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The Fifth City: Fallen London's Lore Wikia
The Fifth City: The Neath's Lore Wiki
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in: Nonhuman, Characters, The Hinterlands

Hillchanger Tower

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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.


"Not every patch of ground is asleep. In the Neath, even the mountains can be active. Hillchanger is of that lineage. I don't know its exact, ah, position in the family tree. It goes where it wishes."[2]

Hillchanger Tower is a mobile tower that typically resides in Ealing Gardens.

Not Exactly a Building[]

"Together, you climb the side of Aescwine Hill. It's a long haul – long enough that Hillchanger Tower has time to materialise and vanish again, off to its other homes."[3]

A foggy city with a squid's tentacle wrapped around a lamppost.

Ealing Gardens

Hillchanger Tower is a spire[4] usually found atop Aescwine Hill[5][6] in Ealing Gardens.[7][8] It superficially resembles a large building,[9] with an entrance[10] and a varying number of windows.[11][12] Inside, a winding staircase leads upward to the Tower's topmost room,[13] and the battlements on its roof were damaged when Ealing fell to the Neath.[14]

Hillchanger only appears to be a building; it is in fact a living being that can travel all across the Neath.[15] The Hinterlands,[16][17] the Unterzee,[18] and even the Roof are all within its reach.[19] It is capable of moving extremely quickly,[20] and can vanish from an area in an instant.[21] Its orientation may also vary: in addition to the familiar upright posture, it may appear upside down[22] or even sideways.[23] (The imaginative may infer a diagonal, in the likeness of a certain Leaning Tower.) It does not seem aggressive,[24] but it can defend itself by flaring up from the ground.[25]

Aescwine Hill seems to be Hillchanger's "home base,"[6][8] as it returns there every midnight.[26] Its travels have grown more frequent since the arrival of the Great Hellbound Railway in Ealing,[27] and it flees at the sight of large crowds.[28]

Biology[]

"Hillchanger Tower is firmly attached to the roof. The fabric isn't masonry. The walls are one continuous entity, for all it looks constructed. It is not exactly breathing – you're not sure what the shuddering is. And yet it doesn't seem like one of Polythreme's offspring, either. Still – living, you would swear. Conscious. Possibly stalking its prey."[29]

"I the Deviless am a scribe and a Solicitor. I write for the Tower and for the greater Power of which the Tower is but a part. A power that was of the Neath since before the Devils emerged from Parabola"[30]

Strange, warped terrain.

The Creditor

Hillchanger's biology is quite unusual. Its looks as though it was built, but it is actually a singular, continuous entity.[31] While it is clearly alive and "shudders" for unknown reasons, it is unlike the living objects of Polythreme.[32] Apparently, it travels to the Roof of the Neath to feed.[33] Its preferred language is unknown,[34] but it seems to understand plain forms of communication[35][36] as well as written Correspondence.[37][38] It has been seen expressing itself by quaking,[39] and may even scream if upset.[40] It also dreams in its sleep.[41]

Hillchanger is closely connected to the Creditor, an earthly entity that holds power over the Hinterlands.[42] While the particulars are unclear,[43] Hillchanger is part of the Creditor's multifaceted "self;"[44] the Creditor can see the environment through its view,[45] though it retains some autonomy from the rest of its host.[46] Regardless of the details, the Hillchanger is the Creditor's foremost agent,[47] acting alongside the Solicitor-Baroness[48][49] as the arm by which it imposes its will.[50]

References[]

