The Fifth City: Fallen London's Lore Wikia
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Our goal at the Fifth City Wiki is to be a resource for fans of the Fallen London/Sunless universe, serving as both a reference and a primer for the setting and characters.

This page serves as an introduction to the wiki's style, guidelines, tools, and templates.

Article Content

This wiki aims to provide background information on the setting and characters of the Neath, the High Wilderness, the Surface, and beyond. Our gameplay-related counterparts are the Fallen London Wiki, Sunless Sea Wiki, and Sunless Skies Wiki. Topics beyond the wiki's scope include:

  • In-game options and routes
  • In-game rewards
  • Any other gameplay mechanics that do not convey story

Given the emphasis on background, the player character should not be mentioned in any capacity, and actions by the player should not be covered. Writers should avoid using first or second person to refer to the reader or player, though we do have exceptions for the sake of single-page in-character gimmicks.

Consider an article detailing a settlement on the brink of war:

  • Good: discussing the factions involved, and the politics that caused tensions to rise.
  • Not good: discussing how the player may resolve or escalate the conflict.

Citations are paramount: they are the wiki's lifeblood, no matter how trivial. Any claims that lack citing may be removed, edited, or marked with [citation needed].

Note that the wiki is currently being restructured and revised, so not every article may abide by these guidelines.

Citations

Any contributions should be cited where applicable.

Citation template:

<ref>{{Citation|url|title|source|}} ''"quoted text"''</ref>

  • Citation is the name of the template and should not be changed.
  • url is the direct link to the source, often a Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or Sunless Skies wiki page.
  • title is the name of the storylet or option with which the text can be easily found.
  • source is where the text is cited from, such as a game like Fallen London or a website like Twitter or Wikipedia.
  • quoted text is extremely important and should always be included. Please truncate quoted text if the cited text is longer than a few sentences.

Automatic citation tools: Citation Generator

Examples

Sample Fallen London citation:

Jade fragments are said to be made from fossilized souls.[1]

Jade fragments are said to be made from fossilized [[souls]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Jade_Fragment|Jade Fragment|Fallen London|}} ''"So shiny! It's fossilised souls, you know."''</ref>

Sample Sunless Sea citation:

The Governor of Port Carnelian resides at Heartscross House, and is often very busy.[2]

The Governor of [[Port Carnelian]] resides at '''Heartscross House''', and is often very busy.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Port_Carnelian#Port_Carnelian|Call at Heartscross House|Sunless Sea|}} ''"Where the Governor administers this distant fleck of Her Majesty's empire. [...] The Governor is very, very busy."''</ref>

Sample Sunless Skies citation:

The Clockwork Sun dims and brightens regularly, and its engineers often suffer from lack of sleep.[3]

The [[Clockwork Sun]] dims and brightens regularly, and its engineers often suffer from lack of sleep.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Clockwork_Sun#The_Clockwork_Sun|Write a Port Report|Sunless Skies|}} ''"[...] the engineers shrug. The day dawns, the Sun brightens. The night comes, the Sun dims. [...] Some of them seem so exhausted they can barely stand. They insist it's proximity to the Sun that affects their sleep."''</ref>

Sample Fate-locked citation from Fallen London:

Belief in the afterlife is rare in the Elder Continent.[4]

Belief in the afterlife is rare in the [[Elder Continent]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flint|Flint|Fallen London|}} ''"I now believe in something beyond life – but that is a rare strange belief in the Bright Continent."''</ref>

Regarding the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Legally, we do not have any recourse to prohibit visitors from using our writing in Large Language Models or other text-based AI tools. However, due to administrative concerns, we request that users refrain from such activity.

Nearly all current visuals on this wiki originate from official artwork, but for the sake of clarity, we additionally prohibit the use of AI image generation (Midjourney, Firefly, DALL-E, et al) to create images for wiki use.

Spoiler Policy

Spoilers from paid in-game content are allowed, provided that:

  • Any discussion is under an appropriate spoiler tag
  • Quoted text is kept to a minimum

This is a major difference from the Fallen London Wiki, which does not spoil Fate-locked story content. Note that text dumps copied straight from the games, or datamined or leaked content from any Failbetter game, are not allowed and will be removed.

