should care."*

    *"...and the second betrayed..."*

While some neocartographers in London speculate in favor of Alexandria, there is abundant proof that **the Second City** was instead Amarna, briefly the capital of ancient Egypt under Akhenaten. Remnants of the city live on in Visage and Arbor. The Salt Lions hail from the city as well.

A living survivor of the fall of the Second City is the Duchess, one of Akhenaten's six daughters, who orchestrated the fall ostensibly to save her betrothed's life after he was bitten by a snake. He was transformed into the Cantigaster by the Masters, saving his life at a heavy price. Dissatisfied with the outcome of their bargain, the Duchess and her sisters devised a plan to "chain" the Bazaar by trapping the Masters for centuries in a tomb known as the House of the Feather. Amarna was resultingly the longest-lived of the Fallen Cities, the consequences of which would be felt later. Thanks to the sisters' trick, the city and its inhabitants had an extremely antagonistic relationship with the Bazaar and the Masters, who resent their actions to this day.

Four of the Duchess's sisters still live yet. The eldest sister, Meritaten, sacrificed her life to trap the Masters in the House of the Feather, but still remains as the undead Poisoned Priestess. Meketaten, the second of the six sisters, is the Obstinate Adoratrice; she is intent on finishing her older sister's work in building the Palace of the Rising in Parabola. Ankhesenamun, the third sister, is the Mother Superior of Abbey Rock. Neferneferuaten Tasherit, the fourth sister, is likely the Duchess (though in some older text she gives her name as the youngest sister). The fifth, Neferneferure, became the first Roseate Queen of Arbor. The youngest sister, Setepenre, died on the Surface as she did in real life.

The eldest two sisters built the Skin of the Sun to house the Second City's refugees and shine cosmogone false-sunlight across the dream-realm.

## The Third City, 9th-10th century CE

*"No-one talks much about the cities that preceded London. The Third City seems to have been acquired a thousand years ago. It had five wells, they say. And the weather was better."*

    *"...The third taught us hunger..."*

The **Third City** was Mayan. It may have been Chichen Itza, Tikal, or Calakmul; this last city is located next to the modern settlement of Hopelchén, whose name does mean "five wells". The majority of the Tomb-Colonies are built upon Third City architecture and mythology.

There are a handful of living survivors of the fall of the Third City: the First Curator and the God-Eaters, for example. To sink this city, the Masters offered the flesh of a god to the three leaders of this city, turning them into the monstrosities they are now. As for the god, let's just say it is very, *very* perturbed.

## The Fourth City, 1254 CE

*"Who carves horse-head amulets out of bone? Whoever lived in the Fourth City. If all the Fourth City amulets on sale are real, they must really have liked horses.*"

    *"...the fourth we remade..."*

As Fallen London's immediate predecessor, the Fourth City has been well-studied. On the surface it was Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire; it fell to the Neath during the reign of Mongke Khan, just over six hundred years before London.

The Khan's favorite daughter, the princess Cheren (or Shirin), sought the recipe for an immortality-granting drink made of peaches. She designed an elaborate silver fountain called the Silver Tree, and constructed it with the help of a captive of the Khan, the sculptor William of Paris (likely known to the real world as Guillaume Boucher). Cheren and Guillaume fell in love, but the Khan would never allow them to marry. Their plight and the tense relationship between Cheren and her father drew the interest of the Masters, and Mr Wines was sent to start the negotiation for the eventual purchase of Karakorum.

In late December 1253, the missionary and explorer William of Rubruck reached Karakorum and eventually was accepted into the court of Mongke Khan. There, he learned of a plot between the Khan's sons to instigate an invasion from Cathay (China), which Mr Wines planned to exploit to push the Khan into selling Karakorum. As the city stood on the brink of destruction, Karakorum was sold and transported to the Neath, thwarting the invasion. Accounts vary as to what became of Guillaume and William thereafter, but Guillaume is now deceased and William is either soulless or deceased, considering his soul was found in a Brass Embassy warehouse. Cheren is still alive thanks to her peach brandy, and is now known as the Gracious Widow.

Since Mongke Khan was not granted any sort of immortality and several Khans ruled after him, the era of the Fourth City was filled with tumult and power struggles, and several factions warred with it over its history:

* the Copper, who stuck to the ways of the Third City and may have been connected to the God-Eaters
* the Rosers, who hired devils to teach them the ways of Parabola and eventually fled into Arbor
* the Motherlings, who worshipped sorrow-spiders and were able to create spider-councils by weaving the spiders' legs together. The wife of the last Khan was one of the Motherlings.
* Yesterday's King led a rebellion against the Masters at the Widow's behest, leading to the city's downfall.

