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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. |
"Crew press their noses to the windows, hoping for a glimpse of the fabled Forge of Souls."[1]
"A colossal many-towered citadel contains the Lyceum, an ancient library and rumoured to hold the fabled Forge of Souls within its depths."[2]
The Forge of Souls is a legendary library in the the Blue Kingdom.
The Forge Gone Dark[]
A long time ago, the Blue Kingdom housed the fabled Forge of Souls. The Judgements gathered here to create new life; many wonders and horrors of the heavens came from this place.[3] Among these creations are the Scrive-Spinsters,[4] invented by the Garden-King and created by the Binary.[5] Thus the Forge became the genesis of many species...
...until a mysterious incident happened. Whatever that incident was, the Sapphir'd King saw it fit to impose the Amaranthine Edict: Nothing new can ever be created at the Forge. As a result, the Forge eventually became entirely broken, unused, and abandoned.[6][7]
The Lyceum[]
The Lyceum is the library of the Sapphir'd King. It is headed by the Lamentation of Mists, a Scrive-Spinster as large as a cathedral, who would love to see the Forge up and running and making Scrive-Spinsters again.[8]
Originally, the Lyceum was located inside the Forge of Souls, and was created to record the Forge's many creations. However, once the Forge broke down, its servitors saw fit to use the many empty chambers of the Forge for the Lyceum. Now the Forge itself is inside the Lyceum.[9]
The destruction of Eleutheria's grand library caused some of the Scrive-Spinsters to turn the Lyceum into their new library. Unfortunately, all of the literature that they could gather was Ministry-approved literature, which the servitors of the Lyceum still desperately try to clear from their shelf.[10][11]
There are many subjects cataloged in the Lyceum; for instance, the law of the stars, the fear of the stars,[12] creations of the Forge,[13] and anything related to the number 7.[14]
The Roll of Ash[]
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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. |
Deep within the Lyceum lies another library, the Roll of Ash. It's a memorial containing the names of dead stars that were killed by "an exchange of courtesy". Each chamber contains at least a hundred epitaphs of dead stars, and there are at least 278 chambers.[15]
The First Venturer[]
"Will you come with me? I don't know when we'll return. But when we do... we will be armoured in glory."[16]
"I was the first through the Horizon. Not the Parzifal – I was. We opened the Gate and zailed through. I wasn't alone, as I am now."[17]
Contrary to popular belief, the Parzifal was not the first ship to cross the gate. Rather, it was the Merchant Venturer and his zee-captain companion, who had collected funds and performed research all across the Zee for much of the late 1880s. As of now, he resides, alone, in the The Forge of Souls, serving as its custodian, but he's forbidden from repairing it. One day, he may zail the skies again. His face is still cracked with frostbite and the wear and tear of winter, and he still carries a bottle of Greyfields for his departed companion. His favorite color is, for some reason, blue.[18][19][20]
The Clerk of Sevens[]
"It could be worse. I could have the sixes. Can you imagine doing it for the twelves?"[21]
The current Clerk of Sevens was the third person to pass the Horizon. She decided to take her current title from the Merchant Venturer's captain friend, along with giving them her locomotive, in an act of kindness. She has come to regret that.[22][23]
As part of her job, she documents everything that is numbered 7. Unfortunately, due to the extremely meticulous nature of her work, she'll be at her position indefinitely, unless she can find a loophole to escape her predicament.[24][25][26]
The Forge, Awoken[]
Long ago, every chamber of the Forge was ruled by a group of spirits, with their own roles and functions. If The Forge were to start working again, they would have to provide their services once more.[27]
Although the number of spirits is large, the most important of them are:
- The Sisters in Green and Gold, who were once thought the secrets of longevity and expansion by the Garden King himself. They wear long gowns made of moss and marsh, and have seven eyes.[28]
- The Principalities of Chalcedon, former servants of the King of Hours who are therefore adept in manipulation of time. Their bodies are very similar to hourglasses, and they hold chimes in their hands.[29]
- The Red Ministers, fluent in the properties of vitality, wanderlust and loathing. They wear woven masks of scarlet paper and possess serrated wings of brittle glass.[30]
- The Thrones, who were given power over the principles of rulership by the Sapphir'd King. They resemble giant industrial looms.[31]
- The White Minister, who oversees the work of all the other spirits from her lofty throne. She wears a robe made out of starlight and snow, has wings of canvas and white sapphires, holds sheathed silver blades in her forearms, and contains her voice in a silken casket.[32][33][34][35]