As of a July 2023 revision to Failbetter's spoiler policy, there is no currently prohibited content from any Failbetter game on this wiki. Any previously prohibited content will be discussed under a major spoiler warning of some kind.

Image Policy

Images should be uploaded with the appropriate source and licensing.

Templates {{FL image}}, {{Sea image}}, and {{Skies image}} can be added to image pages where applicable to automatically credit them and indicate fair use.

Spoiler Tags

Spoiler tags are used to signal information that players may not want to learn outside of gameplay. They are not obscured or censored beyond the notification. Remember that player experience can vary: when in doubt, add a tag.

All spoiler tags are templates with the syntax {{template name}}.

Crypticsecret

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or Sunless Skies. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used for information related to midgame content: information not easily learned by beginners or those who just started a specific story.

Syntax: {{spoiler}}

Appallingsecret

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or Sunless Skies. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of articles. Used for information related to endgame content: information revealed near the end of a storyline or major story revelations. Also used for discussion of Fate-locked content.

Syntax: {{major spoiler}}

Appallingsecret

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or Sunless Skies. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of article sections. Serves the same purpose as the previous tag.

Syntax: {{major spoiler small}}

Sidebarunaccountablypeckish

"In the migrainous straits of deep sleep, there is a marsh where candle-flames buzz like wasps."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London's most infamous storyline: Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. There is much here that you may want to learn on your own. Turn back now.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of articles. Used for information related to Seeking Mr Eaten's Name.

Syntax: {{peckish spoiler}}

Sidebarunaccountablypeckish

"In the migrainous straits of deep sleep, there is a marsh where candle-flames buzz like wasps."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London's most infamous storyline: Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. There is much here that you may want to learn on your own. Turn back now.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of article sections. Serves the same purpose as the previous tag.

Syntax: {{peckish spoiler small}}

Hurlers thumb

"Whatever you think you remember, the first step is to remember that you don't."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for the Discordant Studies storyline from Fallen London. There is much here that you may want to learn on your own. Do not proceed forward.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of articles. Used for information related to Discordant Studies.

Syntax: {{discordant spoiler}}

Hurlers thumb

"Whatever you think you remember, the first step is to remember that you don't."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for the Discordant Studies storyline from Fallen London. There is much here that you may want to learn on your own. Do not proceed forward.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of article sections. Serves the same purpose as the previous tag.

Syntax: {{discordant spoiler small}}

Avidhorizon port

"These are real stars. They burn above the roof of the Neath, beyond the earth, in the spaces of heaven."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie extended spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, or Sunless Skies. This may include endgame or Fate-locked content, including spoilers for formerly restricted storylines such as the endings of Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. Look away now.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


Used only at the top of articles. Used for information related to any formerly restricted storylines, such as the endings of Seeking Mr Eaten's Name, Discordant Studies, a hidden route in Where You And I Must Go, and Secrets Framed in Gold. Can also be used as a "catch-all" spoiler for articles which reveal extended details of the games' lore.

Syntax: {{extended spoiler}}

Other Syntax

Here is an example of how to make section dividers for certain pages.

{{Table Section|Image = image.png|Alt Text = alt text
    |Section Header = section name
    |Quote = "quoted text"
    |Text = written text}}
    

Alt Text Section Text

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Here's an example of a dropdown.

{{Dropdown|Image = image.png|Alt Text = alt text
    |Section Header = section name
    |Quote = "quoted text"
    |Text = written text}}
    

Alt Text Section Text

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Text can be redacted like this using HTML tags. Only use this for small amounts of text however, and use a spoiler tag instead for articles and sections.

<font color="purple"><span style="background-color: purple">like this</span></font>

Sample References

  1. Jade Fragment, Fallen London "So shiny! It's fossilised souls, you know."
  2. Call at Heartscross House, Sunless Sea "Where the Governor administers this distant fleck of Her Majesty's empire. [...] The Governor is very, very busy."
  3. Write a Port Report, Sunless Skies "[...] the engineers shrug. The day dawns, the Sun brightens. The night comes, the Sun dims. [...] Some of them seem so exhausted they can barely stand. They insist it's proximity to the Sun that affects their sleep."
  4. Flint, Fallen London "I now believe in something beyond life – but that is a rare strange belief in the Bright Continent."
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