  1. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London "[...] even the mountains can be active. Hillchanger is of that lineage."
  2. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London
  3. ↑ Offer your defensive escort, Fallen London
  4. ↑ Open fire, Fallen London "[...] the Hillchanger Tower rears up from the ground like a startled snake, drawing length on length of itself into the air; [...]"
  5. ↑ Persuade Sinning Jenny/Tables, Fallen London "[...] considering how long it has sat on top of Aescwine without hurting anyone [...]"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Build the station at Moulin, Fallen London ""It's the Hillchanger Tower. The one that appears on Aescwine Hill and then travels other places," [...]"
  7. ↑ Constellations, Fallen London "[...] the silhouettes on the horizon: [...] Aescwine Hill, the inconsistent presence of Hillchanger Tower."
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Distance from Home/Variable Text, Fallen London "The Tower is in Ealing Gardens now, on its familiar spot, [...]"
  9. ↑ Spare a moment to ponder the mysteries of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London "Hillchanger Tower is firmly attached to the roof. [...] it looks constructed."
  10. ↑ Walk boldly in, Fallen London "You take a step towards the threshold [...]"
  11. ↑ Get it to invite you to see Furnace, Fallen London "The dirigible docks outside the tower's one intact window."
  12. ↑ Planting a Cedar, Fallen London "The Hillchanger Tower [...] nearby, [...] its windows keenly observe what you do."
  13. ↑ Walk boldly in, Fallen London "Up the spiral stairs [...] You have been here before, in the topmost room of the tower."
  14. ↑ Tour the Neighbourhood, Fallen London "This was once part of London, [...] it was badly damaged in the Fall. [...] Hillchanger Tower lost its crenellations."
  15. ↑ Distance from Home/Variable Text, Fallen London
  16. ↑ Build the station at Moulin, Fallen London ""It's the Hillchanger Tower. The one that appears on Aescwine Hill and then travels other places," [...] It has taken up a place in Moulin now."
  17. ↑ Promise to retrieve the Honey-Mazed Bear again, Fallen London ""Don't know a thing about Ealing, do they? They wanted to put the stash in 'illchanger Tower, [...] Would've liked to see 'em [...] find the 'ole lot gone off to Burrow-Infra-Mump [...]"
  18. ↑ Distance from Home/Variable Text, Fallen London "The Tower has rematerialised somewhere in the Unterzee."
  19. ↑ Hillchanger Tower, Changed, Fallen London "It is Hillchanger Tower, [...] foundations sunk in the ceiling of the Neath."
  20. ↑ Persuade the Tower to move, using Correspondence and cajolery, Fallen London "The Tower [...] detaches itself from where it was. The moment of transition is instant and dizzying. [...] only a swift impression of becoming one with the Neathsoil, [...] flowing out [...] somewhere else entirely."
  21. ↑ Step back from what you have done, Fallen London "[...] she returns inside the Hillchanger Tower. The next moment, the Tower itself is gone."
  22. ↑ Hillchanger Tower, Changed, Fallen London "It is not a stalactite. It is Hillchanger Tower, upside down, [...]"
  23. ↑ Distance from Home/Variable Text, Fallen London "The Tower is... sideways."
  24. ↑ Persuade Sinning Jenny/Tables, Fallen London "[...] it sounds more like the custodian of its territory than [...] a danger to us. [...] considering how long it has sat on top of Aescwine without hurting anyone [...]"
  25. ↑ Open fire, Fallen London "[...] There is no problem with [...] firing [...] the ball through the air. Trouble comes after [...] the Hillchanger Tower rears up from the ground [...] drawing length [...] into the air; [...] the earth warps [...] around the Tower's base; [...] the tracks buckle. It is [...] lucky [...] neither you nor your crew are seriously injured."
  26. ↑ Time the appearances of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London "Whenever and wherever it goes, it is always back by midnight."
  27. ↑ Time the appearances of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London "The locals tell you that the tower moves more frequently these days than it used to."
  28. ↑ Time the appearances of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London "An incoming crowd always drives it away."
  29. ↑ Spare a moment to ponder the mysteries of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London
  30. ↑ Interview with a Tower, Fallen London
  31. ↑ Spare a moment to ponder the mysteries of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London "The walls are one continuous entity, for all it looks constructed."
