The Elder Continent

"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.

The Elder Continent
Art from FL.
Art from Sunless Sea.
Location	SOUTH
Ports	Adam's Way
Alias	The Bright Continent
Affiliation	The Mountain of Light The Presbyterate
Notable Figures	The Presbyterate Stone Snuffers Tigers

"Why do they call it the Elder Continent?"

"That vast continent to the South with a glowing mountain at its heart - where the Presbyter has ruled for a thousand years - is older by far than any of London's civilisations. Which is embarrassing."

"Your road runs beside the nameless river that flows from the Mountain to the zee. The waters are thick with blood – thicker still as you travel South. Scabs float on the water like foam. The coppery scent of it rises about you."

The Elder Continent is a vast, warm, and humid landmass, bathed in the soft glow of the Mountain of Light, that forms the southern edge of the Unterzee. More ancient than any of the Fallen Cities, the Continent is home to wildlife, demographics, and kingdoms the likes of which London has only just begun to dream of.

Civilizations

The primary civilization on the Elder Continent is the Presbyterate, an empire of seventy-seven kingdoms that has possibly been in the Neath since before the Bazaar arrived. At the heart of the Continent, within the Mountain of Light, lies the Garden, the source of all the Neath's unnatural vitality.

The coast of the Elder Continent is home to Port Carnelian, London's sole imperial possession; Adam's Way, the Continent's primary port of entry; and the mirrored city of Varchas. The hidden city of Arbor also has strong ties to this place.

Flora and Fauna

"What can you find on the Elder Continent?"

"Travellers tell of strange tribes and incomprehensible religions, carnivorous flora, pygmy elephants and giant mice. But no-one believes travellers' tales, do they?"

A Blue Prophet's royal blue feather.

Tigers are a powerful and influential faction here; it is advised that one does not press their luck with them. Currently, they are vying for control of the Carnelian Coast against London and the Khanate.

Heart-Takers are also native to the Elder Continent.

A species of bird called the Blue Prophet flocks near the Elder Continent; these birds are known for their sky-blue feathers and the superstition that they can prophesize the deaths of certain individuals by crying out their names.

An Epicurean War-Helm.

A group of renowned hunters known as the Epicurean League hails from the Presbyterate kingdom of Skite. These connoisseurs stalk the most dangerous, and delectable, animals of the Elder Continent; using the skin of their first kills, they fashion war-helms which are worn during subsequent feasts. As a result, these helms are often covered in blood, juices, and condiments.

An intriguing fruit that grows in the Elder Continent is the chertapple, known to be nourishing "to the bone." They taste like earth, induce dreams of the South, and can apparently be used for navigation. Chertapple trees are often plagued by creatures known as bloatfingers, snakelike things so enraged by their own ugliness that they unleash their rage upon all who look at them.

Strange Dangers

"On rare days, an impossible tempest sweeps out of the Elder Continent: a wild wind carrying the scent of boiling honey and a storm of molten wax. Ships that fall prey to the Wax-Wind float like filthy icebergs in the Unterzee, their crews confined in wax, mouths fixed in endless screams."

It should go without saying that the Elder Continent is not a very safe place. People who harvest the massive mushrooms that grow here often suffer from Lung-Bloom, especially in places like Varchas where fungal blooms are common. A chronic condition, Lung-Bloom begins as a bad cough, but soon progresses into growths of fungus on one's extremities, before sprouting out of other orifices. Yikes.

The Wax-Wind is a storm of molten wax that engulfs ships zailing near the Elder Continent. Contact with it is devastating and invariably fatal.

Falling asleep in the deeper regions of the Elder Continent can be dangerous, as one might encounter the Conjunction of Fancies, where the dream-realm of Parabola presses against the skin of the world.

And one must not forget Animescence, the soul-burning affliction endemic to the Continent...