"The Bazaar is traditionally spoken of as if it's a single living thing. Women call it 'he'; men call it 'she'. The Masters of the Bazaar style themselves 'Mr', but no-one seems to think they're actually men."[1]
"The Bazaar stole London three decades ago. Of course only anarchists and revolutionaries say "stole" any more. Everyone who matters has grown to know and love the status quo. It's quiet down here. All those jewels and mushrooms and all that black water. What could be better?"[1]
The Echo Bazaar is the center of commerce in Fallen London.
Let the Echoes Flow[]
"Welcome to the Bazaar. We are looking forward to meeting your money. Echoes are the currency of the Bazaar. One hundred pennies are one Echo. Get Echoes by selling the treasures you acquire."[2]
The Seal of the Bazaar.
Almost all legal commerce takes place beneath the auspices of the Bazaar's spires. People from almost all walks of life are free to buy and sell their wares here, including people straight out of New Newgate. The Bazaar sells and buys many things, from more common items like clothing or pets to the more intangible such as secrets and souls. Stories of love seem to be of particular interest. The Bazaar trades in pennies and echoes (100 pennies = 1 echo),[2] and echoes are ‘echoes’ of the Bazaar's first-ever currency.[3]
The Bazaar has seven doors, each of which is made of a different material:[1]
- Copper, for those who should never be crossed.[4]
- Ormolu, for the truest of romantics.[5]
- Ivory, for the finest of thieves.[6]
- Glass, for those who can see the subtlest of details.[7]
- Paper, used for postal purposes.[8]
- Steel, the door which leads to the Masters' apartments.[9]
- Teeth, reserved for the greatest of Londoners.[10]
The Bazaar deals in commerce on a far greater scale than these goods; for what it's worth, its vaults are far too extensive and secretive to contain only the mundane.[11] The Bazaar also closely monitors the people it deems Notable, and it may bestow rewards and specialized roles to those who gain its attention.[12] People of exceptional skill and fame may bargain for esoteric knowledge to push their training even further.[10]
It’s tempting to ask why all this is how it is, but good luck trying to find answers. There are powerful people who’d like to keep it secret.
The Side-streets[]
"What can you find in the Bazaar Sidestreets? Respectable firms crammed into ramshackle workshops and poky offices. The rent here is astronomical. But the quick and the hungry turn profits in the shadows of the spires. Just keep your eyes off the carvings up high. And whatever you do, don't fall in love."[13]
The Bazaar Side-streets are only accessible to those of some Importance, but these alleyways have many lucrative business opportunities for these well-known figures. They can be accessed using a document called a Shaper's Pass.[14]
Notable Businesses and Locations[]
Main Shops[]
The Bazaar's legal tender.
These are main shops of the Bazaar, accessible to almost anyone.[2]
- Carrow's Steel: "Self-defence for the discerning gentleperson."
- Maywell's Hattery: "Your crowning glory."
- Dark & Savage: "Grace your hands with the finest and most attentive gloves in London."
- Gottery the Outfitter: "We are always sufficient."
- Nassos Zoologicals: "Pets for all! Be brave."
- MERCURY: "Boots out of legend!"
- Nikolas Pawnbrokers: "Best wares. Best prices. No spiders."
- Merrigans Exchange: "Wholesale Agents to the Bazaar. Celebrating Twenty Years Without An Apostrophe."
- Redemptions: "A labour exchange. Of sorts."
- Dauncey's: "For Gentlemen."
- Fadgett & Daughters: "By Appointment to the Shuttered Palace."
- Crawcase Cryptics: "Secrets, Papers, Truths, Mistruths, Rumours, Lies, Prayers. Books."
- Penstock's Land Agency: "Exceptional Dwellings for Exceptional People!"
- Mr Chimes' Lost and Found: "Only those most Exceptional Londoners can persuade the Master to part with these goods."
The Sidestreets[]
Premises at the Bazaar, a very expensive place to live.
These services are only available to those who have proven their Importance.[13]
- Empire Adornments, a jewelry dealer.
- Blackfinger Street, where publishers and writers do business.
- The Horse-Steak Club, a tavern of some note.
- Baseborn and Fowlingpiece, the Neath's best provider of legal documents and permits.
- The Great Downward Engineering Company, hawking interesting contraptions and cheap labor.
- The Bridge Without, another tavern of some note.
- Green Salon, club for people with exceptional demands for clothing, where they can buy curious and exotic garments from it`s host - Clay Tailor. [15]
The Courier[]
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"In the deepest matters of the Bazaar, always look to love. Always."[16]
Before it came to the Neath, the Bazaar, also known as the Courier, was a messenger of the stars.[17] Its true form is that of a giant space-crab, covered in spires inscribed with the maddening Correspondence.[18] It is still very much alive, and it underwent a sort of lobotomy to remove its urges to deliver messages; the procedure was performed by the mother of the Cladery Heir.[19] Nowadays, it stays in London, seeking solace in the sphinxstone of the the Salt Lions; the substance acts as a drug that induces nostalgia for better days.[20] Despite its best efforts, the Bazaar quite literally sits in a puddle of tears - there is a sea of lacre beneath it,[21] and its tears are a distilled form of lacre.[22]
The Tale of the Bazaar[]
A long time ago, perhaps eons ago, the Bazaar and the Sun became entwined in a scandalous and forbidden love; the affair between a Judgement and its messenger produced strange cosmic rock offspring, including Stone. The Sun then fell in love with a different star, and to add insult to injury, sent the Bazaar to give the other star a love letter. This other star rejected the Sun in her reply, which the Bazaar feared would cause the Sun to die of grief. The Bazaar begged Storm for extra time to deliver the rejection notice; so it has seven cities' time - ordered by the Dragons - to find seven cities' worth of love stories, which it hopes to anthologize into a powerful enough message about the nature of love to prevent the Sun from drowning in its own tears.
We used to think that the Bazaar was collecting love stories to prove to the Judgements that love between links of the Great Chain (the Sun is above her on this Chain) is permissible, but upon careful inspection of a certain forbidden play, this is a misconception.[17]
Before coming to the Neath, the Bazaar made a deal with a ragtag group of Curators. These Curators were unwelcome amongst their kind, so they joined the Bazaar to escape poverty.[23] The Bazaar gave them a simple promise: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."[24] By the time of the Fifth City, these Curators considered themselves the Masters of the Bazaar, and a few of them, like Mr Iron, have by now grown suspicious of the Bazaar's authenticity.[25]
The Stone Pigs[]
The Bazaar's thrusters, which it once used to travel through space, are conjecturally known as the Stone Pigs.[26] The Pigs are responsible for the creation of the Cumaean Canal,[27] and they also demolish the Bazaar's current city whenever a new one is about to Fall.[28] Fortunately for us all, they have remained asleep for quite a while now.
References[]
- Special thanks to Midnight Voyager for research and citations.