During its lifespan, the Fourth city tried and failed to invade the Elder Continent.

One of the last Khans of the Fourth City, called the **True Khan,** had a vision of his city's eventual demise, and left with his loyal followers to build the Khanate across the Zee. The Great Khan's departure left the **Last Khatun** to rule over the Fourth City; she made a crown of Fingerkings to gain wisdom, but unwittingly became their puppet. In retaliation, the inhabitants of the city rebelled and trapped her within a statue. It may have been during this time of ophidian influence that the Fingerkings encouraged the Fourth City to invade Hell, an effort that failed disastrously. It was shortly before the end of the city that Yesterday's King rebelled against the Masters, who razed it to the ground and began searching for a new city to buy.

After this upheaval, the Fourth City was dissolved in lacre and most of it was crushed by the fall of London. The remnants of the old city can be found in the place Londoners call the Forgotten Quarter, and in the depths of Flute Street. Its survivors and descendants are spread between Port Carnelian, Arbor, and the Khanate.

In the *Sunless Skies* timeline, after the gate to the High Wilderness at the Avid Horizon was opened, some of the Fourth City's survivors and descendants - at least the whole Eagle Clan, and potentially all of the New Khanate and some of the Khan's Shadow exiles - passed through and established a new Khanate at Eagle's Empyrean.

## The Fifth City, 1862 CE

*"The city around the Bazaar is called the Fifth City because, they say, it's not the first the Bazaar chose as a home. You can still turn up bricks from the older cities, now and then. Look: here's one marked with an eye."*

*"...The fifth will live on in the heart of the Sun..."*

There are numerous living survivors of the fall of London. It is widely known that Queen Victoria arranged the Fall to save her Prince Consort, as poor Albert was dying of typhoid fever. The Consort seems rather wan, however, and something else has already befallen the rest of the royal family...

## The Sixth City, and the Seventh?

*"The Masters have always been fond of Paris."*

*"...and the sixth..."*

Who knows what the Sixth City will be? There are rumors that the Masters might buy Paris - no wonder, for after all, Paris is the City of Love. As for the Seventh, there are similar whispers of Moscow, when "the Comet" - perhaps Halley's Comet - passes in the 21st century... But these are mere speculations, and time is known to be treacherous; it could just as well be Berlin in the 1980s.