  32. ↑ Spare a moment to ponder the mysteries of Hillchanger Tower, Fallen London "It is not exactly breathing – you're not sure what the shuddering is. [...] it doesn't seem like one of Polythreme's offspring, [...] Still – living [...]"
  33. ↑ Get it to invite you to see Furnace, Fallen London "It is Hillchanger Tower, [...] "I believe it returns to the Neath-roof to feed," [...] not be able to look at stalactites without seeing udders [...]"
  34. ↑ Build the station at Moulin, Fallen London "[...] I don't speak Tower and I don't know what it wants." [...] "I'm not bad at languages."
  35. ↑ Persuade the Tower to move, using bribery, Fallen London "Encouragements whispered in multiple languages [...] you speak to it in English, and [...] lay a pattern of moon-pearls on the floor, [...] The moment of transition is instant and dizzying."
  36. ↑ Persuade the Tower to move, using the persuasions of clock and schedule, Fallen London "It has always come and go [...] nearing a schedule, [...] it isn't following its usual rules [...] Would it like to? [...] Encouragements whispered in multiple languages [...] you speak to it in English, and you lay the pocketwatch on the floor, where it ticks reassuringly. Nuncio, island of the irresistible pull..."
  37. ↑ Persuade the Tower to move, using Correspondence and cajolery, Fallen London "Persuade the Tower to move, using Correspondence and cajolery [...] draw in Correspondence [...] and wait. The Tower does understand enough [...]"
  38. ↑ Treaties Composed, Fallen London "After the treaty is composed, the document must be translated entirely into a language suited to the Tower. [...] You are not yourself a Correspondent, but you're [...] to undertake this work [...]"
  39. ↑ In Credit, Fallen London "The Tower floor rumbles under foot. The Creditor's Solicitor thins her mouth. "This is a bargain with you and yours. Not with the Bazaar. [...]"
  40. ↑ The Creditor's Spouse (Not Furnace), Fallen London "In a moment, the Creditor knows what it has been given, and what it was refused. [...] the hills draw up around the newborn city in cautious greeting. But from the Hillchanger Tower there is a sound like a human wail, if a human throat were made of stone [...]"
  41. ↑ Accept a proposal from those board members with a non-human perspective, Fallen London "There are clauses about meddling in the Tower's dreams [...]"
  42. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London "In the Neath, even the mountains can be active. Hillchanger is of that lineage. I don't know its exact [...] position in the family tree. [...] You should know: you've been driving your railway over the faces of old powers [...] That Creditor [...] is an earth power, and I hoped that laying [...] tracks made of Justificandes across its face [...]"
  43. ↑ Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned), Fallen London "In the Neath, even the mountains can be active. Hillchanger is of that lineage. I don't know its exact [...] position in the family tree."
  44. ↑ Beg her pardon, Fallen London ""[...] Hillchanger, [...] is part of the Creditor's substance." [...] she explains that humans are [...] simple thinkers when it comes to questions of identity and divisible bodies, [...]"
  45. ↑ Read it in an ancient language, Fallen London "We have stood on Aescwine and measured [...] the number of your statues [...] Hanging from the Neath-roof we have looked down into... [...] Veilgarden?"
  46. ↑ The Creditor's Spouse (Furnace), Fallen London "[...] the Creditor knows what it has been given. The hills draw up around [...] in cautious greeting. But the Hillchanger Tower knows no such restraint. With a puppy's eagerness, it is gone from your side."
  47. ↑ Build the station at Moulin, Fallen London ""It's the Hillchanger Tower. [...] "I've thought for some time that represented another power. It has taken up a place [...] where we intended to build our station, [...]""
  48. ↑ Interview with a Tower, Fallen London "I the Deviless am [...] a Solicitor [...] I write for the Tower and for the greater Power of which the Tower is but a part"
  49. ↑ Planting a Cedar, Fallen London "This is the payment of a debt, [...] the confirmation of a treaty: a new agreement between the Bazaar and the Creditor. [...] The Hillchanger Tower has placed itself nearby, [...] The Solicitor-Baroness has come out to observe the action [...]"
  50. ↑ In Credit, Fallen London "[...] this Power will not suffer you to go further into the Neath, nor to change it more from what it was, unless some limit is attached [...] and some price paid [...] The Tower floor rumbles under foot. The Creditor's Solicitor thins her mouth. "This is a bargain with you and yours. [...]"
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