## References

2. ↑ Look out across the zee, *Fallen London* *"A group of desperate survivors throng once-grand docks. (...) The lacre tide rises and soon all is washed away."*
3. ↑ Crouching in a low stone building, *Fallen London* *"the land between the Caspian and Mediterranean seas"*
4. ↑ Interview the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem, *Fallen London* *"He used to be a king, ruling from a temple made of eyes"*
5. ↑ Looking for the manager, *Fallen London* *"I received him in the temple of eyes"*
6. ↑ Looking in the garden, *Fallen London* *"The priest-king wears white linen, and many layers of shining copper and brass jewellery. He is unmistakably the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel."*
7. ↑ Meeting the King, *Fallen London*
8. ↑ Looking in the garden, *Fallen London*
9. ↑ Hand over a roomful of scraps for a Coruscating Soul, *Fallen London*
10. ↑ Discuss your scraps with the Salty Fabulist, *Fallen London* *"That one leads to an atoll. On the atoll lives a priest of the First City, who challenges all comers to tell him a true lie. If you can't, you have to stay on the rock with him."*
11. ↑ Speak to the Dean of Neocartography, *Fallen London* *"...I still hear speculation about Alexandria, but I'm sure that isn't true. The Second City didn't have nearly enough temples to be Alexandria."*
12. ↑ Homecoming, *Fallen London* *"How dare you", rasps Mr Spices, though it lacks the will to punish the transgression. "You can't imagine it. Tricked by creatures as low as you. Led into a trap. Imprisoned for aeons. The furthest I have ever been from home. Forced to sacrifice—" Its words catch in its throat.*
13. ↑ Homecoming, *Fallen London* *Together you watch as a funerary procession makes its way towards a temple. A group of hooded creatures with clawed feet are led inside, and do not emerge for centuries.*
14. ↑ Calendar Code The Calendar Code, *Fallen London* *There is no signature. Just two simple symbols, scribed in careful strokes: a disk, above a tool embedded in a wood block.*
15. ↑ The Silver Tree, *Fallen London*
16. ↑ The Lore of the Peaches, *The Silver Tree* *[…] and a reference to peaches that gave ‘vita sine finem’-Life without end…*
17. ↑ William the sculptor , *The Silver Tree*
18. ↑ Guillaume Boucher, *Cambridge University* *"I was introduced to William of Paris after I had seen his masterpiece, the Silver Tree."*
19. ↑ The Story of the Fountain, *The Silver Tree* *"The Princess had designed the Silver Tree. She and the Sculptor were in love. The Khan would never allow them to marry."*
20. ↑ The Ending for the Khan and his daughter, *The Silver Tree* *"'Cheren is wilful, but I do love her above all else,' said the Khan. 'My father is flawed, but I do love him very dearly,' said the Princess."*
21. ↑ Karakorum was too powerful, *The Silver Tree* *"Love - love is the key. It overcomes religion, politics, self-preservation. It is the end of all things. Let us discuss the city's loves, and how we may use them…"*
22. ↑ I Confronted the Emissary, *The Silver Tree*  *"[…] In fact, you may call me by my true name, now: Mr Wines, at your service! […]"*
23. ↑ William of Rubruck, *Wikipedia*
24. ↑ I Confronted the Emissary, *The Silver Tree* *"The invading forces must have come from Cathay, from the most belligerent branch of the Khan's family.*"
25. ↑ 'This city will betray you...' , *The Silver Tree*  *"He told me that letting him buy the city was the only way to save it - armies from Cathay and Persia marched on it even now."*
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 I chose to trust the Princess , *The Silver Tree* ’’They call the Princess the Widow now, since William’s death.’’
27. ↑ Aid the Widow (12 FATE), *Fallen London* *"A poet once told me that only two things are eternal: love and sorrow. It is the purpose of poets to make nonsense sound like wisdom. He was demonstrably incorrect about love."*
28. ↑ Mix it with an old wine, *Fallen London*
29. ↑ Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy, *Fallen London* *"A few of them have labels. Byzantine merchant – murderer. Zoroastrian heretic. Papal Emissary – see special file 14."*
30. ↑ The Chalcocite Pagoda 2, *Fallen London*
31. ↑ The Sanctuary of the Crimson Petals 1, *Fallen London*
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Solve the Mystery of the Rosers (The Waswood), *Fallen London*
33. ↑ The Tomb of the Silken Thread 2, *Fallen London*
34. ↑ A strand of the web , *Sunless Skies*
35. ↑ The Tomb of the Silken Thread 1, *Fallen London*
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy, *Fallen London* ’They say that he attempted a coup against the Masters of the Bazaar just before London fell.’
37. ↑ Write a history of the Khanate's failed invasion of the Elder Continent, *Fallen London*
38. ↑ The aegis of aesthetics, *Fallen London*
39. ↑ What is the object of your campaign?, *Fallen London*
40. ↑ Examine a Relic of the Fourth City, *Fallen London* *"It is undeniable that the Many-Fingered Kings drove the Fourth City to war with Hell."*
41. ↑ Investigate the Fourth City's War against Hell, *Fallen London*
42. ↑ Look down into the depths, *Fallen London*
43. ↑ Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy, *Fallen London* *"This must be the Fourth City, Karakorum. Or what remains after it was crushed under the 'surface' of the Neath when London fell."*
44. ↑ Great-Aunt Beatrice's Legacy, *Fallen London* ’Great-aunt Beatrice was right. Flute Street is huge. But there are places where you can see evidence of the Fourth City.’
45. ↑ A day in Murgatroyd's Imperial Tea Shop, *Fallen London*
46. ↑ London's Enclave, *Sunless Skies*
47. ↑ ...acquire a Sixth City, *Fallen London*
48. ↑ Lost in Reflections, *Fallen London* ’’"It's a knot of... I don't know, exactly. Imaginary magpies. Feathered dreamsnakes. It collects memories. […] it sends me back a black bird with a dream of the future."’’
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Sinning Jenny's Finishing School, *Fallen London* ’’Paris now and Paris to come. […] "The Sixth City. […] then, at the passing of the Comet in the 21st century, Moscow falls, and only Berlin remains in the light of the Sun."’’
50. ↑ A Neon Future, *Fallen London*